By Steve Lansdale
AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas volleyball team is headed to the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament for the 29th time in program history after knocking off SMU in straight sets, 25-15, 25-18, 25-12, Saturday at Gregory Gym. The Longhorns will host BYU Friday, Dec. 9.
Junior outside hitter Ebony Nwanebu led the Texas offense with 15 kills, hitting .577. Senior outside hitter Paula Prieto Cerame had 14 kills, while freshman outside hitter Micaya White had 13. As a team, the Longhorns hit .438, making the fifth time this season that they have hit .400 or better. Three Longhorns posted double-digit digs: junior Cat McCoy led the way with 18, White added 12 and senior setter Chloe Collins had 10 to go along with her 45 assists.
Texas was facing [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]an SMU team that reached the second round by sweeping Texas A&M in the first round, and Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott said the Mustangs are far more formidable than would be expected of a program that now has exactly one NCAA postseason victory.
“Let’s give credit where credit is due to SMU for reaching the second round of the tournament,” Elliott said. This is the first time in their program history, and I think they are doing a great job down there. It is a really good team. You know we had our concerns going in. They are just a grinding team, those kids just work really hard. Their libero (Morgan Heise) is a fighter and their two middles (Kristen Stehling and Janelle Giordano) are really good. Our worry was their middles and being able to contain them and their opposite.
“I just thought on our inside we were just really steady tonight, and it started with our first touch and what Cat (McCoy) was doing back there as a libero. We just managed our game very well and with good touches. Chloe (Collins) setting a good offense you know we were just kind of relentless with our offense. You know when you are below six percent hitting error; our goal is to be at 12. This offense and our kill percentage can be a challenge for teams to defend.”
SMU head coach Lisa Seifert expressed great pride in the season her team (28-6) had, but acknowledged that there was little the Mustangs could do against the No. 4-seeded Longhorns.
“The fundamental part of what we were trying to do was win the serve and pass game, but to be honest, even if you serve incredibly tough, the ball is going to go to the pin out of system,” Seifert said. “But as athletic and high as (the Longhorns) are, they are still able to crush balls. What we tried to do with that defensively is move our defenders up and in. But even with that we weren’t able to hold on. It was just hard to match up.”
The Longhorns (24-4) have swept their first two opponents in the NCAA tournament, and McCoy said she is grateful that she and her teammates will get to try to continue their postseason run while playing at home.
“It is obviously really exciting,” McCoy said. “It is a blessing to get to the sweet 16. Is not as easy as everyone thinks. We are really lucky to be hosting it and having our fans support, because that is huge for us. Obviously, last year that was unbelievable. So hopefully everyone comes out and supports us, and we are really excited about it.”
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