#8 Nebraska at #2 Texas, Friday 10/30/2009

[Husker Runner]

#8 Nebraska (16-5 overall, 9-3 conference) at #2 Texas (17-0, 12-0)

 

When: Friday, October 30th, 6:00pm CT

Where: Gregory Gym, Austin, Texas

TV: FSN

Video Webcast: None

Audio Webcast: CLICK HERE

Gametracker: CLICK HERE

 

Nebraska travels to Austin to play a stout Texas team that is undefeated this season, including 3-1 wins over #3 Hawaii in Honolulu and Nebraska in Lincoln one month ago. The Nebraska set win over Texas in the Coliseum was the only blemish for Texas in Big 12 play. Texas has won 26 straight regular season matches, a streak that ties their school record. They will be looking to break the record Friday. Head coach Jerritt Elliott has built a powerhouse in Austin.

 

Of course, everyone knows about Destinee Hooker, the outside hitter (and NCAA champion high jumper) that opponents will be glad to see graduate this year. But this Texas team is the complete package. Ashley Engle has made the transition from All-American opposite hitter last season to setter this year much better than I would have expected. A 6-3 left-handed setter with All-American hitting and blocking abilities is a tremendous weapon that can cause fits for opposing blockers who also have to worry about Hooker and Juliann Faucette. Defensively, the team is very solid, with Heather Kisner and 5-2 Sydney Yogi in the back row. Hooker's jump serve is dangerous, but Yogi's floater serve helped them run off seven straight points to start the match against Texas A&M last night.

 

Austin has not been kind to the Huskers recently and this match will be very, very tough. I will be there hoping for the best but expecting the worst. There's nothing like watching live volleyball between two great teams in a raucous, sold-out environment, though.

 

I have met many of the Longhorn players and they (particularly Juliann Faucette) have been nothing but gracious to my girls. I only root against them when they play Nebraska, unlike the Texas football team that I root against every week. :-)

 

Texas is a team on a mission this year after being stunned in the NCAA Semifinals last year, blowing a two set to zero lead to Stanford to lose 3-2. I believe the Longhorns are en route to a killer showdown versus Penn State in the NCAA tournament. Hooker versus Hodge will be fun to watch. Penn State is obviously on an incredible run, but I think Texas has a team that can take them down. It would be an epic championship game either way.

[Husker Runner]

OK, I'm heading out to Gregory Gym. Looking forward to it.

[Vince from ShamWOW]

Once this team leans to play more mentally and physically tough they will be good. They played well tonight but UT was better, tougher, and wanted it more.

 

In the 3rd, UT went on a 9 - 1 run to win it. No excuse for that. Not when you are NU Volleyball.

 

Lost 25 -22, 26- 24, and 25 - 19

[Husker Runner]

Wow, where to start?

 

First off, I think there were a lot of positives to take away from the match. The Huskers battled in every set and just couldn't close the deal against a fantastic Texas team...but they will learn. I thought they might have been on the wrong end of a bad call in the second set, of course in the gym you don't get instant replay but I sure thought they got the set winning point when they were up 24-23. The match would have had a different tone if the teams had gone into the break tied at one.

 

Destinee Hooker is just an incredible player. She basically closed out the third set on her own. At least it felt that way. I don't know how many kills she ended with but every time she hits the ball you hold your breath just hoping someone is going to be able to dig it. Also, I think switching Ashley Engle to setter this year was a stroke of genius. This Texas team is just killer, there is a reason they are undefeated and really this is the "magical" season Jerritt Elliott has been building towards for the last few years. I'm telling you, this season is heading to a Texas-Penn State showdown in the tournament that is going to be very exciting and very good for college volleyball. It will be a huge upset if either of those teams lose before facing each other. Honestly, I like the Longhorns' chances in that matchup.

 

At one point the Huskers were serving at Hooker (when she was in the back row) in an attempt to disrupt her hitting but she always seems to find a way to beat you. She brings a killer instinct to the Longhorns that you just don't find very often. She's like the Vince Young of college volleyball. :-)

 

Nebraska is a young team and considering what they were up against on the road, I think you really need to applaud the effort. I've seen a lot of teams get crushed in Gregory Gym but even though this was a sweep, it was very competitive. Texas is just having one of those rare seasons where everything comes together. John Cook is building a foundation that will produce some great teams over the next few years, though.

 

Honestly, considering the opponent and being on the road, this was one of the best efforts by Nebraska this season. Despite the outcome, I had a great time tonight and I will enjoy watching this team continue to develop over the next couple of years.

[Husker Runner]

Head coach John Cook

Opening statement:

We had some opportunities to win all three games, but Texas has got some great players and they're a great team. Destinee Hooker is a special player and she took over at the end of those games, and we just couldn't match it.

 

On tonight's match:

One of the things our team has to understand is, our team doesn't have Destinee Hooker on it. You have to play great as a team, especially at the end of games and especially on the road. Destinee just took over. She did it in one game with jump-serving, she did it in another with a couple of kills. We certainly had opportunities. Our team competed hard. We did a really good job of following our game plan we had coming into this match, but Destinee is a once-in-a-lifetime type recruit, and you can do everything right and she will still get kills.

 

On if he thought they had Texas in the third set:

We started off that game and had them on their heels. I was really pleased with how our team came out, still aggressive, in serving especially. But we didn't side out, we couldn't answer back. We started giving up runs and making errors. You just felt the momentum shift about midway through that game, it just felt like Texas had all the momentum, and we just couldn't do anything right.

 

On the positives from tonight's match:

As a coach, I have to keep in perspective where Texas is as a team right now and where we are as a team right now. There are a lot of positive for us to take from this. We are learning what we're going to have to do to be successful at the end of November. I think there are a lot of positives that come out of this, and how our players handle the disappointment, knowing they had some shots at this match. I know there is great disappointment there, which is encouraging that this is important to them and they realized that too. I think this match was great relief for Texas and great motivation for Nebraska.

 

Freshman outside hitter Hannah Werth

On the match:

Like Coach Cook said, Destinee Hooker is a phenomenal athlete and they answered back very strongly. Every time we gave them a free ball, and we didn't take advantage of our opportunities. I think that we learned from that. We just have to convert.

 

I think tonight we can take away a lot of good things that we did. We had moments of greatness. We just have to be consistent with them. I think this is the hardest we have fought all year. I could feel it.

 

Junior opposite hitter Lindsey Licht

On what went wrong in tonight's match:

We just have to come out and play Nebraska volleyball there were opportunities, like Hannah and coach said. We have to figure out how to play Nebraska volleyball. I know we can do it, I've seen it in practice, we see it in matches and we saw glimpses of it tonight. We just have to find a way to pull together and show everybody.

 

On the attitude going into tonight's match:

I don't think we were thinking about revenge. Maybe for some people, but I think it was more of a "how can we come out and beat Texas?" It was just one match. Texas and Nebraska have always been rivals. Since I got here, it has always been a big deal. There is always that little bit of energy, everybody wants to play. I don't think there was a "since they beat us at home, we've got to beat them tonight" attitude. Two great teams were playing, and we've got to come out and play.

[Husker Runner]

Texas Head coach Jerritt Elliott

Opening statement:

I'm really proud of our team tonight. I think we battled all night long when we weren't playing our best volleyball. Our numbers in terms of our side-out game were lower than they've been, but we made good decisions all night long. Before we started the match, we thought that this might not be our best match, but we always have got to find a way to win. I may have jinxed us in the locker room before the game, but we battled, we fought, and overall we played really well through all three games. We could've given up in game three when we were down 10-4, but we just kept fighting and we had some big plays in the 18-point range that really changed the momentum and got the crowd behind us. I'm just proud of the way that this team fights.

 

On his coaching methods in the third set:

I was trying to interject some energy into them. We were trying and they wanted to win, but they were unable to get a rhythm going. I wanted to help get them going and create a little bit of energy and enthusiasm for them. If I have to be a cheerleader at times, I will do that to help get the girls going.

 

On the ability to rely on the freshman:

It was huge. I told Sha'Dare (McNeal), I don't know how I am keeping her off the floor. She just does so many great things for us and she is so good off the bench. She is realizing how much her numbers have improved off the bench. She came in and injected a lot of energy. She added a different dimension. She is definitely our fastest and makes good plays.

 

On Destinee Hooker:

I thought Destinee was really good. She made some great plays and she just loves being in this kind of situation. She knows how to win and she just loves performing at this kind of level. She wants the ball when it is crunch time.

 

Senior setter Ashley Engle

On her aggressive plays:

I think I always try to play a little bit aggressive. Sometimes I feel that because I am so tall, it gives me a disadvantage, so I try to keep the other team as off balance as possible and try to open up some one-on-ones for the outsides.

 

On the emotion:

It was important for us to stay calm tonight. But as soon as we hit 20, it was like we went into another gear. I think that was key in order to be successful tonight. So instead of becoming tentative, we stayed aggressive.

 

On Nebraska in the third set:

They were relentless. They are a great team and have a great coach. Sydney [Anderson] is an awesome setter and runs a great offense. I think we came out less prepared than we should have been and they never gave up. I think that is what makes a great game. Luckily we hit that second gear and we were able to pull out a win.

 

Senior outside hitter Destinee Hooker

On the end of the second set:

I would say that it had a lot to do with composure and not losing focus. We knew that all we needed was the first ball contact, everything else was there. With that time-out we were able to regroup and get back on the court and dominate.

 

On what she was thinking during her second-to-last kill:

Being a senior, all I was thinking was that we are not going to lose this game. We have worked too hard in the practice gym and we are too far into the season to let up now. So I got some eye contact from Ashley [Engle] and a good pass from Heather [Kisner] and I terminated the ball.

 

On her serves:

I just wanted to stay aggressive. I would rather make a long error than error into the net. I felt like if I could keep that rhythm going, maybe they would shank a few balls here or there and maybe I would get an ace serve. Overall, I felt like the outcome was successful.

[Husker Runner]

Lindsey Licht

[Husker Runner]

Took this photo after the match: