There is always strength in numbers, and for the 2007 UT volleyball team, the team's strength and depth is indicated at all positions, including setter. Texas enters 2007 with a talented group of setters that includes a pair of All-Americans. Senior Michelle Moriarty and sophomore Ashley Engle provide Texas with one of the most formidable setting tandems in the country.
HEADLINES
· Texas has a pair of setters with All-America credentials, led by senior Michelle Moriarty who is coming of her second straight All-America season ... her 13.68 assists per game average in 2006 ranked fourth nationally and topped the Big 12 Conference ... she recorded 1,587 assists in 2006, marking the third-best single-season total in UT history ... owns the Texas career assists record with 4,358 assists in her first three seasons.
· Sophomore Ashley Engle was a Second Team All-America selection at opposite hitter in 2006 ... set for the Junior National Team and adds another dimension at the net with her attacking and blocking abilities.
· Moriarty was selected to train with the USA Volleyball A-2 squad in 2007, while Engle competed for the USA Junior National team this summer at the FIVB U-20 World Championships in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
RETURNEES
Ashley Engle (#10, 6-3, So.-1L)
2006 AVCA All-America Second Team, Central Region Player of the year, First Team All-Region, First Team All-Big 12, Big 12 Freshman of the Year ... led the Longhorns with a team-high 463 kills while posting a 3.99 kills per-game average ... ranked second on the squad in digs (329), digs per-game (2.84), service aces (33) and assists (89), while ranking third on the team with 88 total blocks
Michelle Moriarty (#4, 5-10, Sr.-3L)
2006 AVCA All-America Third Team, All-Region Honorable Mention, All-Big 12 Honorable Mention ... became Texas' career leader in assists, registering 1,587 assists on the year and moving her career total to 4,358 ... recorded a team-high 34 service aces and added 2.66 digs per-game, a mark good for fourth-best on the squad ... fourth nationally with 13.68 assists per game.
ELLIOTT'S OUTLOOK: SETTERS
"We return All-American Michelle Moriarty, who's been our starter for three years and brings tremendous experience to the court as a co-captain. She knows how to win. Her leadership and experience will enable Michelle to lead her teammates down a road that this group has not seen in regards to the goal of reaching the national semifinals, the final four. Ashley Engle set with the Junior National Team all summer and she gives us the ability to do some different things in our lineup. We could run a 5-1 with Michelle, or we could always look to running a 6-2 with Ashley as well. Ashley allows us to look at different lineups that could help us be at our best by the end of the year."
