Texas Volleyball Outlasts Iowa State 3-2

By Spencer Kitley in Sports on October 3, 2011 at 2:33 pm | No Comments

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In her return to her home state, Texas freshman outside hitter Haley Eckerman connected for a match-best 21 kills and sophomore opposite hitter Bailey Webster hammered out a career-best 16 kills to lift the eighth-ranked Longhorns to a 3-2 win over No. 16 Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum. The 25-16, 14-25, 25-20, 21-25, 15-8 victory improved the Longhorns to 9-4 on the year and 2-1 in Big 12 play, while the Cyclones dropped to 12-3 overall and 3-1 in league action.

Webster tallied her 16 kills on 27 error-free swings and hit .593, while Eckerman posted her second-straight 20-plus kill match. Senior All-America middle blocker Rachael Adams joined them in double-digits with 10 kills on .368 hitting and a team-best six total blocks.

In the decisive fifth set, Texas used a kill and block by sophomore Sarah Palmer to grab an early 3-0 edge. A pair of kills by Webster and Eckerman extended the margin to 11-4 before two kills by Webster forced match point and closed out the fifth, 15-8.

After falling behind early in the first set, Texas stormed back with a 6-1 run fueled by two kills and a block by sophomore opposite hitter Bailey Webster that put UT in front 11-8. Eckerman then caught fire with four kills that widened the margin to five before a kill by freshman outside hitter Khat Bell closed out the frame, 25-16.

Iowa State took control of the second stanza quickly, using Carly Jenson’s seventh kill of the set to balloon the lead to 11 and eventually close out the Horns 25-14.

The Longhorns overcame six service errors in the third, using the spark of Palmer on the outside to fuel a 4-1 run and claim a 17-13 advantage. Iowa State battled to close the margin to one late in the stanza, but Adams registered two kills and a block down the stretch to propel Texas to a 25-20 set victory.

Texas fell behind 12-6 early in the fourth set before fighting back to close the gap to three at the 14-11 mark. One of Webster’s four fourth-set kills closed the margin two at the 20-18 mark, but Iowa State’s Jamie Straube was too strong late in the frame as she lifted ISU to a 25-21 set win.

Texas returns to action on Wednesday, Oct. 5 when it hosts Texas A&M in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. Central on FSN.

Tags: Bailey Webster, Haley Eckerman, Longhorn volleyball, texas volleyball