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HOUSTON -- Sophomore outside hitter Destinee Hooker connects for a match-high 11 kills to push sixth-ranked Texas Volleyball team past New Mexico State, 3-0 (30-22, 30-21, 30-15), Saturday night in the Athletics/Alumni Center at the Houston Tourney.

Texas (2-2) out-hit New Mexico State (4-1) on the night .275-to-.010, hammering out 39 kills on 91 swings. Hooker led the way for Texas, adding six digs to her 11-kill performance, while freshman outside hitter Juliann Faucette totaled nine kills on .381 hitting and added five digs.

Texas trailed early in game one, but New Mexico State rallied back to take a lead at the 15-13 mark on a service ace by Krystal Torres. The Longhorns responded quickly, piecing together a 12-3 run headlined by Faucette and senior middle blocker Brandy Magee who helped UT push the margin to 25-18. The Aggies narrowed the gap to 25-20, but that would be as close as they would get as Hooker connected for her third kill of the game to give Texas a 30-22 game-two victory.

After falling behind to start the second stanza, UT used a 4-0 run to answer the Aggies early rally and claim a 5-4 advantage. The Longhorns widened their lead to 12-8 with a second 4-0 run highlighted by a Hooker kill and three NMSU miscues. New Mexico State fought back, closing the gap to 21-17 with a block by Kim Oguh and Kelli Goodan, but a 6-1 Texas run paced by two Magee kills sealed the game and moved the Horns lead to 27-18. Freshman utility player Jennifer Doris closed out the game with her second kill of the match to hand Texas a 30-21 win.

Texas took control of the third game from the start and it would never look back, using an early 4-0 run and two points by Magee to take a 6-2 edge. New Mexico State kept the score close until the Longhorns put together a 10-0 run to push their lead to 22-11. Magee led the rally, registering a pair of kills and a block assist, while the Aggies committed six errors. The Aggies briefly responded with three points, but a 7-0 Texas run paced by three Heather Kisner aces moved the Horns' lead to 29-14. Magee and senior setter Michelle Moriarty closed out the match when they blocked a NMSU attack to give UT a 30-15 victory.

Moriarty recorded 30 assists and nine digs on the night and added two block assists, while Magee tallied nine kills on .467 hitting and chipped in four block assists. Junior utility player Lauren Paolini connected for six kills on the night and added two digs, three block assists and two assists.

Texas returns to action Thursday, Sept. 6 when it hosts Cal State Bakersfield in its home opener at the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational at Gregory Gymnasium. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m.

TEXAS POSTMATCH QUOTES
HEAD COACH Jerritt Elliott
On the victory: We played a good match tonight and showed great intensity, fighting for balls, but we still need to establish rhythm with some of our younger players. It is easy to control the match when you control the serving and passing game.

On Destinee Hooker's performance: Destinee's attacking out of the back row makes her more of an all-around player and is adding more options to our offense. She is stretching opponent's defenses and creating opportunities for our other hitters to score.

SENIOR SETTER Michelle Moriarty
On the victory: I thought we played pretty well. Sometimes when you play back-to-back nights you come out slow, but tonight we were solid from the start. We came out strong and we were able to keep the pressure on New Mexico State the whole match.

On spreading the wealth to the different hitters: We are really deep hitting-wise. I think everyone of our hitters can take care of the ball when you set it to them. We have been trying to get a more even set distribution and tonight we were able to get the middles and Lauren Paolini involved a little bit more.