The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
26-2
Fairfield
21-10
Texas rolls past Fairfield in NCAA First Round action, 3-0
12.03.2015 | Volleyball
The Longhorns will advance to take on Purdue on Friday evening.
POSTGAME QUOTES | NCAA FIRST & SECOND ROUND HEADQUARTERS
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 3 Texas Volleyball defeated Fairfield, 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-17) to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.
With the win, the Longhorns improved to 29-0 in first round matches, 60-9 in NCAA matches played in Austin and 80-29 in NCAA matches all-time.
Senior Amy Neal led the Longhorns with 14 kills, while junior Paulina Prieto Cerame had eight kills on a .583 hitting percentage and senior Molly McCage finished with eight kills hitting .462.
Junior Chloe Collins posted 36 assists and five blocks, while sophomore Cat McCoy recorded 14 digs and McCage added seven blocks.
As a team, the Longhorns hit .298 and limited the Stags to .136.
Fairfield showed early in the opening set that it wasn't afraid of the NCAA spotlight as a kill from Skyler Day and a Texas error handed the Stags a 4-3 advantage.
That lead wouldn't last long against the powerful Longhorns hitters, however, as a Fairfield attack error and three consecutive Prieto Cerame kills boosted UT to an 8-4 advantage and forced opposing head coach Todd Kress to burn a quick timeout.
Texas' lead eventually reached seven points at 12-5 before a bad UT serve and a Fairfield ace helped draw the Stags within five.
Fairfield would claw within three on another Day drive at 18-15 before the Burnt Orange & White fully unleashed its offensive arsenal. Three kills from Neal and a pair of blasts from Ogbogu helped power Texas on a 7-3 run to finish off the first set by virtue of a 25-18 win.
The Longhorns wasted little time attempting to take control of the second set as consecutive drives by freshman Yaasmeen Bedart-Ghani helped guide UT to a quick 5-1 advantage.
Once again, the Stags battled valiantly as a Chanel Cooper kill and a Texas attack error chipped the Fairfield deficit to just one. The 7-2 run would continue for the visitors as two more Burnt Orange & White attack miscues, following an Akinola blast, boosted the MAAC Champions to their first lead since early in the opening set at 10-9. Fairfield eventually led by as many as three points before the Longhorns again strongly responded to the threat.
Consecutive McCage kills helped ignite what developed into an 11-1 spurt, allowing the Horns to take firm control of the proceedings. A Prieto Cerame drive and two Stag errors finished off the set as Texas moved in front 2-0 with a 25-18 triumph.
Needing just one more set win to post their 20th sweep of the season, the Longhorns looked like a team on a mission by jumping to a quick 4-0 lead in the third.
The UT advantage expanded to six following another Ogbogu kill and remained in the four-to-six point range until Neal's third service ace of the match made it 15-8.
A 7-3 spurt, partially led by the efforts by Day and Akinola, drew Fairfield as close as it would get in the remainder of the match at 18-15.
From there, Neal and McCage each posted a pair of kills as Texas sealed the match with a 25-17, third-set win.
The Longhorns will return to Gregory Gym on Friday, Dec. 4 to take on Purdue at 6 p.m. CT. The winner of the match will advance to the NCAA Regional Semifinals.
