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Oct. 4, 2008

AUSTIN, Texas -- The third-ranked Texas Volleyball team hit at a season-best .482 clip and junior All-America outside hitter Destinee Hooker recorded 16 kills as the Longhorns swept No. 17 Kansas State, 3-0 at Gregory Gymnasium. The Horns 25-20, 25-21, 25-16 victory improved UT to 10-2 on the year and 4-1 in Big 12 play, while the Wildcats fell to 14-3 overall and 4-2 in league action.

Hooker headlined the Horns' comeback victory in the first set, registering nine kills, while the team hit at a .607 clip in the frame. Texas fell behind 10-6 early in the set, but a 4-0 run paced by kills from Hooker and junior All-America opposite hitter Ashley Engle knotted the game at 10. The Horns claimed their first lead at 12-11 on a block by Hooker and sophomore middle blocker Jennifer Doris. Texas pushed the lead to five at the 20-15 mark and Hooker hammered out three kills down the stretch to lift UT to a 25-20 set win.

In the second stanza, Texas captured its first advantage at the 7-6 mark on a KSU error and pushed its lead to five (16-11) on a kill by sophomore All-America outside hitter Juliann Faucette. The Wildcats battled to close the gap to three at the 21-18 mark, but kills by Doris and Engle late in the frame propelled the Horns to a 25-21 victory.

The Longhorns fell behind again in the third set until a 4-0 run highlighted by two Faucette solo blocks put UT ahead, 9-6. A second 4-0 Texas run pushed the margin to 14-8, and the Longhorns grabbed their largest lead of the night at the 20-11 mark on a block by Faucette and Doris. The Horns kept the heat on late and a Hooker kill closed out the set and the match with UT leading, 25-16.

Hooker added eight digs, four block assists and a .412 hitting percentage to her match-best kill total. Engle totaled 10 kills on .444 hitting and chipped in two assists, six digs and four block assists. Paolini notched seven kills on seven attacks and a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage, while Faucette amassed eight kills, four assists, eight digs, five total blocks, three solo blocks and a .412 attack mark.

Texas returns to action on Wednesday, Oct. 8 when it plays host to Big 12 foe Baylor. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m.

POST-MATCH NOTES

• Texas' victory improved its all-time record against Kansas State to 20-7. The Longhorns have now won their last nine meetings with the Wildcats.
• Destinee Hooker's 16 kills pushed her career total to 995 and moved her into 16th place all-time at Texas. Hooker passed Karen Kramer's (1984-1987) 988-kill mark in the record book.
• Lauren Paolini recorded her 345th total block of her career against KSU, moving her into 15th place in Texas' all-time total blocks list. Paolini passed Laura Neugebauer's (1982-85) 343 total blocks in the record book.
• Michelle Kocher's 38 assists and 12 digs against the Wildcats was the fourth assist/dig double-double of her career.
• Juliann Faucette's four assists and three solo blocks both set a new career-high for the sophomore All-American.
• Texas out-blocked Kansas State on the night, 11.5-to-1.0.

TEXAS QUOTES
HEAD COACH Jerritt Elliott
General statement: This is the first time we've been consistent all year long. We only gave up one little run to start the third set. We were extremely efficient and our defense has significantly improved. I just liked the demeanor and positive energy this group was able to create tonight.

On UT's impressive offensive outing: This was one of the first times all year that everyone was clicking. When you have that in addition to our firepower, it's tough to defend. You have to a lot to our service players who did a nice job and took care of the ball.

On Texas' blocking: It's an area we've been focusing on. We've been primarily focusing on our side out rhythm, but the most important thing to our defense is blocking in our transition game. When we block well, our defense does some better things.

On Texas' having fun tonight: It's important that this team plays relaxed. We've got a lot of high level athletes that want to be great. This team is working on its chemistry. It's a new year and as each week passes, we're seeing a better demeanor, more team trust being developed, learning to deal with the target on your back and playing up to the standards that are set in our gym.

On the fans turning out despite the football game: I would like to commend our fans for coming out tonight. They made a big difference in the match. It shows that there's a lot of excitement for Texas Volleyball in the community.

JUNIOR OPPOSITE HITTER Ashley Engle
On what worked well: I think we found our rhythm early. We've been working on our routines individually and as a team in practice and that helps us stay focused mentally throughout the whole game. We didn't have too many highs or lows whether we were winning or losing; we just kept the same state of mind.

On what the win against Kansas State does for the team's future: It builds confidence. This is one of the first times we put a whole match together consistently. We have a tough game coming up on Wednesday against Baylor, and hopefully we can just keep building and getting better.

On whether the team played the best it has played all season: Collectively as team, this is the best we've played. We were just enjoying volleyball and that's one of the most important things. We had fun tonight.