The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Baylor
No. 3 Volleyball Preview: at Baylor [Nov. 19, 2014]
11.18.2014 | Volleyball
Texas Volleyball continues Big 12 Conference play at Baylor on Wednesday night.
No. 3 Texas (20-1, 12-1) at Baylor (14-14, 4-9)
Ferrell Center (6,000) – Waco, Texas
Wednesday, Nov. 19 – 7 p.m. CT
Match 22: Baylor
When: Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. CT
Where: Waco, Texas (Ferrell Center)
Television: Fox Sports Southwest/Fox College Sports Pacific – Play by Play: John Morris, Color: Kristen "Schram" Bates
Live Stats: CLICK HERE
All-time Series: Texas leads, 74-2
• With its win over Oklahoma on Saturday, Texas won its fourth-straight Big 12 regular season title, its fifth in six years and eighth overall. It was UT's 21st all-time conference title.
• Texas has out-hit its opponent in every match dating back to Sept. 13 of 2013 when the Longhorns played Arizona State, for 45-straight matches.
• Senior Haley Eckerman has posted double-digit kills in the last eight matches, leads the team in service aces with 31 and also averages 1.19 digs/set.
• Junior Molly McCage has recorded five or more blocks in five of the last six matches. She most recently had 11 blocks at Oklahoma, which is the most by any player this season and the most since Jennifer Doris had 11 vs. UCLA on Dec. 12, 2008.
• Sophomore Chiaka Ogbogu leads the team and the Big 12 with her .415 hitting percentage and ranks 13th in the NCAA in the category. She has at least two kills in every match, has led the team in hitting percentage in six matches this season and has hit .300 or better in 16 matches this season. When she has six or more kills, she averages a .478 hitting percentage.
Media Availability Quotes
Head Coach Jerritt Elliott
On winning another Big 12 Championship: It was tough. We had a battle at Oklahoma to finally nail it down. Our team came through in the end. It's never easy. There are so many matches that you have to play and you have to be consistent every night, so we are relishing the fact that we were able to do it again, for the fourth time in a row. It's a big accomplishment. Even though we are used to doing it, it's something that we work really hard to get to. A lot of people don't see the sweat and tears that go on behind the scenes. I'm very proud of this group and the alumni involved and we still have a few matches to go.
On what winning another Big 12 Championship says about the program: It has been created by the alumni that have been here. It has been a tradition and something that we have worked really hard on. The standards that we create are stressors for a coach, because now we are trying to do it every single year. It's very hard and we lose a lot of sleep over it, but we are lucky because we get great athletes and great people that are able to uphold that tradition.
On why this team is different: You get used to it, but every year is different, with different personnel. Sometimes they are similar, but the chemistry that you are able to build is a key component to that. For us, this team is so different from teams that we have had in years past. We have a lot more balance, we are running a 6-2 for the first time and we have the ability to hurt you in a lot of different areas. Against Oklahoma, our outside hitters were really struggling and we were able to rely on our middles and our right sides to kind of get us out of that. When you have that kind of balance, it can bode well for us. Last year, in the semis, we couldn't score on the left and we didn't have a whole lot of other options and got ourselves in trouble, so hopefully this will be a different team. I think they gained a lot of trust late in that last game because things weren't going well and they found a way out of it. I was really proud of them for that.
On who is standing out unexpectedly: We have so much talent and so much depth. I think Chloe Collins is really starting to come along really well as a setter. I think she is doing a really nice job, as is Nicole (Dalton). Amy Neal is the one that really came out of the gates firing at the beginning. She had a tough spring last year. For her, we always believed that she had the talent to do it, it was more about getting her to that confident level. She's got more swagger now, she's a little more sassy with me, which is good. She's showing me that she is confident and that she's ready to be out there.
On what he expects from Baylor: They are a much better team than when they played here. They struggled here—they were a little nervous and uncomfortable early on and we played at a high level, so the game was never really close. Based on some of their recent scores, they are playing well and we will get a chance to look at them more today.
On shifting their focus to the tournament: Right now we are just working on some areas that we feel we have deficiencies in. The season is long. There's that three-week tough period that we are kind of getting over, so we are trying to get them acclimated. But we have a tough schedule still—we have Kansas who is playing very, very well on Saturday and the following Saturday we play Florida here, so we have some work to do. It's going to be a lot of work to uphold our seed now—that's what we are trying to do with the RPI and everything else.
On coming back against Oklahoma: We ended the game on a 25-8 run and they started looking at each other and being a lot more confident. I think the way they were supporting each other was great to see.
Junior Amy Neal
On the Big 12 title: It was awesome, especially because it was on OU's floor. We wanted to get revenge after losing to them at home. The way we came out—I thought we were up and down during the game, but I think we really stayed together as a team. We were really focused on that game, not winning the Big 12. We really just wanted to come out and play well against OU. Winning was really fun, but we still have three more games in the Big 12 that we need to focus on and take game-by-game.
On if winning the Big 12 gets old: No, I think it gets better every year. It takes a lot of hard work and it's not just something that happens. It's a really big deal and a really big honor to win the Big 12.
On staying focused for the rest of the season: We just want to focus on how we can improve and get better every day. In practice, we need to go hard and not let up at all, because every game is going to be hard and everyone is going to come out and play well against us. We have Baylor tomorrow and we really need to focus on them.
On what she expects from Baylor: I think they're going to come out really strong. I think all teams come out strong against us and make really good plays. I think they're a really good team, so it will be a fun game and always fun to play there.
On returning to the floor after sitting out: It was hard to sit out, but being back is fun. I'm feeling good and being able to contribute to the team and help on the floor is awesome. I'm just glad I'm back playing.
On what stands out about the team: This team is really deep in talent. I think that anyone on this team could be starting. Every day at practice is super competitive and everyone is so good. I think in the practices this year, the work ethic is at a high level. It has been like that in the past, but I think this is the deepest team I've been on since I've been here.
