No. 1 Texas volleyball evens record with four-set win over Oregon
By Steve Lansdale
GAINESVILLE, Florida — A day after opening the season with a 3-1 loss to the Florida Gators, the No. 1-ranked Texas volleyball team evened its record Saturday with a convincing 3-1 (23-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-23) win over No. 18 Oregon in the VERT Challenge.
Senior middle blocker Chiaka Ogbogu and freshman outside hitter Lexi Sun led the UT offense: Ogbogu had 10 kills while hitting a team-high .467 in the match, while Sun reached double digits in kills for the second time in her two college matches, notching a team-high 14 against the Ducks.
For their efforts, Ogbogu and Sun were named to the VERT Challenge All-Tournament team.
Senior libero Cat McCoy and freshman setter Ashley Shook each recorded 11 digs. Shook also led the Longhorns with 38 assists, while junior middle blocker paced the defense with a team-high seven blocks.
Texas outhit Oregon, .209-.159, and maintained a 13-7 edge in blocks.
The Longhorns will try to climb above the .500 plateau for the young season in the USD (University of San Diego) Tournament next weekend. Texas will take on Villanova Friday and then face Georgia Tech and No. 22 USD Saturday.
The Longhorns will stay on the road for the USD Tournament in San Diego, Calif., facing Villanova on Friday, Sept. 1 and Georgia Tech and No. 22 San Diego on Saturday, Sept. 2.
