On a night when Texas raised breast cancer awareness with the Volley for the Cure campaign, the Longhorns swept visiting Colorado 3-0 in front of a pink-clad crowd at Gregory Gymnasium.
The Texas faithful showed their support for Volley for the Cure by wearing pink and waving give-away pink pom-poms all match long. The pink crowd filling the stands and the gym’s brown brick walls had Gregory Gym resembling a jelly donut.
A serving error by Colorado gave Texas (9-5; 4-2 Big 12) the point it needed to sweep the match and win the final set as the Longhorns regained their winning form en route to a 25-19, 25-15, 25-20 victory. The No. 11 Longhorns got back in the win column as they consistently overpowered Colorado (5-8; 2-5 Big 12) and extended their streak over the Buffaloes to 13 matches.
“Tonight was one of the first nights that we’ve been able to play consistently throughout an entire match,” Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott said. “We’re getting good set distribution and good balance from our team.”
The Texas offense was balanced across the board with junior middle blocker Rachael Adams and junior outside hitter Amber Roberson pacing the Longhorns with 13 kills apiece. Senior outside hitter Juliann Faucette added nine kills while senior middle blocker Jennifer Doris chipped in seven.
Faucette said it was a feel-good match for the team and stressed the importance of “getting our rhythm back and getting that W under our belt for the Big 12 race.”
Adams — named Big 12 Player of the Week on Monday — and Faucette set the tone for the game in the first set. Faucette led the way with seven kills while Adams added five on a blistering .833 attack percentage. A kill by Faucette put Texas up 2-1 early and the Longhorns never looked back, winning the opening set 25-19.
It was more of the same for Texas in the second as Adams continued her strong play with five kills in the set, each one bringing the crowd to its feet applauding her powerful hits.
Faucette, Roberson and Doris contributed two kills each to maintain a balanced Texas attack and keep the Colorado defense on its heels as the Longhorns coasted 25-15.
“It’s tough for other teams to block us when it’s spread out and there’s a lot of options,” Faucette said.
The Longhorns showed their versatility up front in the second during a 5-0 run to push the lead to double up the Buffaloes 16-8. An Adams kill followed a Faucette block and a Doris ace to ignite Texas as the team turned it on against an outmatched Colorado team.
Texas takes on Kansas State on Saturday in Manhattan at 6:30 p.m. The Longhorns have struggled on the road this season, going 1-4 away from Austin.