No. 10 Volleyball rolls past Texas Tech, 3-0

By Spencer Kitley in Special, Sports on October 13, 2011 at 9:52 am | No Comments

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The 10th-ranked Texas volleyball team extended its home winning streak to 23 matches on Wednesday night as it swept past Texas Tech at Gregory Gymnasium. The 25-17, 25-11, 25-22 victory improved the Longhorns to 11-4 on the year and 4-1 in Big 12 play, while the Red Raiders fell to 14-6 overall and 0-5 in league action.

Sophomore outside hitter Bailey Webster headlined the Horns’ attack with 11 kills on .320 hitting, while senior All-American middle blocker Rachael Adams connected for seven kills and hit at a .600 clip. Freshman outside hitter Haley Eckerman added nine kills, while sophomore defensive specialist Sarah Palmer and senior libero Sydney Yogi each tallied three service aces.

Texas jumped out to an early edge in the first, taking advantage of an 8-2 rally fueled by two kills from junior opposite hitter Sha’Dare McNeal that gave UT a 15-9 lead. Webster’s kills allowed the Horns to maintain the margin before two late Adams kills and a pair of Tech errors propelled Texas to a 25-17 set win.

In the second, the Longhorns used a rally headlined by the strong serve of Yogi to claim a 20-9 lead before eventually closing out the set 25-11 on an Eckerman kill.

The Horns built their lead to 19-9 on a kill by sophomore middle blocker Haley Cameron in the third and forced set point at the 24-17 mark, but had to stave off a 5-0 Tech rally to close out the set 25-22.

After the game, freshman Eckerman said, “I think we are always happy with a win, but we know we can still get better.”

Texas returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 15 when it travels to Kansas State. First serve is set for 3 p.m. Central.

Here are the post-match notes:

• Texas’ win improved its all-time record against Texas Tech to 71-9-2 and 33-3 in Austin.
• Texas’ victory extended its home winning streak to 23 matches, a mark that ties for third-longest in program history.
• The win extended UT’s Big 12 home winning streak to 28 matches.
• Texas out-hit Texas Tech, .323-to-.116.
• The Longhorns equaled a season-high with nine team service aces in the win.
  

Photos courtesy UT Athletics

Tags: athletics, sports, texas tech, volleyball