10/13/03
Longhorns Preview: No. 8 Kansas State
Complete Preview
Match 16:
Texas (9-7, 4-3) at No. 8 Kansas St. (16-3, 6-1)
When: Wednesday,
Oct. 15 (7 p.m.)
Where: Ahearn Field
House (5,000) - Manhattan, Kan.
Series vs. Kansas State:
Texas leads the all-time series, 10-6, including a 4-3 mark on the road;
UT has won the last two meetings
Last Meeting: Texas defeated No.
19 Kansas St., 3-1, on Nov. 23, 2002 in Gregory Gym
Television: College Sports Television
(CSTV) will tape the game for air on Sunday, Oct. 19 at 5 p.m. (CT)
Live stats: Click
Here
Internet Broadcast:
Click
Here
LONGHORN QUICK HITS
UT has only played three road opponents since the beginning ofSeptember
(Oklahoma, Sept. 24; Colorado, Oct. 4; and Missouri, Oct.11). The match
at Kansas State will be the team's fourth league road match, and sixth
overall. Texas is 1-4 away from Gregory Gym this season.
CSTV will tape the Kansas State match for air on Sunday, Oct. 19as part
of its "Sunday Night Spike" package. CSTV can beseen on DirecTV
(channel 610) and Adelphia and Insight cable systems.
In the last four matches, Texas has out-blocked its opponents 57.0to 19.0.
Head coach Jerritt Elliott is one win away from both his 100th career
win and his 50th win at Texas. He is 99-42 overall and49-30 at UT.
The first game of a match is do or die for the Longhorns this season:
the team is 7-0 when winning game one and 2-6 when losing game one. The
team has two come-from-behind victories this season (No. 22 Texas A&M
on Oct. 1 and Baylor on Oct. 8).
LONGHORNS IN BRIEF
Texas enters Wednesday's (Oct. 15) match with a 9-7 record overall and a 4-3 mark in Big 12 play. The team is tied for fourth in the Big 12 standings. Saturday (Oct. 11), the Longhorns fell to Missouri, 3-0, on the road in a Big 12 Conference match. Junior All-American Mira Topic (Kastela Kambelovac, Croatia/Vladimir Nazor) leads the Longhorns in kills this season with 245 (4.45/game) and service aces (22). Junior Bethany Howden (Austin, Texas/Westlake) is second in kills, recording 241 on the season (4.38/game). Freshman middle blocker Brandy Magee (Mission Viejo, Calif./Capistrano Valley) tops the team in hitting percentage (.350) and blocks (63). She has also added 133 kills. Freshman setter Jenny Andrew (Houston, Texas/Kingwood) is the team's only setter and has 671 assists, while sophomore defensive specialist Erin Larson (San Antonio, Texas/Ronald Reagan) has 186 digs to lead the team. Overall, the team is out-hitting opponents, .257 to .212, and out-blocking its opponents, 149.0 to 89.5.
KANSAS STATE IN BRIEF
Kansas State enters Wednesday's match with a 16-3 overall record and a 6-1 mark in Big 12 matches. The Wildcats are ranked eighth in the most recent USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Poll and are second in the Big 12 standings. After dropping its first two matches of the season - to No. 2 Hawaii and No. 3 Florida - K-State won 12-straight before falling to Baylor, 3-1, on Sept. 24. KSU has won its last four matches. Head coach Suzie Fritz's squad is led by Big 12 Preseason Co-Player of the Year senior middle blocker Lauren Goehring. She has 226 kills (3.37/game) and a .421 attack percentage, both tops on the team. Junior outside hitter Valeria Hejjas has 224 kills (3.34/game) and a total of five Wildcats have 100-plus kills. Junior middle blocker Lisa Martin leads the team with 75 blocks, and junior setter Gabby Guerre has 804 assists. The team's libero, Laura Downey-Wallace, has 266 digs.
AGAINST THE WILDCATS
Texas leads the all-time series with Kansas State, 10-6, including a 4-3 mark on the road. In Big 12 play, UT holds a two-match advantage at 8-6. In 2002, Texas won both meetings with K-State: a 3-0 a victory in Manhattan on Sept. 28 and a 3-1 victory over the 19th-ranked Wildcats in Gregory Gym on Nov. 23. The Longhorns won the first eight meetings between the two schools, before KSU won the next six. Texas' two wins last season snapped the Wildcats' winning streak.
LAST MEETING WITH KANSAS STATE
Texas handed No. 19 Kansas State its first loss since Sept. 28, 2002 as the Longhorns won, 3-1 (24-30, 30-20, 30-22, 30-25), in their home finale on Nov. 23, 2002 before 1,702 fans at Gregory Gym. The Longhorns battled back from a 1-0 deficit to take the match and complete the series sweep over Kansas State. Texas hit .202 for the match while holding KSU to a .152 mark. Texas had four players finishing the night with double-digit kills. Mira Topic led all players with 19 kills on 46 attempts, and fell one kill shy of her 11th season double-double, finishing with nine digs. Bethany Howden added 16 digs while Kathy Hahn and each LaTonya Coates each tallied 10 kills. Hahn also had six total blocks.
LAST TIME OUT
Missouri defeated Texas, 3-0, on Saturday, Oct. 11 in Columbia, Mo. The Longhorns came back after a slow start, but still fell to the Tigers, 30-19, 30-26, 42-40. Mira Topic recorded her sixth double-double of the year with 12 kills and 12 digs. The 42-40 third game marked the longest game ever in the Longhorns' history. Prior to Saturday, the longest game in school history was a 37-35 loss at home against Colorado (Nov. 6, 2002). Texas held five game points in the third game before Missouri rallied back to claim the match on their seventh game point. The Longhorns pulled ahead 17-12, but the Tigers chipped away at their lead until pulling even at 27-27. Neither team could string together enough points to take the game until a kill by Mizzou's Nicole Wilson was followed by an ace by Juliana Godoi for the match. Bethany Howden finished the match with a game-high 18 kills and was one of three Longhorns with nine digs. Jenny Andrew and Erin Larson also had nine digs.
SITTING ON THE VERGE OF MILESTONES
With one more victory, Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott will reach two coaching milestones: his 50th win at Texas and his 100th career win overall. Every coach in Longhorns history has accumulated at least 62 wins while coaching the volleyball team at UT.
THEY'RE TALL IN TEXAS
According to research done at richkern.com, Texas has the third-tallest volleyball team in Division I, behind Louisville and Illinois. The Longhorns, who as a team average just under 6-1, trail the Cardinals who average just over 6-1, and the Illini who average 6-1. Pepperdine and Stanford round out the top five tallest teams.
HOWDEN COMING ON STRONG
Bethany Howden has come on strong of late and has been Texas' offensive force since moving to the outside because of the season-ending injury to Dariam Acevedo. In six matches since her positional move, Howden has racked up 99 kills in 21 games (4.71/game). She now sits second on the team in kills with 241, four kills behind Mira Topic. With Acevedo's injury affecting the Longhorns' lineup, Howden was moved to outside hitter from her natural middle blocker position.
ALL-AROUND ANDREW
Jenny Andrew - the team's freshman setter - has become an all-around player for the Longhorns, getting involved in the match far beyond just setting the offense. At 6-2, Andrew is also a force at the net, accumulating 45 blocks (0.82/game) and 74 kills (1.35/game). Against No. 22 Texas A&M (Oct. 1), Andrew proved to be the "Aggie-killer" in the team's upset of its traditional rival. Andrew tied her career high with nine kills and set the team's top mark in blocks for the season with nine (two solo and seven assisted). Andrew has also added 74 digs on the season. She has played every point this season and is the team's captain on the court during the match.
FAMOUS FAMILIES
Several of the Longhorns' family members have also made names for themselves in the sporting world. Jenny Andrew's cousin, Gil Meche, is a pitcher for the Seattle Mariners. Bethany Howden is a second-generation Longhorn as her father - Lynn - was a star on the Texas men's basketball teams in the early 1970's and still holds the UT single-game rebounding record (24). Brandy Magee's father, Kevin, played basketball in the European Pro League. And though not immediate family members, Jessica Curtis' close family friends whom she considers family - Jason (New Jersey Nets) and Jaron (Utah Jazz) Collins - play professional basketball in the NBA.
UP NEXT
Texas will return home to host Texas Tech on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. in Gregory Gym. The game will be televised on KVR-TV (Austin area only). Live stats and Internet audio will also be available at www.TexasSports.com.
Longhorns Preview: No. 8 Kansas State
Complete Preview
Match 16:
Texas (9-7, 4-3) at No. 8 Kansas St. (16-3, 6-1)
When: Wednesday,
Oct. 15 (7 p.m.)
Where: Ahearn Field
House (5,000) - Manhattan, Kan.
Series vs. Kansas State:
Texas leads the all-time series, 10-6, including a 4-3 mark on the road;
UT has won the last two meetings
Last Meeting: Texas defeated No.
19 Kansas St., 3-1, on Nov. 23, 2002 in Gregory Gym
Television: College Sports Television
(CSTV) will tape the game for air on Sunday, Oct. 19 at 5 p.m. (CT)
Live stats: Click
Here
Internet Broadcast:
Click
Here LONGHORN QUICK HITS
UT has only played three road opponents since the beginning ofSeptember
(Oklahoma, Sept. 24; Colorado, Oct. 4; and Missouri, Oct.11). The match
at Kansas State will be the team's fourth league road match, and sixth
overall. Texas is 1-4 away from Gregory Gym this season.
CSTV will tape the Kansas State match for air on Sunday, Oct. 19as part
of its "Sunday Night Spike" package. CSTV can beseen on DirecTV
(channel 610) and Adelphia and Insight cable systems.
In the last four matches, Texas has out-blocked its opponents 57.0to 19.0.
Head coach Jerritt Elliott is one win away from both his 100th career
win and his 50th win at Texas. He is 99-42 overall and49-30 at UT.
The first game of a match is do or die for the Longhorns this season:
the team is 7-0 when winning game one and 2-6 when losing game one. The
team has two come-from-behind victories this season (No. 22 Texas A&M
on Oct. 1 and Baylor on Oct. 8).LONGHORNS IN BRIEF
Texas enters Wednesday's (Oct. 15) match with a 9-7 record overall and a 4-3 mark in Big 12 play. The team is tied for fourth in the Big 12 standings. Saturday (Oct. 11), the Longhorns fell to Missouri, 3-0, on the road in a Big 12 Conference match. Junior All-American Mira Topic (Kastela Kambelovac, Croatia/Vladimir Nazor) leads the Longhorns in kills this season with 245 (4.45/game) and service aces (22). Junior Bethany Howden (Austin, Texas/Westlake) is second in kills, recording 241 on the season (4.38/game). Freshman middle blocker Brandy Magee (Mission Viejo, Calif./Capistrano Valley) tops the team in hitting percentage (.350) and blocks (63). She has also added 133 kills. Freshman setter Jenny Andrew (Houston, Texas/Kingwood) is the team's only setter and has 671 assists, while sophomore defensive specialist Erin Larson (San Antonio, Texas/Ronald Reagan) has 186 digs to lead the team. Overall, the team is out-hitting opponents, .257 to .212, and out-blocking its opponents, 149.0 to 89.5.
KANSAS STATE IN BRIEF
Kansas State enters Wednesday's match with a 16-3 overall record and a 6-1 mark in Big 12 matches. The Wildcats are ranked eighth in the most recent USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Poll and are second in the Big 12 standings. After dropping its first two matches of the season - to No. 2 Hawaii and No. 3 Florida - K-State won 12-straight before falling to Baylor, 3-1, on Sept. 24. KSU has won its last four matches. Head coach Suzie Fritz's squad is led by Big 12 Preseason Co-Player of the Year senior middle blocker Lauren Goehring. She has 226 kills (3.37/game) and a .421 attack percentage, both tops on the team. Junior outside hitter Valeria Hejjas has 224 kills (3.34/game) and a total of five Wildcats have 100-plus kills. Junior middle blocker Lisa Martin leads the team with 75 blocks, and junior setter Gabby Guerre has 804 assists. The team's libero, Laura Downey-Wallace, has 266 digs.
AGAINST THE WILDCATS
Texas leads the all-time series with Kansas State, 10-6, including a 4-3 mark on the road. In Big 12 play, UT holds a two-match advantage at 8-6. In 2002, Texas won both meetings with K-State: a 3-0 a victory in Manhattan on Sept. 28 and a 3-1 victory over the 19th-ranked Wildcats in Gregory Gym on Nov. 23. The Longhorns won the first eight meetings between the two schools, before KSU won the next six. Texas' two wins last season snapped the Wildcats' winning streak.
LAST MEETING WITH KANSAS STATE
Texas handed No. 19 Kansas State its first loss since Sept. 28, 2002 as the Longhorns won, 3-1 (24-30, 30-20, 30-22, 30-25), in their home finale on Nov. 23, 2002 before 1,702 fans at Gregory Gym. The Longhorns battled back from a 1-0 deficit to take the match and complete the series sweep over Kansas State. Texas hit .202 for the match while holding KSU to a .152 mark. Texas had four players finishing the night with double-digit kills. Mira Topic led all players with 19 kills on 46 attempts, and fell one kill shy of her 11th season double-double, finishing with nine digs. Bethany Howden added 16 digs while Kathy Hahn and each LaTonya Coates each tallied 10 kills. Hahn also had six total blocks.
LAST TIME OUT
Missouri defeated Texas, 3-0, on Saturday, Oct. 11 in Columbia, Mo. The Longhorns came back after a slow start, but still fell to the Tigers, 30-19, 30-26, 42-40. Mira Topic recorded her sixth double-double of the year with 12 kills and 12 digs. The 42-40 third game marked the longest game ever in the Longhorns' history. Prior to Saturday, the longest game in school history was a 37-35 loss at home against Colorado (Nov. 6, 2002). Texas held five game points in the third game before Missouri rallied back to claim the match on their seventh game point. The Longhorns pulled ahead 17-12, but the Tigers chipped away at their lead until pulling even at 27-27. Neither team could string together enough points to take the game until a kill by Mizzou's Nicole Wilson was followed by an ace by Juliana Godoi for the match. Bethany Howden finished the match with a game-high 18 kills and was one of three Longhorns with nine digs. Jenny Andrew and Erin Larson also had nine digs.
SITTING ON THE VERGE OF MILESTONES
With one more victory, Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott will reach two coaching milestones: his 50th win at Texas and his 100th career win overall. Every coach in Longhorns history has accumulated at least 62 wins while coaching the volleyball team at UT.
THEY'RE TALL IN TEXAS
According to research done at richkern.com, Texas has the third-tallest volleyball team in Division I, behind Louisville and Illinois. The Longhorns, who as a team average just under 6-1, trail the Cardinals who average just over 6-1, and the Illini who average 6-1. Pepperdine and Stanford round out the top five tallest teams.
HOWDEN COMING ON STRONG
Bethany Howden has come on strong of late and has been Texas' offensive force since moving to the outside because of the season-ending injury to Dariam Acevedo. In six matches since her positional move, Howden has racked up 99 kills in 21 games (4.71/game). She now sits second on the team in kills with 241, four kills behind Mira Topic. With Acevedo's injury affecting the Longhorns' lineup, Howden was moved to outside hitter from her natural middle blocker position.
ALL-AROUND ANDREW
Jenny Andrew - the team's freshman setter - has become an all-around player for the Longhorns, getting involved in the match far beyond just setting the offense. At 6-2, Andrew is also a force at the net, accumulating 45 blocks (0.82/game) and 74 kills (1.35/game). Against No. 22 Texas A&M (Oct. 1), Andrew proved to be the "Aggie-killer" in the team's upset of its traditional rival. Andrew tied her career high with nine kills and set the team's top mark in blocks for the season with nine (two solo and seven assisted). Andrew has also added 74 digs on the season. She has played every point this season and is the team's captain on the court during the match.
FAMOUS FAMILIES
Several of the Longhorns' family members have also made names for themselves in the sporting world. Jenny Andrew's cousin, Gil Meche, is a pitcher for the Seattle Mariners. Bethany Howden is a second-generation Longhorn as her father - Lynn - was a star on the Texas men's basketball teams in the early 1970's and still holds the UT single-game rebounding record (24). Brandy Magee's father, Kevin, played basketball in the European Pro League. And though not immediate family members, Jessica Curtis' close family friends whom she considers family - Jason (New Jersey Nets) and Jaron (Utah Jazz) Collins - play professional basketball in the NBA.
UP NEXT
Texas will return home to host Texas Tech on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. in Gregory Gym. The game will be televised on KVR-TV (Austin area only). Live stats and Internet audio will also be available at www.TexasSports.com.
