By Steve Habel, Senior Editor
AUSTIN, Texas — There is no doubt that Texas volleyball is the best team on the 40 Acres, and the second-ranked Longhorns showed just how good they can be as they flexed their considerable muscle with a dominating 25-23, 25-22, 25-16 win Wednesday over No. 16 Kansas in a crucial Big 12 Conference match before a crowd of 4,001 fans at Gregory Gym.
It was the 16th win in a row for Texas, which has not lost since a four-set defeat at home Sept. 8 to then-No. 1 Minnesota.
The victory kept the Longhorns (21-2 overall, 14-0 in Big 12) undefeated in [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]league play and guaranteed them at least a share of the conference title with two regular-season matches remaining. The fact that the win came at KU’s expense after the Jayhawks last season ended UT’s five-year run as Big 12 champions made the evening a little sweeter.
Texas beat Kansas Oct. 11 in Lawrence, coming back from two sets down to win 18-16 in the final set. The Jayhawks have not been the same team after that loss, dropping a four-set match on the road to Iowa State Oct. 28 before getting swept at home Saturday by Baylor.
“We are more focused on the process and getting better than winning championships, because if we do what we do and do it well then the wins will come,” Texas coach Jerritt Elliott said after the win. “Different people have stepped up for us on different nights this year — tonight it was the back line. It was a good win for us.”
Chiaka Ogbogu led the Longhorns with 14 kills on 22 swings (a .545 attack percentage) while Micaya White and Lexi Sun added 13 kills apiece. Ashley Shook recorded 42 assists, and Cat McCoy and White racked up 17 and 11 digs, respectively, in the win.
Texas outhit the Jayhawks, .337-.177, and had six blocks to just three for Kansas (21-6 overall, 10-4 in Big 12).
“Getting (a share of) the conference championship tonight is just the cherry on top of the cake for us in this match,” Ogbogu said. “We were not thinking about that tonight and haven’t been. We just want to get better with every practice and in every match.”
Kelsie Payne led Kansas with 13 kills but needed 37 swings to get to that number. Jada Burse added nine kills and Allie Nelson pulled up 18 digs for the Jayhawks.
Texas never trailed in the first set, jumping to the lead with an ace by Autumn Rounsaville on the first point and building it advantage to 19-13 on kills by Ogbogu, Sun and an ace by White in a stretch of seven points.
Three straight points, the final on a hitting error by Morgan Johnson on what should have been an easy kill, brought the Jayhawks back to within 19-16. Texas got back on a roll with a kill by Ebony Nwanebu that pushed its lead to 22-18 before kills by Kansas’ Taylor Alexander and Burse and a hitting error by White allowed the Jayhawks to within a point, at 22-21. Then, with the set tied at 23-23, Ogbogu ripped a kill down the line before Burse’s kill attempt hit the top of the net and fell on KU’s side of the court, handing the Longhorns the set at 25-23.
Texas assumed control of the second set, leading 14-10, before the Jayhawks ran off six straight points to take a 16-14 lead. During that stretch, a point originally credited to the Longhorns at 15-14 was reversed after an officials’ review, creating a five-minute delay and heated words from both the teams’ coaches.
Kansas led 20-19 before the Longhorns leapfrogged back in front at 21-20 on a kill by Nwanebu and a set error by the Jayhawks. An Ogbogu kill moved the lead to 22-20, and after a net violation by Texas, White added another to get the advantage to 23-21. An attack error by Alexander gave Texas set point and another by Burse handed the Longhorns the game, 25-22.
Game 3 was tied a 7 when the Longhorns took command by winning nine of the ensuing 11 points and sweeping to a 16-9 advantage. The run, which effectively put away the Jayhawks, was spurred by two kills apiece by White and Ogbogu and another by Nwanebu. Texas expanded it lead to as many as 10 points down the stretch and ended things with a ringing kill by White to garner the third set at 25-16.
Texas has a week off before hosting improving Oklahoma Nov. 22 on Senior Night. The Longhorns end the regular season Nov. 25 at Baylor, with the NCAA playoffs set to begin Nov. 30.
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