Volleyball preview: Baylor
MATCH #21: No. 8 TEXAS (16-5, 11-3 Big 12) vs. Baylor (15-10, 4-9 Big 12) · Texas remained at No. 8 in the latest CSTV/AVCA poll, released Monday, Oct. 30 ... UT has been ranked in the Top 10 of the poll in 9-of-10 weeks this season ... The Longhorns began the 2006 campaign ranked 8th in the preseason poll, marking the team's highest preseason ranking since 1998 (9) ... Texas earned its highest ranking in the poll Sept. 11 when it was voted No. 5, staying there for two weeks. · The Big 12 Conference named Destinee Hooker its co-player of the week Oct. 30 for the second straight week ... Hooker led UT to a pair of Big 12 road victories last week, posting 15 kills on .312 hitting in the Horns' 3-1 win over Texas Tech and 14 kills on .520 hitting to drop Colorado, 3-0 ... For the week Hooker averaged 4.83 kills per game, 1.17 blocks per game and 1.67 digs per game, while hitting at a .404 clip over a six game span ... Hooker was named POW, Oct. 23 after totaling 50 kills against No. 1 Nebraska and No. 23 Oklahoma ... The freshman set a new career-high with 26 kills against Oklahoma (Oct. 21) ... She hit at a .538 clip against the Huskers and paced the Horns with a .364 attack mark and five total blocks against the Sooners ... Last week's award was the first volleyball POW award for Hooker, but the third overall after garnering POW honors last spring in indoor and outdoor track and field. · Freshman outside hitter Ashley Engle has recorded a kill/dig double-double in eight of her last 10 matches, dating back to Texas' loss at Oklahoma (Sept. 27) ... On the year Engle has totaled 11 double-doubles ... Senior outside hitter Dariam Acevedo has tallied eight kill/dig double-doubles on the season, while junior setter Michelle Moriarty has 13 assist/dig double-doubles on the year, including seven in her last 10 contests. · The Longhorns picked up their eighth win in their last nine chances, Wednesday, sweeping Kansas, 3-0 (30-20, 30-25, 30-20), and equaling their longest win streak of the season at four games ... Destinee Hooker posted a team-high 15 kills on .364 hitting, while Jennifer Todd, Lauren Paolini and Jen Christian each tallied 10 kills apiece ... Texas out-hit the Jayhawks .349-to.159 on the night, while totaling nine blocks, including seven block assists by Paolini. · Texas has the easiest road through the Big 12 in its next five matches, as the Horns take on the 11th toughest schedule of all Big 12 teams during that stretch ... UT's next five opponents have a combined .353 winning percentage in league play ... Kansas has the toughest calendar of opponents at .627, while Colorado is second with its opponents combining for a .582 winning percentage ... Texas A&M ranks third (.544), Missouri ranks fourth (.536), Nebraska weighs in at fifth (.522), Oklahoma ranks sixth (.507), Iowa State ranks seventh (.493), Kansas State ranks eighth (.485) and Baylor ranks ninth (.464) , while Texas Tech ranks 10th (.403). · Several Longhorns blanket the most recent release of the Big 12 Conference's statistical leaders ... Junior setter Michelle Moriarty ranks atop the league in assists with 13.79 assists per game, and 13.87 assists/pg in conference matches ... The Longhorns rank third in the Big 12 with a .261 attack mark, while ranking second with a 16.71 kills per game average ... Sophomore Lauren Paolini ranks third in the Big 12 in hitting percentage, with a .355 attack mark against conference foes, while Ashley Engle ranks seventh in kills per-game average, with a 4.00 mark in conference play.
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