10/18/03
Texas 3, Texas Tech 0
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| Jerritt Elliott |
AUSTIN, Texas -- The University of Texas volleyball team defeated Texas Tech, 3-0, on Saturday night in front of 2,257 fans at Gregory Gym on the UT campus. Texas (10-8, 5-4 Big 12) used wins in three straight games - 30-28, 30-28, 30-19 - to gain its fifth-straight victory over the Red Raiders. With the loss, Texas Tech (8-10, 0-9 Big 12) remains winless in the Big 12 Conference this season.
With the victory, UT head coach Jerritt Elliott recorded his 100th career win and his 50th win at UT. Texas also improved their record to 7-0 against Texas-based schools this season.
Junior Mira Topic (Kastela Kambelovac, Croatia/Vladimir Nazor) paced the Texas attack with 14 kills, nine digs and five blocks (including a career-high four solo blocks). Junior Bethany Howden (Austin, Texas/Westlake) added 13 kills and freshman Brandy Magee (Mission Viejo, Calif./Capistrano Valley) had 10 kills.
"Our defensive systems really came together as the match wore on," Elliott said after the match. "We played well and we needed this win to keep pace in the (Big 12) Conference standings. We had a tough loss at (No. 8) Kansas State on Wednesday, so this win was crucial to get back on track."
At 10-10 in the first game, Texas used a 10-3 run to pull ahead 20-13. The Red Raiders climbed back to within one point, 28-27, before the Longhorns utilitized two Kathy Hahn (Leander, Texas/Leander) kills to take the game. Texas out-hit Tech, .314 to .278, in the game, and Topic had six kills in the stanza.
Tech extended an 11-8 lead in the second game before Texas responded with a 7-1 run to take the lead at 15-12. The Longhorns gained their biggest lead of the game four points at 16-12 after a Red Raider service error, before Tech began to chip away and pull to 21-20. UT regained its lead with a 5-1 run to move to 26-21, but the Red Raiders battled back again to force a tie at 28-28. Topic's back-to-back kills gave the Longhorns two fast points and the team the second game.
In the third and final game, the two teams played evenly until 12-12 when Texas jumped ahead to 19-14. The teams kept a five-point cushion, until Magee served out the game with five-straight points, capping the match with an ace. The Longhorns again out-hit the visitors, .294 to .021, in the final game.
Libero Erin Larson (San Antonio, Texas/Ronald Reagan) added 12 digs for the Longhorns. Meanwhile, Texas Tech was led by Kelly Johnson, who had 16 kills, Breanna Pursley had 11 kills for the Red Raiders, and setter Laura Grote added 11 digs.
The Longhorns return to action on Wednesday, Oct. 22 for a 7 p.m. match Kansas. The Big 12 Conference match will be played at the Jayhawks' Horejsi Family Athletics Center.
