By Steve Habel, Senior Editor
AUSTIN, Texas — For the first time since the University of Texas became the undisputed volleyball team to beat in the Big 12 Conference after the 2010 season, when Nebraska left for the Big 10, the Longhorns have lost the ability to control their chance to claim another league championship.
The Longhorns can thank two five-set road losses in the past two weeks for that unfamiliar predicament. Between now and next Saturday, UT has to take care of its own business, win the rest of its matches and hope Kansas, which currently heads the league standings, loses at least once.
Texas got its final three-match, must-win stretch[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]off to a successful start Wednesday when it blew past hapless Texas Tech, 25-22, 25-14, 25-15, at Gregory Gym.
“I’m pretty fired up about the way we played,” Texas coach Jerritt Elliott said. “We put the disappointment of (Saturday’s) loss to Iowa State behind us and responded well. I like the way we handled ourselves. It was one of our best emotional matches of the season.”
Texas has won every Big 12 title since 2011 and captured eight of the past nine conference championships. The Longhorns haven’t lost twice in league play since 2010 when they finished second in the Big 12 to Nebraska.
Junior outside hitter Ebony Nwanebu led the Longhorns with 15 kills on 25 swings (a .560 hitting percentage), while senior outside hitter Paulina Prieto Cerame had 14 kills (and hit .407) and freshman outside hitter Micaya White added 10 kills. Senior setter Chloe Collins distributed 34 assists and junior libero Cat McCoy recorded 16 digs for Texas.
Texas Tech was led by Katy Keenan and Toni McDougald with eight kills each. Marguerite Grubb dished out 29 assists and Reyn Akiu had 15 digs to pace the Red Raiders.
The Longhorns (20-4 overall, 12-2 in league play) looked a little shell-shocked early on by their self-created situation, but shrugged it off enough to dispatch Texas Tech (10-19 overall, 0-14 against Big 12 opponents), which remained winless in Big 12 play.
Not much separated the two teams in the first set as Tech built a 14-11 lead that eventually was pared to 18-17 before a kill by White allowed the Longhorns to pull even. Then Texas got defensive, using a solo block by sophomore middle blocker Morgan Johnson and a combo block from White and Johnson to move ahead at 20-18, but the Red Raiders tied the set at 22 on a kill by Lauren Douglass.
Just as it looked like Tech might have Texas on the ropes, the Longhorns turned it on and won the set, 25-22, after an ace by Collins and a ringing kill by Prieto Cerame.
The Longhorns led, 18-13, in the second set when it looked like they became tired of toying with the Red Raiders, running off seven of the final eight points to record a 25-14 win. Prieto Cerame had a pair of kills and combined with sophomore outside hitter Yaasmeen Bedart-Ghani for a pair of combo blocks in that deciding run, which ended when Akiu handed Texas the set with a service error.
The Longhorns outhit Tech, .559-.114, in the second set as Nwanebu had seven kills in 11 swings and Prieto Cerame added six more in 11 swings.
“I told myself before the match to be aggressive and play with confidence,” Nwanebu said after the match. “I really decided to go for it and be fearless.”
Elliott immediately fired off his concurrence to Nwanebu’s declaration: “Just keep doing that.”
By the third set, the Longhorns were in full flight, dismantling the Red Raiders with an 8-0 run that pushed their lead from 14-8 to the cusp of victory at 22-8. Tech delayed the inevitable by winning six of the ensuing seven points, but Nwanebu smashed a kill down the line and Tech followed with a hitting error to end the set, and the match, at 25-15. The Longhorns hit at a .333 percentage in the final set and held the red Raiders to minus-.080.
Texas’ remaining two regular-season matches are at home — Saturday against Kansas State and Nov. 26 against West Virginia.
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