9/21/02
No. 5 Nebraska 3, No. 24 Texas 0
LINCOLN, Neb. -- The 24th-ranked University of Texas volleyball team lost in three games for the first time this season to No. 5 Nebraska, 15-30, 24-30, 23-30, in front of a sellout crowd of 4,194 at the Coliseum in Lincoln Saturday night.
Texas (8-3, 0-2 Big 12) hit for a season low .092 for the match. The Longhorns had season-low 40 kills on the night while committing 29 errors on 120 attempts. UT, who leads the league in opponents hitting percentage, allowed Nebraska (9-1, 2-0 Big 12) to hit .396 for the match. Sophomore Mira Topic (Kastela Kambelovac, Croatia/Vladimir Nazor) had the only double-double of the match as she hit 12 kills and came up with 11 digs. Redshirt-sophomore Kathy Hahn (Leander, Texas/Leander) was the other Horn with double-digit kills with 10. Freshman Caron Blotch (Franklin, Ind./Franklin) had 34 assists for the match.
"Our blocking was very poor tonight," said head coach Jerritt Elliott. "We did not get many touches tonight. Against a team that is as physical as Nebraska, you have to get a hand on the ball."
In game one, Texas took an 1-0 lead on a Nebraska attacking error, but the Huskers made few mistakes after that point. The Longhorns hit for a negative percentage (-.059) for the first time this season, hitting nine kills with 11 errors in 34 attempts. UT allowed Nebraska to hit .444, the highest hitting percentage in a game this year.
Nebraska shot out to an early 5-0 lead before Texas crept back into game two. Texas got within two, 10-12, before letting NU slip away. The Horns regrouped and again closed the gap to two, 19-21, before Nebraska had six kills and two stuff blocks for their last nine points. Topic had six kills in game two as the Horns hit .068 for the game. LaTonya Coates (Bangor, Mich./Bangor Public) had two service aces in the second game.
Game three had three early ties, then Nebraska started to pull away at 7-7. Texas hit a match high .238 in the third game, committing only six attack errors. Coates put down six kills in the final game.
Texas returns to Gregory Gym for the midweek Big 12 match against Oklahoma on Wednesday, Sept. 25. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
