The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
19-1, 11-1Big 12
West Virginia
13-13, 2-9Big 12
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 20 | 17 | 18 | 0 |
| Texas | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
No. 5 Volleyball sweeps past West Virginia, 3-0
11.12.2014 | Volleyball
Haley Eckerman posted a season-high 23 points in the victory.
AUSTIN, Texas -- No. 5 Texas Volleyball (19-1, 11-1) swept conference foe West Virginia (13-12, 3-8), 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-18), Wednesday night at Gregory Gym for its fourth-consecutive Big 12 victory. The Longhorns posted a season-high kill percentage of .512 in the match, their highest total since November 30, 2012.
The Horns were led by senior outside hitter Haley Eckerman, who put up a season-high 23.0 points (18 kills, four service aces, two blocks). The four service aces matched a season-high, and her 18 kills on a .533 kill percentage were her second-highest totals of the year in each category. Eckerman has posted double-digit kills in seven-straight games with 18 standing as her highest kill total in a three-set match all year long.
Junior outside hitter Amy Neal tied her season-high mark with 16 digs and added nine kills, while sophomore Nicole Dalton led the team in assists with 24, her second highest output of the year.
Texas never trailed in the opening set, but West Virginia kept the game close and eventually drew within one point at 21-20. Eckerman took control for Texas from there with a kill and back-to-back service aces to extend the lead to four, and a team block closed out the victory 25-20.
The second set began similarly to the first with the teams trading points early. The Mountaineers took their first lead of the night 10-9, but Texas then went on a 16-7 run from there, closing out the set 25-17. The Horns hit an impressive .654 in the set, highlighted by eight Eckerman kills.
The final set was knotted up at six before Texas took a lead it would not surrender, closing out the three-game sweep, 25-18. Dalton recorded 10 assists in the set, and Texas hit .552 as a team.
The Mountaineer attack was led by sophomore outside hitter Jordan Anderson and sophomore middle blocker Hannah Shreve, who posted 10 and six kills, respectively.
The Longhorns will look to avenge their lone loss of the season when they travel to Norman, Okla. to take on No. 24 Oklahoma (17-7, 8-3), Saturday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m.
Head Coach Jerritt Elliott
On the win versus West Virginia: Obviously, a good result for us. I think we were firing on all cylinders and put up probably our best hitting percentage by far. I thought our defense could have been a lot sharper than it was. I liked what our personality was out there today. We had a good rhythm.
On Saturday's game verse Oklahoma: I think it's something that we need. It's something that's exciting to be a part of. I think they're feeling pretty confident about playing us after they beat us 3-0. We feel like we can play at a much different level. I would imagine our girls would come in with a little bit of an edge. It'll be a chaotic environment for us. It's everything that we need as we prepare for the tournament. We don't want to walk into matches and just stomp people. Hopefully they can play well and we can play at our peak and we can come out with a win. We have a chance to clinch on their home court.
Senior OH Haley Eckerman
On her successful hitting: I think the biggest thing is that they were playing a different defense every time, but the sets were great. Chloe [Collins] and Nicole [Dalton] were both on and were leading me and giving me a chance to just swing. Cat McCoy was doing a good job of talking to me about what was open and who was where. A lot of times their libero was in a different spot each time I was hitting.
On if the team is using extra motivation heading into the Oklahoma match: No, I think a lot of it is just going in and getting better. We've obviously gotten better from that match on and that's the biggest thing. It's not like we have to get revenge. We're just going to go in there the same way we have. We aren't going to treat it any differently. We're just going to use it as a target on our backs. We have to be better and just make sure we're fixing the things that we have to work on.
