The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
18-1, 8-0Big 12
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Kansas
19-1, 7-1Big 12
No. 2 Volleyball defeats No. 7 Kansas, 3-0 to remain unbeaten in the Big 12
10.23.2015 | Volleyball
The Longhorns ended the Jayhawks' undefeated streak to improve to 18-1.
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 2 Texas Volleyball defeated No. 7 Kansas, 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-14) this Friday to improve to 18-1 on the season and remain undefeated (8-0) in the Big 12.
The Longhorns handed the Jayhawks their first loss of the season after both teams had rolled through the first seven matches of Big 12 Conference play.
Junior Paulina Prieto-Cerame led the Longhorns with 16 kills, setting her career-high for both kills and hitting percentage (.483).
Senior Amy Neal joined Prieto-Cerame in double digits with 14 kills. She also led Texas with 11 digs for her sixth double-double of the season and third-straight.
Junior Chiaka Ogbogu totaled five blocks on the night, while senior Molly McCage added four blocks, leaving her only two block assists away from being the all-time Texas leader.
As a team, Texas hit .336 to Kansas's .155, marking the third-consecutive match where the Longhorns has held their opponent to below a .200 hitting percentage.
This was the first top-10 Big 12 matchup since 2010. With the win, the Longhorns improve their series record against Kansas to 38-4 and have won 16-straight Big 12 matches.
After the first set was tied at three, Prieto-Cerame posted three-consecutive kills to give the Longhorns a 6-3 advantage. It was all Texas from there, including a perfect hitting percentage on five kills by Ogbogu. The Longhorns closed out the set, 25-16.
Kansas went on an early run in the second set to take a 5-0 lead over the Longhorns. The Jayhawks continued to hold onto the lead until a McCage block tied the score at 18. Texas took its first lead of the set after a Neal ace and finished the set on a 10-1 run to close it out, 25-19.
In the third set, the score tied nine times before Texas executed an 8-2 run to lead, 18-12 at the first Jayhawk timeout. The Longhorns only allowed two Kansas points from there, closing out the set, 25-14 and the match, 3-0.
Texas returns to action on Wednesday, Oct. 28 when they travel to Fort Worth, Texas to take on TCU. The game is set for 6:30 p.m. and will be broadcasted on Fox Sports Southwest.
Postgame Quotes
Texas Head Coach Jerritt Elliott
On the passing game tonight: Our passing game as been getting better and better. I think that has been a key to our offense. Our numbers have been really good. I think Nicole [Dalton] coming in that defensive role really solidified that. It has given confidence to Amy [Neal] and Kat [Brooks] and Cat [McCoy] and I think we are making good improvements with our platforms. We are getting more confident in terms of the system that Erik [Sullivan] wants from his passers. I thought they did a good job early in the game, driving it really deep, but besides that I think our passing was spot on for the most part and consistent all night.
On Nicole Dalton's play adding to the team: I am very lucky to coach this group of young ladies and they are very talented and a lot of fun to be around. We enjoy each other. They really are truly about the team. I haven't had one person come into my office this year saying "Hey, why aren't we doing this or why aren't we doing that." They have bought into what the system is and they trust the coaching staff and we trust them, so we have a unique relationship going on in our program right now. It is pretty special to be a part of and make my job really fun.
Texas Outside Hitter Amy Neal
On focus of tonight's game going into post season: For sure, you totally have take every game at the same mentality and one match at a time, so just looking at every team the same because they are going to come out and play their best against us. So just taking every game seriously.
On the long rallies and does it help with the chemistry of the team: I think on tips, we were talking about saying the right things and then just their offense is really fast and they are going to run their middle in transition. We talked about making sure we slow the game down, and put the ball high so Chloe [Collins] can get her feet to it and get a good ball. So just slowing it down and playing how we know we can play, making sure we are not making it fast and going to their speed and keeping it at ours.
