By Steve Habel/Senior Editor
The Texas volleyball team rolled past Texas Tech in straight sets, 25-18, 25-23, 25-17, before a season-high 4,147 fans at sold-out Gregory Gym. The Longhorns (16-1, 6-0 in Big 12) now have a record of 67-3 in conference play over the past four-and-a-half seasons since the Big 12 schedule went from 20 matches to 16.
“We understand what we have to do [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]to win and know that every opponent is a potential stumbling block to getting through the conference season undefeated, which is our goal every year,” Texas coach Jerritt Elliott said. “We had a very tough and focused week of practice heading into this game, and we are close to where we want to be.”
Texas, which is ranked second in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll, got 19 kills from senior outside hitter Amy Neal on a .485 swing percentage, her best in the Longhorns’ six league games this season. Neal also added a team-best 12 digs.
Junior middle blocker Chiaka Ogbogu contributed nine kills and a game-high seven block assists as UT outblocked Texas Tech, 9-3, with five in the second set that was closer than the Longhorns wanted.
The Red Raiders (13-8, 2-5 in the Big 12) were led by Sarah Redding’s 10 kills, while Audrey Fragniere and Lauren Douglass added eight and seven kills, respectively.
The Longhorns never trailed and barely broke a sweat while winning the first set, 25-18, while forging a .435 attack percentage and going without a return error. Neal led her team with seven kills, including a ringing one to clinch the set, and Texas got four kills on four swings by freshman outside hitter Yazzie Bedart-Ghani.
Things were a lot different in the second set. Trailing, 7-2, Texas Tech won six of the ensuing seven points to tie the set at 8-8 and eventually forged a 13-10 advantage over the out-of-sync Longhorns. Later, with Tech ahead 20-18, a kill by Sarah Redding was followed by a combo block by Redding and Katy Keenan and then a kill by Alyssa Ybanez to hand the Red Raiders a 23-19 lead.
But the Longhorns, who previously had dropped only one set in conference play and just eight all season, roared back thanks to their defense. Junior outside hitter Paula Prieto-Cerame and Ogbogu combined for a block and then Neal and Ogbogu paired on back-to-back rejections at the net to pull the Longhorns even at 23-23. Neal pounded two final kills off the hands of Texas Tech blockers and Texas slipped away with a 25-23 set win.
Tech had an early lead in the third set, but couldn’t sustain any momentum as UT’s front line forced the Red Raiders to commit error after error. The Longhorns eventually pulled away from a 7-7 tie, thanks to four straight Tech miscues, kills by Ogbogu and Neal and two more by senior middle blocker Molly McCage that pushed Texas’ advantage to 19-13.
Texas returns to action Wednesday when it travels to Kansas State. The Longhorns’ next home match is Friday against undefeated ninth-ranked Kansas.
[/s2If] [s2If !current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] [article-offer] [/s2If]
Discover more from Horns Illustrated
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.