11/26/03
Texas 3, Texas Tech 0
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| Brandy Magee |
LUBBOCK, Texas -- Texas dominated in all aspects on the match, and earned a 3-0 victory over Texas Tech in a Big 12 Conference meeting on Wednesday night. UT did not commit its first error until the third game and connected for a scorching .388 attack percentage in the 30-18, 30-19, 30-28 win over the Red Raiders.
Three Longhorns recorded double-figure kills on the night, led by freshman Brandy Magee (Mission Viejo, Calif./Capistrano Valley) and junior Bethany Howden (Austin, Texas/Westlake) who each had 12. Magee ended the night with a .667 attack percentage and no errors. Junior Mira Topic (Kastela Kambelovac, Croatia/Vladimir Nazor) had 11 kills. Sophomore Erin Larson (San Antonio, Texas/Ronald Reagan) had 18 digs.
Overall, besides out-hitting Tech .388 to .109, the
Longhorns out-blocked their hosts, 11.5 to 4.0.
For the Red Raiders, Breanna Pursley had 12 kills and setter Laura
Grote had a double-double with 27 assists and 11 digs.
"Our team was mentally prepared tonight and this was some of our best blocking of the season," Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott said after the match. "We played well on both sides of the ball and had a tremendous night with our serve receive. We didn't have an error until the third game, which we had a lot of long rallies, but we were able to close out the match on a positive note."
Texas set the tone for the first game early, jumping out to a 3-0 lead right out of the gates including two blocks in the first three points. After maintaining a two-point cushion until 7-5, the Longhorns strung together an 11-4 run to pull ahead 16-9. UT continued to build it lead, and reached a 10-point advantage at 21-11. Tech inched closer, moving to within eight points twice, but Texas - riding a spurt by Magee (two kills, one block) - closed out the first game with a 5-1 run.
Texas dominated the first, connecting for a .560 attack percentage, which included 14 kills on 25 attacks with no errors. The Longhorns also benefited from seven blocks, led by Magee’s three.
UT fell behind for the first time in the match, at 1-0 in the second game, but then went on a 7-2 run to move ahead 7-3. The Longhorns continued to benefit from strong hitting and blocking, moving to a 21-14 lead, and then ran out the game with a 6-1 run.
As in the first game, UT dominated the net, out-hitting Tech, .667 to .143, and out-blocking the Red Raiders 3.5 to 0.0. Topic had six kills in the game, as well as three blocks.
After the Longhorns strode ahead 14-9 in the first game, Tech came roaring back with its own 8-1 run and took the lead at 17-15. UT stormed back with its own rally - a 7-1 run - to regain the lead and move ahead to 25-21 before Tech got back in the match. The Red Raiders used a 7-2 run to pull even at 27-27, but Texas took two quick points to move ahead 29-27. Magee closed out the game with a kill in the center of the court, and gave the Longhorns a 3-0 victory on the road.
“Our match against Kansas State on Saturday will be huge,” Elliott said. “The outcome of the match could determine the rest of our season in terms of an NCAA Tournament bid. We need to win to have a chance of being selected.”
The Longhorns close out the regular season when they host the fifth-ranked Wildcats at 7 p.m. in Gregory Gym. Seniors Whitney Garvens (New Braunfels, Texas/New Braunfels) and Kathryn Wilson (Macomb Township, Mich./Dakota) will be honored in a brief ceremony prior to the match.
