The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
8-1
Texas A&M
6-4
No. 2 Volleyball blanks No. 16 Texas A&M, 3-0
09.14.2016 | Volleyball
Senior Paulina Prieto Cerame led Texas with 16 kills hitting .344.
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 2 Texas Volleyball defeated No. 16 Texas A&M, 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-21) on Wednesday night at Gregory Gym to improve to 8-1 on the season.
Three Longhorns finished with double-digit kills, all hitting .292 or better.
Senior Paulina Prieto Cerame led the Horns with 16 kills on 32 swings for a .344 hitting percentage, also adding six digs in the match.
Junior Ebony Nwanebu had 11 kills, hitting .292 and freshman Micaya White finished with 10 kills, hitting .308.
Junior Cat McCoy led Texas in digs with 11, while senior Chloe Collins had 35 assists and sophomore Morgan Johnson led with five blocks.
As a team, Texas hit .305 for its fourth match hitting .300 or better and held Texas A&M to .179. The Horns also outblocked the Aggies, 8.0 to 4.0.
In the first set, neither team led by more than two points until the Aggies went on a 4-1 run to take a 14-11 lead, but the Longhorns responded with a 4-0 run to take a 15-14 lead. Texas kept the lead, but Texas A&M stayed within one or two points until the Horns pulled ahead on a 5-1 run and closed the set, 25-21.
The Longhorns jumped out to an early 7-1 lead to start set two, maintained a six point lead and stretched it to an eight-point lead at 13-5. The Aggies fired back with a 4-0 run to pull within four, but an Agbaji kill righted the Texas ship and the Horns took set two, 25-18.
The third set started like the second, as Texas led 4-1 early, but this time Texas A&M responded with a 4-0 run of its own and took a 10-7 lead later in the set on a 5-0 run. A Prieto Cerame kill gave the Longhorns the momentum back and took an 11-10 lead. Texas built on the lead and executed a 5-0 run to take a 17-12 advantage, but Texas A&M answered with a 5-0 run to tie it at 18. But the Horns had another answer and finished the set on a 7-3 run to win the match, 3-0.
Hollann Hans led the Aggies with 10 kills and 14 digs.
The Longhorns will return home to face No. 6 Wisconsin on Sunday, Sept. 18 at noon CT. The match will be televised live on Longhorn Network, with a pregame show starting at 11:30 a.m.
Texas Head Coach Jerritt Elliott
On freshman Autumn Rounsaville's serving: The thing I like about Autumn is she is a very steady young lady. Nothing phases her. She can miss a couple of serves, and then she sticks it. She got it going there at the end. She's been scoring some runs on us and doing some good things all the way through the spring season.
Senior Setter Chloe Collins
On beating A&M: I thought it was a great feeling. Our fans came out tonight and showed us support and that shows how strong the rivalry is to our university. It's always great to play Texas A&M. They're always a great team.
Senior Outside Hitter Paulina Prieto Cerame
On beating A&M: It was really cool. I didn't think I was going to be able to be part of that rivalry and that game, but it was definitely a great night and our crowd was awesome. I think we've done a really good job of keeping the emotions in lock even though they were pretty high.
