By Steve Habel, Senior Editor
AUSTIN, Texas – Defense makes the difference, whether you’re playing a squad to which you haven’t lost in 15 years or the top-ranked volleyball team in the nation.
The fifth-ranked University of Texas volleyball team continued its run of stellar defensive play and made the most of its chances to win at the end of the first and second sets Wednesday night during a 25-23, 26-24, 25-16 sweep of Baylor at Gregory Gym. It was the Longhorns’ third sweep against a Big 12 opponent and their third three-set victory in their past six matches.
Texas (19-3 overall, 11-1 in Big 12 play) has not lost to the Bears since [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]October 2001, in George W. Bush’s first year as President, and now owns a 79-2 all-time record against Baylor.
This one was not as easy as many in the series but turned at the net, where Texas outblocked Baylor 13-3, with four of the Longhorns’ rejections the solo variety (a conference-season high). Texas also outhit the Bears .245-.139, marking the seventh consecutive match that the Longhorns have limited an opponent to less than .200 hitting.
“We held Baylor to well below its hitting average as our defense continues to improve,” Texas coach Jerritt Elliott said. “We had some opportunities to get some swings. There are some things we can definitely work on, but it was a good win.”
Senior outside Paulina Prieto-Cerame led the way for the Longhorns with 17 kills, her third-highest total in any match this year, and recorded a .444 hitting percentage on 36 swings.
Freshman Micaya White added eight kills and eight digs for Texas, while senior setter Chloe Collins distributed 33 assists and posted three kills, tying her season-high. Junior libero Cat McCoy pulled up a team-leading 13 digs and sophomore Morgan Johnson recorded seven block, tying her season-high.
“It just felt great to go out there and beat a team like Baylor the way we did,” Prieto-Cerame said. “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.”
Texas led by as many as four points, at 15-11, in the opening set but Baylor wouldn’t go away, getting to within 24-23 before Johnson ended the set with a cross-court kill set up by junior Ebony Nwanebu.
The second set was tied seven times, the latest at 24-24, before the Longhorns ran off the last two points to win 26-24.
Staying so close to Texas and still losing took its toll on the Bears (18-8 overall, 6-4 in Big 12 play) as the Longhorns built a 12-7 lead on the strength of a pair of kills by Prieto-Cerame on the way to a 25-16 victory.
“I just liked our composure,” Elliott said. “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 1 and 2, I liked our rhythm and I liked our mentality and the way we stuck with what we were trying to do.”
Texas returns to the court Saturday when it travels to Iowa State, a team that pushed the Longhorns to five sets Oct. 8. The first serve is set for 4 p.m. CST.
“We have been building on team chemistry and just learning to play for each other,” Collins said. “This was just very crucial for us to know that we have some confidence and we can go forward, especially going into Iowa State. It’s a very hostile environment there.”
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