11/15/03
Texas 3, Baylor 0
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| Mira Topic |
WACO, Texas -- The University of Texas defeated Baylor, 3-0, in Big 12 volleyball action on Saturday night before a crowd of 474 at the Ferrell Center on the Baylor campus. The win snapped Texas' (12-13, 7-9 Big 12) three-match losing skid. Baylor (12-18, 4-12 Big 12) dropped its eighth match of its last nine.
Texas finished the match hitting for .327 - registering 50 kills with only 15 errors - while holding Baylor to a .169 hitting mark for the night.
Junior Mira Topic (Kastela Kambelovac, Croatia/Vladimir Nazor) added a game-high 21 kills for Texas. She hit for .486, recording only four errors on 35 attacks. Junior Bethany Howden (Austin, Texas/Westlake) had her second-consecutive double-double her sixth of the season posting 14 kills and a team-high 11 digs. Four other Longhorns freshman Jenny Andrew (Houston, Texas/Kingwood), junior Kathy Hahn (Leander, Texas/Leander), senior Kathryn Wilson (Macomb Township, Mich./Dakota) and freshman Brandy Magee (Mission Viejo, Calif./Capistrano Valley) all had perfect hitting nights as none of them recorded a hitting error on the evening.
"We played well tonight, and I think the most important aspect was our defensive effort," Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott said after the match. "We out-dug Baylor by 11 digs and we were really getting after the ball. Additionally, we were really able to score a lot of points off our transition game and we sided-out very well."
Texas took the first game after the two teams battled through eight ties. The Longhorns opened their largest lead of the game - four points - at 22-18, but Baylor came back to pull within one point at 22-21. Texas regrouped and outscored the Bears, 8-5, to close out the game and earn a 1-0 lead after back-to-back Baylor attack errors gave the game to UT. Topic paced the Longhorns' offense, connecting for nine kills in the game as UT hit for .275 in the stanza. Baylor had an attack percentage of .184 in the first game.
After another tie-filled game in the second featuring 10 knotted scores, Baylor extended a three-point lead at 23-20. However, the Bears were unable to remain in control and committed six errors as the game wound down to help Texas outscore them, 10-3, down the stretch. The Longhorns hit for .333 in the game, while limiting Baylor to a .194 mark. Topic had seven kills in the game to lead the team.
Texas opened the third game with momentum, extending a 14-5 lead before Baylor managed to climb back within four points at 16-12. UT benefited from an 11-3 run to open a 12-point lead at 24-14. The Bears strung together four-straight points to pull within nine at 28-19, but the Longhorns were able to hold on for the game and the match. UT continued to improve its hitting, striking for a .378 attack percent, while holding the Bears to a match-low mark of .136 in the third. Texas committed only two errors in the final game on its way to its first 3-0 victory since Oct. 18 (Texas Tech at home).
The Longhorns will next return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 19 when the team hosts Colorado in a 7 p.m. match at Gregory Gym. Live stats and Internet audio will both be available at www.TexasSports.com.
