Texas Volleyball wins their fourth straight Big 12 title

Record: (21-1)

Conference: (13-1)

Big 12 Standings

Texas (13 – 1, 21 – 1)Kansas State (8 – 5, 21 – 6)Oklahoma (8 – 5, 18 – 9)Kansas (7 – 5, 19 – 7)Iowa State (7 – 6, 15 – 9)TCU (5 – 8, 15 – 13)West Virginia (4 – 9, 14 – 13)Baylor (4 – 9, 14 – 14)Texas Tech (3 – 10, 15 – 10)

AVCA Coaches Poll

1 Stanford (60) 26-0

2 Wisconsin 24-2

3 Texas 21-1

4 Penn State 26-3

5 Washington 25-2

6 Florida 21-3

7 North Carolina 22-2

8 Florida State 24-2

9 Colorado State 26-2

10 Illinois 21-6

11 Nebraska 18-7

12 BYU 22-4

13 Arizona 21-7

14 Oregon 19-7

15 Kentucky 23-5

16 Purdue 21-7

17 UCLA 18-9

18 Long Beach State 22-4

19 Colorado 17-11

20 Ohio State 18-10

21 Duke 20-6

22 Arizona State 17-11

23 Utah 16-11

24 Ohio 23-4

25 Southern California 14-12

Four-peat

On Oct. 25, the Longhorns were 15-0 and seemed to be hitting their stride. Even without Amy

Neal, who wasn’t available due to injury, the Longhorns still expected to beat an unranked, rival

Oklahoma Sooner team handily at Gregory Gym. What happened next may have been the

turning point of the 2014 season. The Longhorns were swept at home in front of a record crowd

in one of the most shocking outcomes in recent Longhorn Volleyball memory. They were sloppy

and lacked focus, and the Sooners made them pay dearly, ending their 34 game home winning

streak and their undefeated season.

It’s easy for a coach to give the same speech before every game and preach that any team can

sneak up and bite his team. The Longhorns are talented enough that no lower-tiered dog should

be able to. However, with that result, Texas realized that they can’t seal a victory by simply

putting on their uniforms and showing up.

Since the singular crimson wart on the season, the Longhorns have gone back to work and have

reverted to their patented focus and precision. Going into their round two-rivalry game with the

Sooners, they had won four matches in a row and had been flat out dominant in several of the

sets. The Longhorns wouldn’t need any outside motivation this time in preparation for

Saturday’s match. Texas had a chance to avenge their only loss of the year and clinch the Big 12

conference title for the fourth consecutive season.

The task certainly wasn’t an easy one for the Longhorns who had to go on the road against the

no. 24 Sooners. Texas lacked the necessary rhythm early in set one. Oklahoma countered every

move the Longhorns tried to make to establish a lead. With the score tied at six, Boomer reeled

off three straight points and wouldn’t trail again. Texas kept the set within reached and even tied

the set at 18. However, Oklahoma pulled away and took an early 1-0 lead with a 25-22 set win.

The second set was quite the reversal. After trailing 1-0, Texas gained six out of the next seven

points and wouldn’t look back. Riding the coattails of the two seniors, Khat Bell and Haley

Eckerman, who finished with 16 and 15 kills, Texas cruised to a 25-18 set victory for their first

set win over Oklahoma this season.

After the break, each team displayed the fight one would expect from such a rivalry with so

much on the line. Oklahoma was hanging on to any chance they might have at a Big 12

championship, while Texas couldn’t afford to be swept by an opponent who barely surfaced in

the top 25. Neither team established themselves as the favorite or gained a substantial advantage

until the Sooners ripped off five of the final seven points culminated by a Kierra Holst service

ace to win the set 25-21.

While the scoreboard may have reflected the Longhorns being on the ropes and on the verge of

being upset again, Texas maintained its composure and was confident it wouldn’t drop a game to

the Sooners again.

“We were like we are not losing to Oklahoma especially since we lost to them at home,” said

junior outside hitter Amy Neal. “We knew that we could come back after being down 2-1. We

weren’t ever really frantic or scared we were going to lose, we were just relentless on the court.”

That confidence didn’t translate until the penultimate set was tied at 14. They finally came

together and performed like a fresh off the lot Stingray, winning nine of the next 10 points and

12 of the final 15 to force a fifth set after a 25-17 set win.

Texas carried their momentum into the deciding set and boat raced the Sooners to a 10-3 lead.

After giving up consecutive points, the Longhorns drilled five in a row to win the set 15-5, the

match 3-2 and clinch their fourth consecutive Big 12 title.

“It was tough. Our team came through in the end. It’s never easy,” said Coach Jerritt Elliott.

“There are so many matches that you have to play and you have to be consistent every night, so

we are relishing the fact that we were able to do it again, for the fourth time in a row. It’s a big

accomplishment. Even though we are used to doing it, it’s something that we work really hard to

get to. A lot of people don’t see the sweat and tears that go on behind the scenes. I’m very proud

of this group and the alumni involved.”

Texas wins their fifth conference championship in the last six year. The Longhorns now have

eight Big 12 titles and 21 conference titles overall. While this whole title thing is becoming a

habit, Neal says it never gets old.

“I think it gets better every year. It takes a lot of hard work and it’s not just something that

happens. It’s a really big deal and a really big honor to win the Big 12,” Neal said.

With the conference title, the Longhorns also became the first team to clinch a bid for the NCAA

Tournament.

 

The return of Neal-

Amy Neal has quietly put together an extremely solid season. The junior is currently hitting .263

and is averaging almost three kills-per-set. Neal was banged up with shoulder and hip issues that

resulted in her playing sparingly in Oct. 9 match against Texas Tech, and missing matches

against TCU, Oklahoma and the Chinese club team.

She came back with a fire against Iowa State, gaining 14 kills and 16 digs in her return. Neal has

double-digit digs in every match since then and has over eight kills in all but one. She also nailed

14 kills against Kansas State. She’s been rock solid especially since the return from her injury,

although it wasn’t always that way.

“Amy Neal is the one that really came out of the gates firing at the beginning. She had a tough

spring last year,” Elliott said. “For her, we always believed that she had the talent to do it, it was

more about getting her to that confident level. She’s got more swagger now, she’s a little more

sassy with me, which is good. She’s showing me that she is confident and that she’s ready to be

out there.”

Neal only managed double-digit kills twice this season before her injury. Elliott has referred to

her as the glue and the silent killer on this team that may go unrecognized from time-to-time. For

Neal and her teammates, they’re just glad to see number nine on the floor again after a brief

absence.

“It was hard to sit out, but being back is fun. I’m feeling good and being able to contribute to the

team and help on the floor is awesome. I’m just glad I’m back playing.”

Ride down 35-

The Longhorns were forced to go into another tough environment on Wednesday when they

travelled down I-35 to the Ferrell Center in Waco to take on the Baylor Bears. Texas played one

of its most complete matches of the season against the Bears on Oct. 7, winning 3-0 by a

combined score of 75 to 42. Baylor has shown potential at times this season, knocking off

Kansas State, and letting several tight matches get away. Elliott alluded to the Bears putting up

more of a fight the second time around when he was available before the match on Tuesday.

“They are a much better team than when they played here. They struggled here. They were a

little nervous and uncomfortable early on and we played at a high level, so the game was never

really close. Based on some of their recent scores, they are playing well and we will get a chance

to look at them more today,” Elliott said.

In the first set, Baylor put up more than just a fight. They were war ready. Fresh off the euphoria

of winning the conference title on Oklahoma’s home floor, the Longhorn experienced a much

different experience in their first set against Baylor.

Texas struggled immensely in their passing game in the first set, but the Longhorns were still

able to keep things close, only down 14-12. Baylor then went on a 6-0 run to take control 20-12.

Texas started to figure things out and went on a 5-0 run of their own. Nevertheless, it would be

too little, and too late as Baylor won their first set against Texas this season 25-21.

The Longhorns looked once again like a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament from that

point on as they dominated the second set, ending on an 8-2 run to win 25-14.

Texas seemed to enjoy the domination they’re accustomed to the rest of the match, and against

the Bears specifically. Going into the match Texas was 74-2 all-time against Baylor. The

Longhorns sprung to a four point lead early in set three and never really let the Bears feel they

were in it, leading by margins of 13-6, 21-13 and winning the set 25-17.

It took a while for the Longhorns to establish themselves in the fourth and final set as Baylor

played well and kept the game within one, trailing 6-5. The next few times they were able to

breathe and look up, the road team in burnt orange led 12-6 and 19-12. Eventually the Longhorns

won the set 25-19 and the match 3-1.

The path to the victory wasn’t always as easy as the route the bus driver took to transport the

Longhorns to Waco. However, it was another road victory for the Longhorns in a match in which

they started sloppy, found their way and dominated the remainder of the match. Their head coach

understands that the Longhorns need to adjust at the beginning of matches.

“Our mentality [has to change], we have got to be better coming out and playing well and

understanding the emotional side of that. We can’t be on our heels and be in shock because (our

opponent) is playing so well. That’s going to happen when you’re at Texas. We have got to be

better emotionally,” Elliott said.

Texas may not be able to afford such slow starts in the NCAA Tournament, but for now in Big

12 play, they were able to sustain again and find their way to victory.

The Bears held Haley Eckerman in check by her standards, limiting her to eight kills and a .091

hitting percentage. Chiaka Ogbogu and Khat Bell were there to pick up the slack though as both

finished in double digits in the kill department. Sarah Hattis was the surprising bright spot for the

Horns as she managed to block 10, and hit a steady .545 on 11 attacks.

What’s next?

The Longhorns will come home for their penultimate regular season match against Kansas on

Saturday at 3 p.m. Kansas was the only other team besides the Longhorns to receive a preseason

vote to win the Big 12. However, after hanging around back half of the top 25 in the early stages

of the season. The Jayhawks have slumped to fourth place in the Big 12, although they have won

four matches in a row. Texas beat Kansas 3-1 on Oct. 5.

Following their home match against Kansas, the Longhorns travel to the Stockyards in Fort

Worth for a match against TCU on Wednesday. Texas swept TCU in their previous match on

Oct. 22.