The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
5-1
UTSA
7-3
No. 4 Volleyball defeats UTSA, 3-0
09.11.2015 | Volleyball
Neal and Ogbogu led the Longhorns with double-digit kills.
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 4 Volleyball defeated UTSA (31-29, 25-21, 25-14), 3-0 on Friday afternoon at Gregory Gym to improve to 5-1.
Senior Amy Neal led the Longhorns in kills for the fifth match this season with 17, hitting .351 and also adding three blocks.
Junior Chiaka Ogbogu also finished with double-digit kills with 14, hitting .583, posting five digs and a team-high five blocks.
Sophomore Cat McCoy finished with 21 digs, while junior Chloe Collins had 41 assists.
As a team, Texas recorded a season-best hitting percentage at .382, while also outblocking the Roadrunners, 8.0 to 5.0.
In the first set, neither team led by more than three throughout the set. UTSA led most of the way through set one, but Texas hung in with kills from five different players. The Roadrunners took their biggest lead of the match at 23-20 and then had three set points at 24-21, but kills from Neal and Ogbogu tied the score at 25. UTSA earned another set point at 26-25, but the Longhorns survived and went on to have four set points of their own before closing out the set, 31-29.
Texas took control early in the second set, jumping out to a 10-8 lead. UTSA kept the score close, but the Longhorns maintained their lead and stretched it to 21-17. From there, Texas held on and closed out the set, 25-21 to take a 2-0 lead.
UTSA led early in the third set, but the Longhorns executed a 7-2 run to take an 11-7 lead behind kills from Ogbogu and Neal. Texas followed that run with another run to lead, 21-9. The Roadrunners could not close the gap and the Longhorns took set three, 25-14 and the match, 3-0.
Texas will have a short break before returning to Gregory Gym to host Santa Clara at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Jerritt Elliott
On UTSA: They came out ready to play. Our first ball contacts weren't very good and we struggled a little bit and tried to get in a rhythm. As the match progressed, we got a lot better. It's nice to see the team make those adjustments during the game, so I think that was the big bright spot.
On facing three set points in the first set: Yeah, we took some big swings and I think we controlled the ball a bit better and made some plays. We got a couple big set blocks from Chiaka [Ogbogu] and it gave us an opportunity. I saw the level of competitiveness and from them and we weren't going to lose the game at that point.
On having their first game and recovering from the "hangover" since their home loss vs. Florida: I don't think it was a hangover by any means. We talked about preparing and they were focused on what they wanted to do... It's just when you're not passing the ball on first contact it makes things seem a little bit more chaotic. So that was a challenge and tried to clean that up a little bit.
Junior setter Chloe Collins
On how they played in the third set: We just came out being mentally focused and prepared. UTSA is a great team and we needed to come out respecting them and being able to play. UTSA came to play at the beginning of the match and it just took us a while to get in our rhythm and be focused.
On the difference between this team even two weeks ago: I would just say starting from practice with trying to do a good job, being good for a long period of time, working together, communicating well, and just going from there.
On coming back from losing to Florida: Florida is a great team and they definitely pushed us during that match as well. Again referring back to practice, just getting back in the gym and focusing on what we need to do for the future.
On getting a good rotation down: Most definitely, during practice we are always rotating and making sure we are comfortable playing with every single member of the team because you never know who could be on the court at any time. So it is great to be comfortable playing against each other no matter who it is.
