10/8/03

Texas 3, Baylor 1

» Box score

	Jenny Andrew

AUSTIN, Texas - The University of Texas volleyball team defeated Baylor, 3-1, on Wednesday night before 1,482 fans in UT's Gregory Gym in a Big 12 Conference match. The Longhorns rallied from a one-game deficit to win the match, 35-33, 33-31, 30-26, 30-24. With the win, Texas improved to 9-6 overall and 4-2 in the Big 12 Conference, while Baylor fell to 10-9 overall and 2-4 in league play.

The match marked the team's second come-back from at least a 1-0 deficit this season. Four Longhorns - juniors Kathy Hahn (Leander, Texas/Leander), Bethany Howden (Austin, Texas/Westlake) and Mira Topic (Kastela Kambelovac, Croatia/Vladimir Nazor) and freshman Brandy Magee (Mission Viejo, Calif./Capistrano Valley) - each registered 14 or more kills. Topic and Howden recorded double-doubles, Topic with 19 kills and 11 digs and Howden with 19 kills and 10 digs. Both defensive players for Texas had double-figure digs, as Erin Larson (San Antonio, Texas/Ronald Reagan) continued her strong backcourt play with 17 digs and Whitney Garvens (New Braunfels, Texas/New Braunfels) added 13.

"Tonight we showed a lot of good things," Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott said after the match. "I was proud we were able to overcome the first game and take the win. We were resilient and that's what you need to be successful in this conference. We passed really well tonight and that helped us balance our attack."

After Baylor jumped out to a 19-12 lead, UT went on its own 13-6 run using a balanced attack and pulled even at 25-25. The two teams battled back and forth, and Texas held five game points before Baylor rebounded with three straight points to win the game at 35-33. UT hit .316 in the game, while the Bears countered with a .298 mark. Baylor, however, had 57 attacks to the Longhorns' 38.

UT pulled together and took the next three games to win the match. In the second, Texas took an 11-6 lead, but Baylor came back to take a 17-15 advantage. Play went on evenly past 30 points, until Howden put away the game with a kill. Texas hit a strong .432 in the second and held Baylor to a .261 mark.

After Baylor went ahead 17-14 in the third game, Texas closed the game with a 16-9 run and took a 2-1 lead into the fourth game. Topic and Hahn each recorded six kills in the game.

In the final game, the two teams remained square until Texas used a 10-2 run to move ahead 20-12. The Longhorns benefited from five kills apiece from Magee and Topic, while hitting .310 as a team.

The Longhorns continued their strong play at the net, out-blocking the Bears 11.0 to 6.0. Three UT players - Magee, Hahn and setter Jenny Andrew (Houston, Texas/Kingwood) - had four blocks each.

For Baylor, Tisha Schwartz had a game-high 23 kills and added 11 digs. Kelly Spriggs had 14 kills, Andrea Vakulya had 13 and Desiree Guilliard-Young had 12. Stevie Nicholas had a team-high 14 digs. Guilliard-Young had four blocks at the net.

Texas had its highest hitting percentage in league play so far in 2003, connecting for a .323 mark. Baylor had a .236 percentage.

"We came back after a tough loss the other night at Colorado to earn this win," Elliott added. "Baylor played tough and came in determined. We have to continue playing strong defense as we head to Missouri this weekend."

The Longhorns will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 11 when they travel to Columbia, Mo. to take on Missouri. Game time is set for 2 p.m. at the Hearnes Center. A live Internet broadcast can be accessed at www.TexasSports.com or at mutigers.ocsn.com.