The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Colorado State
No. 4 Volleyball blanks No. 14 Colorado State at Texas Classic
09.13.2015 | Volleyball
Junior Paulina Prieto Cerame had a career-high 14 kills, hitting .414.
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 4 Volleyball defeated No. 14 Colorado State (25-20, 25-18, 25-19), 3-0 on Sunday afternoon at Gregory Gym to improve to 7-1, sweeping the Texas Classic.
The Longhorns defeated both UTSA and Santa Clara on Friday. With the sweep of Colorado State, Texas never gave up a set.
Senior Amy Neal ended with a career-high five aces, while also contributing nine kills, eight digs and one block assist.
Junior Paulina Prieto-Cerame had a career-high 14 kills, hitting .414 in the match, while also adding three digs and two block assists.
Junior Chiaka Ogbogu added a season-high eight kills, hitting .727, while also carding an ace and block assist.
Sophomore Cat McCoy led the Longhorns with 11 digs, her sixth match of the season in the double-digits.
As a team, Texas hit .344 in the match over Colorado State's hitting percentage of .240 and had 44 kills compared to the Ram's 38.
Early in the first set, the lead continued to change until a block by junior Chloe Collins tied the score at 8-8. The Rams went on a 6-2 run to make the score 10-14, but the Longhorns continued to rally back, tying the score back up at 17-17 with a service ace from freshman Lauren Beard. Texas continued to battle, finishing on a 6-1 run that handed the Longhorns the first set, 25-20.
Texas got off to an early 7-3 advantage in the second set and never looked back, taking their largest lead (20-12) after a Colorado State attack error. From there, the Longhorns closed out the set, 25-18.
Neal put on a show in the third set, recording four straight aces to make the early lead 7-3. Texas went on an 8-1 run to strengthen their position to 11-4. The Longhorns closed out the match 25-19, hitting .444 in the third set.
Texas will travel to Tucson, Ariz. next to play in the Wildcat Classic. The Longhorns will take on Savannah State on Friday, Sept. 18 at 2 p.m. and No. 13 Arizona at 9 p.m. On Saturday, Sept. 19, Texas will play New Mexico State at 12 p.m.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Jerritt Elliott
On starting slow: We needed to get out a little faster. At 13-9, we sat down and talked about energy. Your goal is to try and be steady throughout the match.
On Paulina's play: We knew we could get some one-on-one situations and she has been playing really well and her confidence is growing. That is one of the great things about our team. Everyone is getting better and getting along and taking it a little bit at a time.
On facing Arizona: Arizona is good and they are going to be at home and we have been comfortable in this arena for a long time. We have them, then we have New Mexico State who is a really good team and we have to figure out how to concentrate. The key during the preseason tournaments is always the emotional sign.
On her serving game: She has that ability. I told her to be aggressive with it. It is a tough serve to pass. You hope to get a three-serve run every game and she put up a big run there in game three.
Junior Outside Hitter Paulina Prieto Cerame
On having a good game: My staff has been good and my coaches have all supported me. Sometimes you aren't going to get the best numbers, but it's about driving every day and working hard.
On how they stay aggressive during matches: Doing the same thing every single game, every time. I think we were a bit slow in the warm up and that affected our start, but I think we did a good job as a unit.
