#3 Texas Takes Down Wichita State 3-1

Match Stats

• #3 Texas (7-1) defeats Wichita State (4-3) 25-20, 25-22, 23-25, 25-21
• Rams Volleyball Classic

No. 3 Texas had three standout performances to help them take down Wichita State 25-20, 25-22, 23-25, 25-21.

Longhorn senior Ebony Nwanebu put down 20 kills to lead the team, freshman Micaya White had 17 and senior Paulina Prieto Cerame contributed 11. The team combined for a hitting percentage of .346.

The Shockers Jody Larson posted 19 kills, and Abbie Lehman put down 13 on a .650 hitting percentage.

Despite the loss, the Shockers led the Longhorns in numerous categories, kills (63-61), aces (4-2) and assists (60-55), a lack of errors is what kept Texas from dropping the match.

Texas returns home to host No. 16 Texas A&M Sept. 14 at 7pm. Wichita State continues play Sept. 11 at 1pm.

Press Releases

Courtesy of Texas Athletics

AUSTIN, Texas – No. 3 Texas Volleyball (7-1) defeated Wichita State (4-3), 3-1 (25-20, 25-22, 23-25, 25-21) at the Rams Volleyball Classic on Saturday to win the Rams Volleyball Classic.

Junior Ebony Nwanebu led the Longhorns with 20 kills, freshman Micaya White had 17 and senior Paulina Prieto Cerame finished with 11.

Nwanebu’s 20 kills came on a .415 hitting percentage, also posting seven digs, three blocks and a service ace. She has tallied double-digit kills in five of six matches.

White had 17 kills on 41 swings, hitting .268 in the match, while Prieto Cerame’s 11 kills were on 26 swings for a .385 hitting percentage.

Senior Chloe Collins finished with a season-high 50 assists, also adding eight digs and two blocks.

Junior Cat McCoy had a season-high 19 digs, while freshman Orie Agbaji led with four blocks.

The Longhorns hit .346 in the match and outblocked Wichita State, 9.0 to 6.0.

The first set was tight early, as neither team led by more than two until the Longhorns went on a 5-0 run behind kills from Nwanebu and Johnson to lead, 22-17. The Shockers responded with back-to-back points, but the Longhorns finished the set, 25-20.

In the second set, Wichita State jumped out to an early 5-2 lead, but Texas answered with a 5-0 run to lead, 8-5. The Horns expanded on the lead with a 5-1 to lead, 16-9 to create some space, but the Shockers responded with a 3-0 run of their own. Texas put a stop to the charge and held on to take set two, 25-20.

Wichita State started the third set with a 6-2 lead and maintained a comfortable spread until the Longhorns chipped away and followed with a 5-0 run to take a 12-11 lead. But the Shockers did not fold and went on a 3-1 of their own to take a 19-16 lead. Texas kept it close and answered with a 4-1 run, but Wichita State stayed strong to take set three, 25-23.

In the fourth set, neither team led by more than two until Texas went on a 4-0 run to take a 14-10 lead. The Horns kept the lead until the Shockers went on a 4-0 run over their own to tie it at 16. UT fired back with another 4-0 run and held off WSU to take the fourth set, 25-21 and the match, 3-1.

Jody Larson led Wichita State with 19 kills, seven digs and four blocks.

Texas will return to Gregory Gym to host No. 16 Texas A&M on Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. The match will be televised live on Longhorn Network with a live pregame show beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Press Release

Courtesy of Wichita State Athletics

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – No. 3 Texas used 20 kills from Ebony Nwanebu to defeat Wichita State 3-1 at the Rams Volleyball Classic. The Longhorns won by scores of 25-20, 25-22, 23-25 and 25-21.

Jody Larson led the Shockers with 19 kills, while Abbie Lehman had 13 kills and hit .650. Emily Hiebert had 50 assists, 11 digs and six kills, while Giorgia Civita had 19 digs.

The two teams traded points early in the first set until a kill by Jody Larson and a service ace by Tabitha Brown put the Shockers up 12-10. Texas scored three-straight to take a 13-12 lead and then used a 5-0 run to increase the lead to 22-17. UT went on to win the set 25-20.

The Shockers used a couple blocks and kills from Lehman and Hiebert to take a 5-2 lead in the second set. The Longhorns answered with a 6-0 run to go in front 8-5 and they increased the lead to 16-9 after a Shocker ball handling error. WSU responded with two kills from Mikaela Raudsepp and a block from Larson to pull within 16-12. A kill by Brown cut the lead to 21-17, but UT won the set 25-22.

A Hiebert kill gave WSU an early 8-4 lead in the third set, but the Longhorns used a 5-0 run to take a 12-11 lead. The two teams traded points until two-straight kills from Raudsepp gave WSU a 15-13 lead. A Lehman kill increased the lead to 20-17, but UT scored five-straight to take a 22-20 lead. WSU tied it at 22 on a block by Raudsepp and Hiebert and went in front 23-22 on a kill by Larson. WSU won the set 25-23 after kills from Hiebert and Larson.

The fourth set went back and forth until UT used a 3-0 run to take a 14-10 lead. Kills from Larson, Hiebert and Brown pulled WSU within 16-15 and a Hiebert service ace tied it at 16. Three-straight Longhorn kills gave UT a 21-17 lead and they reached match point at 24-20. UT won the set 25-21.

The Shockers are next in action on Sun., Sept. 11 against Samford at 1 p.m. (Central).