No. 17 Volleyball sweeps Lipscomb to open tournament
OXFORD, Miss. -- Lauren Paolini led the 17th-ranked Texas volleyball team in kills for the third time in as many matches as UT defeated Lipscomb, 30-14, 30-17, 30-18, in the first of the team's four matches at the Ole Miss Magnolia Tournament at the Gillom Center. Paolini had 12 kills and hit .320 for the match, adding six digs and a career-high five aces. Dariam Acevedo had nine kills and hit .438 and Leticia Armstrong added eight kills on a perfect attack percentage (1.000) and four blocks, including the match's only solo effort, in two games. Brandy Magee chipped in six attacks and a .500 attack percentage in only two games. Alyson Jennings had a match-high 13 digs for UT. Texas (2-1) hit .423 in the match and held Lipscomb (0-6) to only a .077 mark while leading in every category: kills (43-25), aces (10-0), digs (33-21) and blocks (8-1). The match was Texas' shortest of the season, lasting only 1:08. For the Bison, Jessica Turner led the way offensively with six of the team's 25 kills, while Jessica Enderle added five in the loss. Lindsey Rutherford had a team-high five digs and connected for four kills. Texas came out and dominated in game one, hitting .586 with only one error to 18 kills. Paolini had five kills to pace the team while Magee, Acevedo and Armstrong each added three apiece. The Longhorns jumped out early, pulling ahead to 8-2 before Lipscomb called a time out. Coming out of the break, the Bison closed the gap to five points - at 12-7 - but Texas then pulled away with a 5-1 run to move to 17-8. The Horns closed the game on a 9-1 run, highlighted by six-straight points on Acevedo's serve, to take the one-game lead. In the second game, UT again came out strong, connecting for a .391 attack percentage while holding the Bison to a .000 mark. Paolini added seven kills and Magee swung for three. The two teams traded points until 6-6 when UT strung together a 5-1 run to move ahead for good. The closest Lipscomb got was two points - at 12-10 - as the Longhorns moved ahead, 21-13. Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott switched setters at 21-14, inserting Jenny Andrew for Michelle Moriarty for the rest of the match and UT responded with a 5-0 run. Lipscomb took its first lead of the game - 3-0 - in the third and final game and pushed ahead to 6-4, but then Texas rallied for six straight points to take the lead for good. The Horns continued to build their advantage to as many as eight points before they closed out the match with a 7-3 run to complete the sweep. The Longhorns return to action later on Friday evening when they face host Ole Miss at 7:30 p.m.
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