The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
19-2, 11-0Big 12
Texas Tech
14-10, 3-8Big 12
No. 3 Volleyball defeats Texas Tech as Ogbogu breaks block assist record
11.04.2017 | Volleyball
Senior Chiaka Ogbogu recorded eight block assists to pass Molly McCage’s record set in 2015.
AUSTIN, Texas -- No. 3 Texas Volleyball senior Chiaka Ogbogu became the all-time career block assist leader at Texas on Saturday afternoon, leading the Longhorns (19-2, 11-0) past Texas Tech (14-10, 3-8).
Ogbogu's eight block assists gave her 460 for her career to pass two-time All-American Molly McCage (2012-15), also recording a team-high .500 hitting percentage on nine kills.
The Longhorns defeated the Red Raiders in four sets at Gregory Gym, 3-1 (25-19, 20-25, 25-21, 25-12) to remain undefeated in Big 12 Conference play at 11-0 improve to 19-2 on the season.
Freshman Lexi Sun led the Longhorns in kills, tying her career high mark of 21 on a .378 hitting percentage while adding four blocks and three digs.
Senior Ebony Nwanebu and sophomore Micaya White also finished in double-digit kills, with 10 each. Both finished with hitting percentages above .300, with .333 for Nwanebu and .308 for White.
Senior Cat McCoy recorded a career-high five service aces and 23 digs for her sixth match this season with 20 or more digs.
Freshman Ashley Shook registered a team-high 47 assists, adding six digs and four kills, while junior Natalie Gilbert contributed a career-high 10 digs.
Texas outblocked its opponent for the 20th time this season, with a 13.0 to 5.0 blocking advantage over Texas Tech, while also recording a .355 to .162 advantage in hitting percentage.
Opening the first set, Texas gained a first multi-point lead at 6-4 with a net violation from the Red Raiders. The Longhorns had begun to test the Texas Tech defense, making an 11-6 run to take a 20-15 lead. With five Texas players recording multiple digs for the set, the Longhorns' defense set up a .355 team hitting percentage, pushing to a 25-19 finish.
Texas trailed 7-4 early in the second set before recovering to tie at 9-9 with a block from Johnson. The Longhorns again fell behind, 15-18, with the teams going point-for-point to maintain the visitors' narrow lead. With a four-point lead with set point at 24-20, the Red Raiders closed out the set with a kill on the next point, 25-20.
Having dropped a first set in conference play at Gregory Gym after thirteen-straight opening the season, an emphatic kill from Sun sparked Texas to a 6-1 start in the third frame before a Texas Tech timeout. Sun reached double-digit kills in Texas' opening run and went on to record nine in the set, with the Longhorns' defense sustaining the lead through to a 25-21 set finish.
With a 2-1 match set score, consecutive service aces from Cat McCoy helped Texas jump out to a 6-1 lead in the fourth frame. While hitting above .350, the Longhorns stormed to set point at 24-11 before a kill from White secured the match at 25-12.
Texas will return to Gregory Gym on Wednesday, Nov. 8, to hots TCU at 7 p.m. CT. The match will be televised live on Longhorn Network.
Postgame Comments
Head Coach Jerritt Elliott
On overall thoughts of game: I thought we were very sloppy today. Our touches weren't good and it became contagious. It really put us in a position to be sloppy for most of the evening. I thought in game four we started controlling the ball a bit better and obviously, things went a lot smoother. We've got to figure out how we're coming out in game one. We haven't been good over the last four or five games. It's been a struggle for us. We're playing with fire right now in terms of how we're playing as a team.
On his thoughts about the recent close matches: We have TCU on Wednesday and then we're at a very tough Iowa State team at their place. Then we've got to come home against Kansas. Our last three out of five games are against top-25 teams. As we head into the tournament, we don't have a whole lot of time to get better. We've got to put some priority on our touches and get a little bit more united.
On how the team has developed throughout the season: We have different lineups from then and our rotations have changed. I felt that when we were at home against Kansas State and Iowa State, those were our two best matches that we've played. We just haven't clicked well lately. We've got to find that out, but this is the time of the year where people have been ill. We have to find that fire again.
Freshman Outside Hitter Lexi Sun
On her initial thoughts on the match: We have been focusing on starting the match off strong from the first point … going from there and doing our jobs individually, so that we can come together as a team to execute. In the beginning, we were a little shaky. I think we made some improvements and got back on assignments. I think we finished at a high-level and took care of business at the end.
On where the match tilted for Texas: When we started to execute. We didn't make as many errors. Slowly the game came to us. We were back on assignment and doing what we know we can do.
On what lessons Texas can take from these matches: I think learning to rely on what we can do as a team and not really focusing on what they're doing or what we're not doing. Instead, focusing on the game and what we can do to better ourselves. I think focusing on our side.
