The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
26-2
Colorado State
31-3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado State | 19 | 18 | 17 | 0 |
| Texas | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
No. 2 Volleyball punches ticket to NCAA Regional Final with sweep of Colorado State
12.12.2014 | Volleyball
Texas is the only school in the nation that has advanced to the NCAA Regional finals in each of the last nine NCAA Championships.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – No. 2 Texas Volleyball swept No. 15 Colorado State to advance to the NCAA Regional Final on Friday at the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis, Minn.
It marks Texas' ninth-straight trip to the Regional Final and 20th all-time. Texas is the only school in the nation that has advanced to the NCAA Regional finals in each of the last nine NCAA Championships (2006-14).
Six Longhorns finished with four or more kills, but senior Haley Eckerman led UT with 16, while hitting .364. Eckerman also had five digs and three blocks.
Sophomore Paulina Prieto Cerame finished with eight kills, while junior Amy Neal and sophomore Chiaka Ogbogu added seven each. All three players hit .333 or better.
Junior Molly McCage led Texas in blocks with five and also added five kills, hitting a team-high .400.
Neal and freshman Cat McCoy posted double-digit digs with 14 and 12, respectively.
Sophomore Chloe Collins had 20 assists on 25 attempts, while sophomore Nicole Dalton finished with 18 assists on 21 attempts.
As a team, UT out-hit CSU, .327 to .175 and out-blocked the Rams, 8.0 to 3.0.
The Longhorns have out-hit 25 of their 26 opponents this season and 51 of their last 52 dating back to September of 2013.
Texas has out-blocked or tied its opponent in blocks in 26 of its 28 matches this season.
Texas jumped out to a 6-1 lead to start the first set and led the rest of the way. Colorado State narrowed the score to within one at 11-10, but the Longhorns won three of the next four points and kept a steady lead the rest of the way. Eckerman had six kills to give UT set one, 25-19.
The Longhorns led 5-2 early in the second set, but the Rams came roaring back with a 4-0 run to take their first lead of the match, 6-5. From there, the teams traded points until the 10-10 mark, when Texas won five of the next six points and lead by as many as six before closing out the set, 25-18.
In the third set, Texas again jumped out to a 5-2 lead and again Colorado State fought back with a 4-1 run to tie the score at 6-6. The Longhorns then fueled a 4-0 run of their own to take a 10-8 lead. From there, UT did not let up and closed out the set, 25-17.
Texas has not swept its first three opponents in the NCAA Tournament since 2009. It fell to Penn State in the national championship match that year, 3-2.
The Longhorns will face the winner of No. 10 Oregon and No. 7 North Carolina on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 5:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised live on ESPNU.
Postgame Quotes
Jerritt Elliott, head coach
Opening Statement...
"First of all, I'd like to thank the University of Minnesota for putting on such a great event. It's first class and it's a great arena to be part of. We knew we would have a tough match with Colorado State. They have had a great year and I'd like to congratulate them. I just think at this stage of every season, it's so difficult to advance. The team has to play well; I think we've got to manage our game well. I think everything we did in the gym, training this week, we executed. Our hitting percentage is there in terms of kill percentage, our differentials were good and I just thought we had great production all the way around with all the players, and we played steady throughout the game. We're honored to represent Texas and take that next step. People just think that we're expected to get to this level, but it's not easy, and we're excited to have the opportunity to get to the next stage."
On not losing a set so far in the tournament...
"I think we're just managing our game well. Watching how our team has prepared, I think we've taken it to another level. Today, they just did an excellent job of maintaining focus and when we do that, we're tough to beat. I think we're confident in what we're doing. Our passers are doing a great job and I think our setting was great tonight."
On what he said to his team after a Colorado State run in the third set...
"We were just talking about approach speeds. I thought we weren't going as hard as we could and we were being a little tentative. They made some nice plays, but we had some opportunities to score and we didn't do that."
On if shutting down the middles was a focus going into the game...
"Yeah. Their middles are very efficient, and we knew in transition, they would stay in front a lot. So we were collapsing on them and using our size to force them into some difficult situations."
Haley Eckerman, senior, outside hitter
On the match against Colorado State...
"Like Jerritt said we did really well at preparing. We came in, we were focused in film, we knew what we had to do, we were making sure that we were paying attention to our scouting reports. Advancing that into the game, taking it into the game and knowing what each players tendency was and what we needed to do to take care of the game. That obviously showed that we were so focused."
On a potential rematch with Oregon...
"It's always fun and just like us it's a new team so you never know what to expect and you never know how they are going to play. We haven't really gotten to watch them much so it'll be interesting to watch both these teams tonight."
Nicole Dalton, sophomore, utility
On the match overall...
"I think our middles did a really good job of coming in and taking away their tendencies and then also our pins just really driving to the ball when we needed them too. And then our passers, it was really easy as a setter tonight; our passers were really steady tonight."
On a potential rematch with Oregon...
"I think they are a good team this year and I think it would be good to see them again. It would be exciting."
