MATCH #1: No. 8 TEXAS (0-0) vs. No. 9 WISCONSIN (0-0)
When: Friday, Aug. 25, 7 p.m. Central
Where: Madison, Wis. (UW Field House)
All-Time Series Record: Texas leads, 2-1 (2-0 home, 0-1 away)
Series Streak: Wisconsin won the last meeting in 1997 (3-0)
First Meeting: Sept. 9, 1983; UT won, 3-0
Last Meeting: Sept. 19, 1997; UW won, 3-0
Elliott vs. Wisconsin: 0-0
MATCH #2: No. 8 TEXAS vs. No. 3 Washington (0-0) or No. 15 Ohio (0-0)
When: Saturday, Aug. 26, 5 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. Central
Where: Madison, Wis. (UW Field House)
All-Time Series Record: Texas leads Washington, 3-1 (0-1 at home, 1-0 on the road, 2-0 neutral); First meeting with Ohio in the sport of volleyball
Series Streak: UW: Texas won the last meeting in 2001; UT and OU have never met
First Meeting with UW/OU: Sept. 24, 1982 -- UT won, 3-1; UT and Ohio have never met
Last Meeting with UW/OU: Sept. 1, 2001 -- UT won, 3-1; UT and Ohio have never met
Elliott vs. UW/OU: 5-0 (1-0 at Texas, 4-0 at Southern California); Has not coached against Ohio
Quick Hits
· Texas is 27-5 (.844) all-time in season openers ... Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott is 6-1 all-time in season openers, and 4-1 at Texas ... last season, the Horns opened with a 3-0 victory over Arizona State at the Shamrock Invitational in South Bend, Ind.
· The Big 12 Conference coaches selected Texas to finish second in the 11-team conference, according to the 2006 Preseason Coaches Poll ... 2005 NCAA runner-up and national preseason No. 1 Nebraska finished first, followed by Texas in second ... Missouri and Kansas State rounded out the top five.
· Texas begins the 2006 season ranked 8th in the preseason AVCA Poll, marking the team's highest preseason ranking since 1998 (No. 9).
· The AVCA Volleyball Showcase kicks off the 33rd year of Texas volleyball ... the squad has an all-time record of 886-329-14 (.727) in 1,229 matches.
· This year, UT returns all five starters and the team's libero from its 2005 squad -- outside hitters Dariam Acevedo and Jen Christian, middle blockers Brandy Magee and Leticia Armstrong, setter Michelle Moriarty and Alyson Jennings in the back row as the libero ... the staff also welcomes back senior middle blocker Jennifer Todd, sophomore libero Kiley Hall, and sophomore utility player Lauren Paolini, each letterwinners in 2005.
· Texas welcomes three newcomers, all freshmen: setter/right-side hitter Ashley Engle (Yorba Linda, Calif.), outside hitter Destinee Hooker (San Antonio, Texas) and defensive specialist Heather Kisner (Sugar Land, Texas). This recruiting class was ranked No. 2 nationally by PrepVolleyball.com.
· UT coach Jerritt Elliott played for Washington head coach Jim McLaughlin and Wisconsin assistant coach Rod Wilde when he was a player at Pepperdine from 1986-88. Wilde served as the head coach of the Waves, while McLaughlin served as his assistant during Elliott's playing days.
· UT assistant coach Brian Hosfeld and his wife, Jaimie (Lee), welcomed the newest Longhorn on Tuesday, Aug. 15. Brian and Jaimie welcomed their second child and first son, Max Carson Hosfeld, who joins his sister, Ella, 2.
UT PICKED SECOND IN BIG 12
Texas was picked to finish second in the Big 12, according to the 2006 Preseason Big 12 Coaches Poll released in August ... the Longhorns garnered 93 votes, including three first-place votes, to place second behind defending league champion Nebraska (98 votes) ... Missouri (79), Kansas State (71) and Texas A&M (57) rounded out the top five ... Colorado (51), Kansas (45), Iowa State (37), Baylor (35), Oklahoma (27) and Texas Tech (12) filled out the 11-team poll.
ARMSTRONG, MORIARTY & MAGEE GARNER PRESEASON HONORS
Senior middle blocker Brandy Magee, junior middle blocker Leticia Armstrong and junior setter Michelle Moriarty each were chosen to the 13-member 2006 Preseason All-Big 12 Team ... all three Horns earned first-team All-Big 12 selections in 2005.
WHAT RETURNS THIS YEAR
Texas returns nine letterwinners and each starter from the 2005 squad that finished 24-5 and fell to Hawaii in the NCAA round of 32 ... The only departing letterwinner, Heather Schreiber, played her lone season of collegiate volleyball in 2005 after enjoying an outstanding basketball career at Texas.
A FRESHMAN AND A CHAMPION
Freshman Destinee Hooker has yet to play a collegiate volleyball match at The University of Texas, but she already has an NCAA Championship ring and an NCAA individual title to her credit ... Destinee, the younger sister of former UT All-America sprinter/jumper Marshevet Hooker, enrolled at Texas and began training with the UT track and field and volleyball squads in January after completing her high school curriculum at San Antonio's Southwest High School last December ... A three-sport (volleyball, basketball, track and field) prep standout, Hooker made an immediate impact in collegiate track and field, as she claimed the Big 12 indoor high jump title with a winning leap of 6-3 1/2 ... Hooker went on to take third place (6-1 1/4) at the NCAA Indoor Championships to help the Longhorns win the NCAA indoor championship ... Hooker joined her sister as an NCAA individual champion when she captured the high jump at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a winning leap of 6-2 1/4, helping the Longhorns to a sixth-place team finish ... Hooker is the fourth Longhorn in the last three years to enroll at UT in January, joining teammates Jen Christian, RuthAnn Feist and former Longhorn Sarah Holloway
THE ALL-AMERICA TRIO
Texas' 24-5 season in 2005 yielded All-America honors for middle blockers Leticia Armstrong and Brandy Magee and setter Michelle Moriarty ... Armstrong, a second-team All-American, posted team leading marks of 3.19 kills per game, 135 blocks and 1.36 blocks per game last season ... Magee, a third-team All-American is UT's all-time leader in hitting percentage at .363 ... Magee hit .377 in 2005 for the third highest single-season mark in school history ... Moriarty, an honorable mention All-American, posted 1,392 assists last season, good for the eighth highest single-season mark in team history ... Moriarty has led the Longhorns to their top two hitting marks in school history in each of the last two seasons, including a school-record .305 in 2004.
HIGH SCHOOL REUNION
Both of Texas' primary back-row players reunited last season after playing high school and club volleyball together ... junior Alyson Jennings and sophomore Kiley Hall were teammates at Newport Harbor High School in Costa Mesa, Calif., before arriving at Texas ... they also played on the same club team -- Orange County Volleyball Club -- before coming to the 40 Acres ... the pair led Newport Harbor to the 2003 CIF Division II state championship ... according to the players, they have been friends and teammates since they were 8 and 7, respectively, when they first played on the same youth soccer team.
HEAD COACH Jerritt Elliott
Head coach Jerritt Elliott is in his sixth season at the helm of the Texas Volleyball program ... in his first five years, Elliott compiled a record of 106-46 (.697) to go with his seven-year career record of 155-58 (.728) ... with a 3-2 victory at Colorado on Nov. 9, 2005, Elliott recorded both his 150th career victory and his 100th career UT victory.
FAB 50 INVADES AUSTIN
Of the 14 members of the Texas volleyball team, 10 of them are former Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 recruits ... Seniors Jenny Andrew and Brandy Magee, juniors Leticia Armstrong, Jen Christian and Michelle Moriarty, sophomore Lauren Paolini, redshirt freshman RuthAnn Feist and freshmen Ashley Engle and Destinee Hooker were all named to the prestigious list after their senior years in high school.
UP NEXT
The Longhorns will travel to Malibu, Calif., to play in the Pepperdine Tournament, September 1-2 ... UT will face Pepperdine, Cal Poly and Long Island in the two-day event ... Texas opens its home schedule on September 7 and 8 with the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational in Austin.
