MATCH STATS
- Texas def. Texas Tech, 3-1 (25-19, 20-25, 25-21, 25-12)
- Texas moves to 19-2, Texas Tech drops to 14-10
- Austin, Texas
- Attendance: 3892
- Box Score
AUSTIN, Texas – In a four set match on Saturday night, the Texas Longhorns defeated the Texas Tech Red Raiders (25-19, 20-25, 25-21, 25-12) in Gregory Gym. This is the first time the Red Raiders have won a set in Austin since 2009.
Lexi Sun put away 21 kills, hitting .378, to go with four digs. Ebony Nwanebu and Micaya White recorded 10 kills a piece for the Longhorns, hitting .333 and .308, respectively. Chandler Atwood led the Red Raiders with 12 kills on her second start of the season.
Defensively, Cat McCoy recorded 23 digs for Texas, adding to her already record-holding career. Kate Klepetka led Texas Tech with 17 digs. Chiaka Ogbogu became the all-time block assist leader at Texas with eight block assists on the night.
Both teams will continue with Big 12 play as Texas hosts TCU and Texas Tech faces Oklahoma.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy of Texas Athletics
AUSTIN, Texas — No. 3 Texas Volleyball senior Chiaka Ogbogu became the all-time career block assist leader at Texas on Saturday afternoon, leading the Longhorns (19-2, 11-0) past Texas Tech (14-10, 3-8).
Ogbogu’s eight block assists gave her 460 for her career to pass two-time All-American Molly McCage (2012-15), also recording a team-high .500 hitting percentage on nine kills.
The Longhorns defeated the Red Raiders in four sets at Gregory Gym, 3-1 (25-19, 20-25, 25-21, 25-12) to remain undefeated in Big 12 Conference play at 11-0 improve to 19-2 on the season.
Freshman Lexi Sun led the Longhorns in kills, tying her career high mark of 21 on a .378 hitting percentage while adding four blocks and three digs.
Senior Ebony Nwanebu and sophomore Micaya White also finished in double-digit kills, with 10 each. Both finished with hitting percentages above .300, with .333 for Nwanebu and .308 for White.
Senior Cat McCoy recorded a career-high five service aces and 23 digs for her sixth match this season with 20 or more digs.
Freshman Ashley Shook registered a team-high 47 assists, adding six digs and four kills, while junior Natalie Gilbertcontributed a career-high 10 digs.
Texas outblocked its opponent for the 20th time this season, with a 13.0 to 5.0 blocking advantage over Texas Tech, while also recording a .355 to .162 advantage in hitting percentage.
Opening the first set, Texas gained a first multi-point lead at 6-4 with a net violation from the Red Raiders. The Longhorns had begun to test the Texas Tech defense, making an 11-6 run to take a 20-15 lead. With five Texas players recording multiple digs for the set, the Longhorns’ defense set up a .355 team hitting percentage, pushing to a 25-19 finish.
Texas trailed 7-4 early in the second set before recovering to tie at 9-9 with a block from Johnson. The Longhorns again fell behind, 15-18, with the teams going point-for-point to maintain the visitors’ narrow lead. With a four-point lead with set point at 24-20, the Red Raiders closed out the set with a kill on the next point, 25-20.
Having dropped a first set in conference play at Gregory Gym after thirteen-straight opening the season, an emphatic kill from Sun sparked Texas to a 6-1 start in the third frame before a Texas Tech timeout. Sun reached double-digit kills in Texas’ opening run and went on to record nine in the set, with the Longhorns’ defense sustaining the lead through to a 25-21 set finish.
With a 2-1 match set score, consecutive service aces from Cat McCoy helped Texas jump out to a 6-1 lead in the fourth frame. While hitting above .350, the Longhorns stormed to set point at 24-11 before a kill from White secured the match at 25-12.
Texas will return to Gregory Gym on Wednesday, Nov. 8, to hots TCU at 7 p.m. CT. The match will be televised live on Longhorn Network.
Postgame Comments
Head Coach Jerritt Elliott
On overall thoughts of game: I thought we were very sloppy today. Our touches weren’t good and it became contagious. It really put us in a position to be sloppy for most of the evening. I thought in game four we started controlling the ball a bit better and obviously, things went a lot smoother. We’ve got to figure out how we’re coming out in game one. We haven’t been good over the last four or five games. It’s been a struggle for us. We’re playing with fire right now in terms of how we’re playing as a team.
On his thoughts about the recent close matches: We have TCU on Wednesday and then we’re at a very tough Iowa State team at their place. Then we’ve got to come home against Kansas. Our last three out of five games are against top-25 teams. As we head into the tournament, we don’t have a whole lot of time to get better. We’ve got to put some priority on our touches and get a little bit more united.
On how the team has developed throughout the season: We have different lineups from then and our rotations have changed. I felt that when we were at home against Kansas State and Iowa State, those were our two best matches that we’ve played. We just haven’t clicked well lately. We’ve got to find that out, but this is the time of the year where people have been ill. We have to find that fire again.
Freshman Outside Hitter Lexi Sun
On her initial thoughts on the match: We have been focusing on starting the match off strong from the first point … going from there and doing our jobs individually, so that we can come together as a team to execute. In the beginning, we were a little shaky. I think we made some improvements and got back on assignments. I think we finished at a high-level and took care of business at the end.
On where the match tilted for Texas: When we started to execute. We didn’t make as many errors. Slowly the game came to us. We were back on assignment and doing what we know we can do.
On what lessons Texas can take from these matches: I think learning to rely on what we can do as a team and not really focusing on what they’re doing or what we’re not doing. Instead, focusing on the game and what we can do to better ourselves. I think focusing on our side.
Courtesy of Texas Tech Athletics
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Tech volleyball won its first set in Austin since 2009, but ultimately fell 3-1 (25-19, 20-25, 25-21, 25-12) at No. 3 Texas Saturday in front of 3,892 fans in Gregory Gym.
After Texas (19-2, 11-0) closed out a tight first set, the Red Raiders (14-10, 3-8) evened the match at 1-1 by winning the second set, 25-20, behind seven kills from sophomore Chandler Atwood. Tech continued to push the Longhorns in the next stanza, but Texas was able to squeak out the third set before finishing the match in four.
“I was really happy with our play today,” head coach Tony Graystonesaid. “We competed hard and gave ourselves opportunities to win a lot of points. We were right there for a majority of the match, and this is definitely how we want to play down the stretch. We’re looking forward to getting back to Lubbock and preparing for Oklahoma.”
Texas’s Lexi Sun recorded 21 kills on a .378 hitting percentage, and senior Chiaka Ogbogu added nine kills and eight blocks for the defending national champions.
Atwood finished with 12 kills to lead Tech, while junior Katy Keenantallied eight kills at a .444 clip. Freshman Allison White added eight kills and a pair of blocks. Setter Missy Owens returned after missing three matches, finishing with 37 assists, four digs and three kills. Senior Kate Klepetka led Tech defensively with 17 digs.
The Red Raiders used a 4-0 run early in the set to take a 10-9 lead and force a Longhorn timeout. White set the pace for Tech with five kills in the frame on .444 hitting, but the Longhorns pulled away late to gain the 1-0 advantage.
Tech came right back in the second with a quick start, as junior Reyn Akiu delivered an ace that capped off a 4-0 run and put Tech in front 7-4. Following a timeout, Texas evened the match at 9-9, but Tech regained control throughout the set and built a 22-18 lead off one of seven Atwood kills in the set. After Texas made it 23-20, Tech closed the set with a kill from Keenan sliding right and a put down by Owens at the net.
The Longhorns responded in the third, jumping out to a 6-1 lead. After a Tech timeout, Tech pushed back and closed the gap to one at 12-11. Sun would record three-straight kills to extend the Texas lead to 18-14. The Red Raiders closed it to one at 22-21, but Texas closed the set with three straight points.
Behind senior Cat McCoy’s serve, the Longhorns built a 10-1 lead in the fourth. Tech trimmed the lead to 11-4, but that was as close as it would come as Texas hit .571 for the set on their way to clinching the victory.
UP NEXT
The Red Raiders host Oklahoma Wednesday, Nov. 8, at United Supermarkets Arena. First serve is slated for 6 p.m. on FOX Sports Southwest. The match is one of just two remaining home matches in the 2017 season. The Red Raiders will be looking to avenge a straight-set loss at Oklahoma on October 4.
NOTABLES
- Tech won its first set in Austin since 2009.
- Setter Missy Owens returned after missing the last three matches with an injury.
- Sophomore Chandler Atwood made her second start of Big 12 play and first since Oct. 4 at Oklahoma.
- Tech moves to 2-39 all-time in Austin.
- The Red Raiders remain one win away from earning its most Big 12 wins in a season since 2006.
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