Match Results
- #4 Texas def. Denver 3-0, (25-19, 25-23, 25-17)
- Austin, Texas
- American Campus Classic
- Attendance: 2,847
- Match Stats
The Texas Longhorns completed their second sweep at the American Campus Classic with a win over Denver. The Longhorns posted a .378 hitting clip, making it the fifth straight match that Texas has hit .378 or better.
The Longhorns jumped out to an early 8-2 lead in the first set, continuing this dominance until they were up 17-12. The match ended on an 8-7 stint with Texas taking the first 25-19 and the 1-0 match lead. The second set saw Denver take the 3-1 early lead, but the Longhorns quickly responded with a 5-1 run to lead 8-4. Texas held onto a lead throughout the match until Denver went on a 10-3 run to tie the set up at 21 all. The score was tied two more times in the set before Texas took the 2-0 match lead with a 25-23 second set win.
In the final set, neither team led by more than three points throughout until Chiaka Ogbogu posted an ace to make the score 13-9. At this point, Texas pressed on the gas to take the set and match at 25-17.
Lexi Sun led the offense with 13 points, one ace and three blocks in the match while Ogbogu and Micaya White each put down 11 points. Ogbogu boosted her stats with an ace, a match-best seven blocks and two assists. In the back court, Cat McCoy and Autumn Rounsaville each picked up double-digit digs with 14 and 10, respectively.
For Denver, Kayla Principato posted nine kills while Cassidy Rooke picked up 13 digs while Cassie Baird added another 10.
Press Release
Courtesy of Texas Athletics
No. 5 Texas Volleyball (6-1) defeated Denver (6-2), 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-17) on Thursday night in the second match of an American Campus Classic doubleheader.
The Longhorns swept Texas A&M Corpus Christi earlier in the day.
Freshman Lexi Sun led UT with 13 kills, hitting .440 for her third-straight match recording a .316 hitting percentage or better. Sun added eight digs, three blocks, and one service ace in the match.
Senior Chiaka Ogbogu and sophomore Micaya White also posted double-digit kills, Ogbogu registering 11 on 13 attacks with only one error for a .769 hitting percentage. White also had 11 kills, also with only one error on 32 attempts to hit .312.
Freshman Ashley Shook led the Longhorns in assists with 33, while senior Cat McCoyand sophomore Autumn Rounsaville finished with double digit digs, recording 14 and 10 respectively.
As a team, Texas hit .378 for its fifth-straight match hitting .378 or better and outblocked the Pioneers, 12.0 to 4.5
UT and Denver traded points early in the first set until the Longhorns went on an 8-2 run to take a 17-12 lead behind kills from Sun and Ogbogu. From there, UT outscored the Pioneers, 8-7 to take set one, 25-19, hitting .357 in the set.
Denver took an early 3-1 lead in the second set, but Texas responded with a 5-1 run to lead, 8-4. The Pioneers pulled within two at 11-13, but the Longhorns held their lead until Denver executed a 10-3 run to tie the score at 21. They tied two more times before Texas won two-straight points to close set two, 25-23.
In the third set, neither team led by more than three until the Longhorns took a 13-9 lead on a kill and ace from Ogbogu. From there, Texas did not look back and finished the set 25-17 for its second sweep of the day.
The Longhorns will host No. 1 Minnesota at 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 8 to close the American Campus Classic at Gregory Gym.
Post-Match Quotes
Head Coach Jerritt Elliot
On how the team played against Denver: I thought tonight we were a lot more efficient. Denver is a tough team to play against because they play so fast. So I thought we did a really nice job of getting in front of them. We got some blocks early and took advantage of a lot of the transition plays that came at us. You look at the hitting efficiency numbers and they were really good. The only thing that we need to improve before tomorrow night is that the serve and pass has got to be better. However, if we put up offensive numbers like tonight, we’re going to be in every game.
Freshman Outside Hitter Lexi Sun
On the importance of having a good balance between experienced players and underclassmen: Coming in as a freshman with no college experience under my belt, it’s been really nice to have people like Chiaka (Ogbogu) and other upperclassmen to look up to. When there are big crowds, when we’re nervous, or in tough situations, I think it’s important to have both aspects. Everyone coming together is really nice.
Senior Middle Blocker Chiaka Ogbogu
On getting to be home after a couple of weeks on the road: It was amazing. Our fan base is very engaged in the game which really helps us. It helps us take the momentum into every set. It’s hard playing away because everyone is cheering against you, but just being home and knowing that we have our fans behind us is nice.
Press Release
Courtesy of Denver Athletics
The University of Denver women’s volleyball team pushed No. 5 Texas several times throughout the match held at Gregory Gymnasium Thursday evening, but the Pioneers ultimately fell to the Longhorns in straight sets (19-25, 23-25, 17-25). Texas moved to 6-1 with the win, while Denver is now 6-2.
Kayla Principato led the Pioneers with nine kills, with Becca Latham having seven and Emma Willis with six. Willis had three total blocks, all assisted, to pace DU. Cassidy Rookehad two service aces and 13 digs in the match to lead the Pioneers in both categories. Piyusha Boteju had an ace of her own to go along with her team-high 15 assists. Ellie Anderson contributed 13 assists in the match.
As a team, Denver hit .155 with 34 kills, had 33 assists, 43 digs, five service aces and four and a half total team blocks.
Set One: Two early service aces by Cassie Baird and Willis, and two kills by Teal Schnurr kept the Pioneers in the set. DU had a 6-5 lead before Texas went on a 5-1 run, leading to a timeout by Denver. Texas grew the lead to 17-12, forcing another DU timeout. The Pioneers got as close as 22-18, prompting a timeout by the Longhorns. Out of the timeout, the Pioneers had two service errors followed by a kill by Texas to give Texas the 25-19 win. There were four ties and two lead changes in the set. Principato led the team with three kills. Baird recorded two kills in the set to register the 500thkill of her career. She finished the match with five total kills. In addition to the service aces by Baird and Willis, both led the Pioneers in total blocks, teaming up on two blocks. DU had a match-high 12 kills in the opening set.
Set Two: Denver showed its resiliency, going on a 10-3 run to go from down 18-11 to tying the set at 21. There were two more ties at 22 and 23 before Texas closed out the set with the final two points. Principato and Willis each had four kills to lead the Pioneers in the set, with Willis a perfect 4-0-4 in the set. Schnurr, Latham and Baird had the remaining three kills for the Pioneers, who hit .162 as a team. Boteju added six assists to her evening’s total, while Rooke had five digs, and both provided the two Pioneer service aces of the set. Principato and Willis combined for the only block of the set for DU. There were four ties and one lead change in this set.
Set Three: Denver kept within two points early on in the set, with a kill by Principato making it 10-8 Texas. However, from that point the Longhorns went on a 9-5 run, prompting a second Denver timeout after calling one at 17-13. Baird recorded a kill out of the timeout, but a 3-0 run by Texas to make it 22-14 followed by an exchange of 3-0 runs by each team put the set and the match away at 25-17. Although Denver was able to tie Texas four times in the set, the Pioneers weren’t able to get a lead. Latham had four kills in the set and Boteju and Anderson each had four assists in the frame to lead the team. Tina Boe, Schnurr and Principato teamed up to create the only block of the set for DU. Rooke provided another ace, her fifth of the season, the only one for the Crimson and Gold in the final set. Denver hit a match-high .194 in the set off of 11 kills.
UP NEXT: The Pioneers close out the American Campus Classic against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday at 4 p.m. MT.
SEASON TICKETS: Season tickets for the 2017 Denver volleyball season are on sale now and can be PURCHASED HERE. Tickets for Denver’s 13 home matches can be purchased for only $48.
Fans interested in making a donation to the volleyball program can do so by CLICKING HERE. Your contribution will make a direct impact on the success of YOUR Pioneers. Thank you in advance for your unwavering support of our student-athletes and their quest for excellence.
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