No. 2 Volleyball shows off "Texas Fight"
Oct. 31, 2009
AUSTIN, Texas -- In seasons like this, sometimes situations defy strategy, outcomes defy explanation. The second-ranked Texas Volleyball team used a 3-0 victory against No. 8 Nebraska on Friday night to stay undefeated on the season, take a tighter hold on the conference race and sweep the Cornhuskers in the regular season for the first time in Big 12 history. And still, nothing went according to plan. The Longhorns won simply because they fought. UT covets offensive balance, and yet Destinee Hooker’s 40 swings were more than twice as many as any of her teammates. The Longhorns have built a reputation of a clean-passing team. They side-out with amazing proficiency, and yet against the Cornhuskers couldn’t muster anything better than 60 percent efficiency. When UT held a 2-0 lead, and seemingly all the momentum, the Longhorns came out of the locker room and promptly fell back on the their heels. Nebraska claimed a quick 10-4 lead, and after a 7-2 UT run pulled the set even, Nebraska took another daunting lead at 18-15. The Cornhuskers then scored just one more point the rest of the set. How? “We just kept fighting,” head coach Jerritt Elliott explained, “and we made some big plays.” Hooker made a lot of them. She led the match with 19 kills, and accounted for six points during UT’s match-ending 10-1 surge. Elliott notes that Hooker “wants the ball when it’s crunch time.” But special teams allow special players to make plays, and that’s what more than 4,000 rowdy fans witnessed. So, when Hooker threw down a monster kill to give the Longhorns their only match point of the night, she celebrated with some tenacity that acknowledged not only her effort, but also her teammates. “I got some eye contact from Ashley (Engle) and a good pass from Heather (Kisner),” Hooker said. “And I terminated the ball.”
When the Longhorns review this victory on film and on paper, they will inevitably see all the areas they can improve -- better passing, better blocking, better balance. And yet, among all the things they did “wrong,” the Longhorns are doing just as many that are right. UT’s .326 hitting percentage is the highest allowed by the Cornhuskers this season. UT hasn’t dropped a set at Gregory Gym all year, and is now 18-0 overall -- with 10 of those wins coming against ranked opponents. The Longhorns are also 5-0 against teams ranked in the top 10, and travel to No. 9 Iowa State on Wednesday night. The Longhorns keep doing it, match after match, when the magic is there, and even when it’s not. “We battle. We fight,” Elliott says. “We play tough.” |
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