11/21/01
Texas
falls to No. 15 Texas A&M in three games
AUSTIN, Texas – Freshman middle blocker Bethany Howden (Austin, Texas/Westlake) paced the Longhorns with 15 kills and four blocks, however, the University of Texas volleyball team fell 3-0 (30-16, 30-20, 30-16) to No. 15 Texas A&M on Wednesday evening at G. Rollie White Coliseum in College Station, Texas.
Howden finished with a team-leading .367 hitting percentage and has now hit above .300 in 21 of the 28 matches this season. Texas as a team was outhit by the Aggies .141 to .429 and now fall to 15-13 on the season and 8-11 in the Big 12 Conference. Texas A&M finished with 10 blocks to the Longhorns six, improving to 22-5 on the season and 15-4 in the conference.
"Tonight we ran into a very good Texas A&M team that is peaking at the right time as it heads into the NCAA Tournament," said head coach Jerritt Elliott. "Freshman Bethany Howden competed really well tonight which was a big plus for us."
Freshman outside hitter Mira Topic (Kambelovac, Croatia/Vladimir Nazor) was the only other Longhorns player to finish in double figures; posting 13 kills while also adding six digs. Senior outside hitter Gipy Duarte (Lima, Peru/Colegia Maria Reina) led Texas in digs as she finished with 11, her 14 match in double-figure digs.
The Horns posted the first point of the match off a kill by Howden, but it was all Texas A&M after that. The Aggies took a commanding 17-4 lead behind seven kills and four total blocks and never relinquished control of game one. Texas, which hit .063, answered with three consecutive points to make the score 18-7. Texas A&M finished the game with a .531 hitting percentage to win 30-16 and take an early 1-0 advantage in the match. Howden paced the Longhorns with six kills, no errors and a .667 hitting percentage.
Texas A&M took the early lead once again as it pulled out to nine-point advantage at 19-8 in game two. Texas posted three straight points behind a kill by Topic and two total blocks to make the score 26-17. The Horns, who hit .171, added three more points but the Aggies won game two 30-20 after hitting .263 as a team. Howden tallied six of the Horns’ 16 kills while Texas A&M finished with 14 kills.
Game three saw the Aggies break out to a 10-3 advantage, forcing Texas to takes its first timeout in game three. The Horns answered with back-to-back points off of kills by Howden to close the lead to 10-5. Texas A&M went on a 5-1 run to push the game open to a nine-point lead, causing the Horns to use its final timeout. The Aggies maintained control, as they finished on a 15-10 run to win the game 30-16, extending its win streak to four straight matches over the Longhorns. Texas was held to a .083 hitting percentage while Aggies finished the game hitting .500.
The Longhorns play its final regular season match of the season on Saturday, Nov. 24, against the Oklahoma Sooners at 7 p.m. in Gregory Gym. Saturday’s match also marks the final home match for seniors Gipy Duarte and Katia Lara. Fans can purchase four tickets for $10 as part of the Holiday Fun for Four promotion. Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-982-BEVO or UTTM at 512-477-6060.
