Matches #1 and #2
No. 11 Texas at the Shamrock Invitational
Joyce Center -- Notre Dame, Ind.
MATCH #1: No. 11 Texas (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. ARIZONA STATE (1-2, 0-0 Pac-10)
When: Friday, Sept. 2, 7 p.m. Central
Where: Notre Dame, Ind. (Joyce Center)
All-Time Series Record: Texas leads, 4-1 (1-0 home, 0-0 away, 3-1 neutral)
Series Streak: Texas has won the last two meetings, dating back to 1981
First Meeting: Sept. 23, 1978 - ASU won, 2-0, at the San Diego State Invitational
Last Meeting: Oct 15, 1983 - UT won, 3-1, at the Longhorn-Converse Invitational
Elliott vs. Arizona State: 4-0 (all while head coach at Southern California)
MATCH #2: No. 11 TEXAS vs. NOTRE DAME (1-0, 0-0 Big East)
When: Saturday, Sept. 3, 5 p.m. Central
Where: Notre Dame, Ind. (Joyce Center)
Television: CSTV will air a tape-delayed broadcast on Sunday, Sept. 4, at 5 p.m.
All-Time Series Record: Texas leads, 7-2 (4-2 at home, 2-0 on the road, 1-0 neutral)
Series Streak: Notre Dame won the last meeting after Texas had won the previous three
First Meeting: Oct. 17, 1987 - UT won, 3-0, in Austin
Last Meeting: Sept. 6, 2003 - Notre Dame won, 3-0 in Austin
Last Texas victory: Oct. 21, 1997 - UT won, 3-1, in Austin
Elliott vs. Notre Dame: 1-1 (0-1 at Texas, 1-0 at Southern California)
QUICK HITS
· Texas is 26-5 (.839) all-time in season openers ... Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott is 5-1 all-time in season openers, and 3-1 at Texas ... last season, the Horns opened with a 3-0 victory over SMU at the Mustangs' SMU Invitational
· The Big 12 Conference coaches selected Texas to finish third in the 11-team conference, according to the 2005 Preseason Coaches Poll ... defending champion and national preseason No. 1 Nebraska finished first, followed by Missouri in second ... Texas A&M and Kansas rounded out the top five.
· Texas begins the 2005 season right where it ended 2004: ranked 11th in the preseason AVCA Poll, marking the team's highest preseason ranking since 1998 (No. 9).
· The Shamrock Invitational kicks off the 32nd year of Texas volleyball ... the squad has an all-time record of 862-324-14 (.724) in 1,200 matches.
· This year, UT returns four starters and the team's libero from its 2004 squad - outside hitter Dariam Acevedo, outside hitter Jen Christian, middle blocker Brandy Magee, setter Michelle Moriarty and Alyson Jennings in the back row as the libero ... the staff also welcomes back setter Jenny Andrew and middle blocker Leticia Armstrong, both letterwinners in 2004.
· Texas welcomes five newcomers, including three freshman: outside hitter/middle blocker Lauren Paolini, outside hitter/middle blocker RuthAnn Feist and defensive specialist/outside hitter Kiley Hall ... UT also welcomes a pair of incoming upperclassmen: junior transfer at middle blocker, Jennifer Todd, and senior opposite hitter, Heather Schreiber, who just completed a four-year career on the UT women's basketball team.
· The Texas team has a nice connection to the Notre Dame program ... assistant coach Brian Hosfeld's wife - Jaimie (Lee) - was the 1996 and 1997 Big East Most Valuable Player while a member of the Notre Dame squad.
· Texas welcomed its newest Longhorn to the family on July 26, when head coach Jerritt Elliott and his wife Sarah (Silvernail, a former All-American at Washington State) saw their second child, Parker, born.
WHAT RETURNS THIS YEAR
With the departure of two All-American offensive forces this year, one can predict a substancial amout of the team's offense needs to be replaced ... the following is a list of what returns to the court this season:
· Kills 732 of 1,794 40.8%
· Errors 259 of 587 44.0%
· Attacks 1,741 of 3,956 44.1%
· Hitting Perc. .272 (.305 in 2004)
· Digs 991 of 1,612 61.5%
· Aces 108 of 176 61.4%
· Block Solos 36 of 70 51.4%
· Block Assists 215 of 373 57.6%
· Total Blocks 143.5 of 256.5 55.9%
It should be noted that these totals of returning stats does not include what Jennifer Todd contributed at Washington State in 2004.
THEY GROW 'EM TALL IN TEXAS
Texas is tied as the nation's tallest team, according to research at RichKern.com ... UT is tied with Louisville with an average height of 6-1 1/12 inch ... Texas' attacking players - only those who play in the front row - average 6-2 1/4 inches, a height not many teams can match ... overall, four of the 11 Big 12 teams were ranked in the top 15 tallest teams and six in the top 30:
1. TEXAS 6-1 1/12
2. Louisville 6-1 1/12
3. Nebraska 6-0 11/12
4. Pepperdine 6-0 5/6
5. Stanford 6-0
5. Florida A&M 6-0
7. Maryland 5-11 3/4
7. Michigan 5-11 3/4
9. Baylor 5-11 5/8
9. Pacific 5-11 5/8
