The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
19-3, 11-1Big 12
Baylor
18-8, 6-4Big 12
No. 5 Volleyball sweeps Baylor at home to improve to 19-3
11.09.2016 | Volleyball
Senior Paulina Prieto Cerame led the Longhorns with 17 kills, hitting .444.
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 5 Texas Volleyball (19-3, 11-1 Big 12) notched its third sweep of the Big 12 season, rolling through Baylor, 3-0 (25-23, 26-24,25-16), inside Gregory Gym on Wednesday night.
With the win, the Longhorns lead the all-time series against the Bears, 79-2, and have not allowed a BU victory since October 27, 2001.
Senior Paulina Prieto-Cerame led the way for the Longhorns with 17 kills, her third-highest of the year, connecting on 17 of 36 swings (.444).
Freshman Micaya White registered an equal eight kills and digs on the night, while senior Chloe Collins posted 33 assists and three kills, tying her season-high.
Junior Cat McCoy led the team with 13 digs, and freshman Morgan Johnson registered a season-high tying seven blocks.
As a team, the Horns hit at a .245 clip while holding the Bears to a .139 hitting percentage. This marks the seventh-straight time Texas has held its opponent to below the .200 mark.
The Longhorns outblocked Baylor, 13-3, including four solo blocks, the most of the Big 12 season.
It was back and forth in the opening set of the match, but the Longhorns offense pushed ahead to lead by as many as four (15-11) after a White kill. Baylor got within striking distance, 24-23, but a cross-court kill from junior Ebony Nwanebu handed the Horns the first set, 25-23.
Texas trailed in the second until a Collins kill gave the Longhorns a narrow 7-6 advantage. The Bears fired back with a 4-0 run to lead by three, forcing a Texas timeout. The Horns evened the score again on 14 separate occasions to force extra points, and a closing 2-0 stretch ended the set for Texas, 26-24.
The Longhorns never trailed in the final set, and the Bears drained a timeout after two straight kills from Prieto-Cerame put Texas up, 12-7. The Horns never let their foot off the pedal from there, closing the set, 25-16, to secure the sweep.
Next on the slate, the Horns will travel to Ames, Iowa to play the Iowa State Cyclones on Saturday, Nov. 12. The first serve is set for 4 p.m. CT.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Jerritt Elliott
On how they did defensively: We held them down to .139 which is well below our average and I thought we did a really good job. Our defense continues to improve. We had some opportunities to get some swings. There are some things we can definitely work on, but it was a good win. It was a big win at home and now we have a really big test on the road and our girls will be ready for that. We're excited for that opportunity because then we finish with the last three at home.
On how felt about the game: I just liked our composure. We gave up some runs and we gave them some errors, but we just kept moving on to the next point. Even though we didn't have great games one and two, I liked our rhythm and I liked our mentality, what we were trying to do, our composure, and that's a big part of it sometimes. I think in game three, they were excited and they came out with a good energy and it was a good win for us.
Senior Setter Chloe Collins
On what sweeping Baylor means for the team: For our team, we having been building on team chemistry and just learning to play for each other, I think this was just very crucial for us to know that we have some confidence within our team and we can go forward; especially going into Iowa State. It's a very hostile environment there. So just gained some confidence and now we have to go back into practice and build off of it.
Senior Outside Hitter Paulina Prieto Cerame
On what this win meant: It just felt great to go out there and beat a team like Baylor the way we did. We've been talking about playing for each other and just enjoying the game, having fun, and staying focused and I think that's what we did. It's was a good match for us and we're moving forward.
