The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
15-0, 7-0Big 12
TCU
12-10, 2-6Big 12
No. 2 Volleyball sweeps TCU to break home winning streak record
10.22.2014 | Volleyball
Longhorns set new program record for 34-consecutive home wins.
AUSTIN, Texas -- No. 2 Texas Volleyball (15-0, 7-0) defeated TCU (12-10, 2-6), 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-22) Wednesday night at Gregory Gymnasium. The win set a new program record for most-consecutive home match wins with 34 straight. The streak dates back to September 15, 2012.
Texas has now won 23-straight Big 12 matches, including the last four in 3-0 fashion.
As a team, the Longhorns registered 43 kills and outhit the Horned Frogs, .309 to .125.
The Longhorns produced a typical balanced attack, as Haley Eckerman posted a team-high 12 kills.
Senior Khat Bell put down nine kills, while sophomore Pilar Victoria added eight and junior Molly McCage contributed seven. Victoria also led the team with 10 digs.
Sophomores Nicole Dalton and Chloe Collins combined to have 35 assists in the match, with 19 and 16 respectively.
Sophomore Chiaka Ogbogu had a match-high four blocks, while freshman Cat McCoy set a season-high four aces in the match.
Texas portrayed its balance in the first set en route to a 25-14 win. Five Longhorns had multiple kills, led by four from Bell. With the score tied at five, Texas created breathing room with a 5-0 run. Freshman Cat McCoy led the run with three service aces. The Longhorns put the finishing touches on the set with a 10-2 run to take the 1-0 lead in the match. All four of Bell's kills came in the final run.
The Longhorns outhit TCU in the second set .571 to .136 to win the set 25-16. The Horned Frogs stuck around until they were only one point behind Texas at 15-14. Texas went on another 10-2 run to end the set. Victoria had three kills in the final ten points for the Longhorns as they took a 2-0 set advantage.
The third set the most competitive, containing 12 ties and five lead changes. TCU took its largest lead of the match early in the third set at 9-4, but Texas responded with an 8-1 run to get back in the set at 12-10. TCU took the late lead at 22-21 until Eckerman delivered three kills in the final four points to help Texas close the final set 25-22 and take the match.
Texas continues its four-match home stand on Saturday against Oklahoma. The match will begin at 5 p.m. CT and be televised nationally on Longhorn Network.
Postgame Comments
Head Coach Jerritt Elliott
On 34-straight home wins: It's very impressive, obviously, and it means a lot in regards to the program the players and the alumni have created here. They've bought in, we've got a rich tradition, but more importantly, it's very hard to maintain being at the top all the time, and we've been able to do that. I'm proud of what we've been able to do, I'm proud of the alumni that have been here and the players that actually were a part of it.
On being tested tonight: I was a little disappointed tonight in the way that we prepared and the way that we performed and the level we played at. The way that we played last Saturday, the energy we brought, we sustained a very high level. I thought tonight we got pretty comfortable with just who we were. We felt like we were going to win the game, and that's the challenge now, for me to get back to them and see if we can improve on that. But I know that they'll be excited because now it's OU and the big rivalry with that.
On the winning streak affecting the team's mindset: I don't think so. I think it's one of the challenges of college athletics. It's hard to be prepared every single night. It's trying to get the team to buy in, it's trying to get the leadership to understand, it's trying to get the culture to be played at the level that we want it to. I don't want to take anything away from a good win. Did we play terrible? No. We were pretty close to some of our numbers. We hit .309, so that's good. We can just sustain a lot higher level than we did.
Freshman L Cat McCoy
On playing at home: All of the fans and the support is great. I just love playing out here in Gregory Gym. It's nice being home and just feeling the love from all the fans.
On playing Oklahoma: Obviously it's a big rivalry, so it's going to be a sold out crowd. I'm really excited, and there's going to be a lot of energy in the gym. I'm just excited to experience it.
