The No. 3 Longhorns were one game away from an undefeated conference season but came up short against No. 18 Iowa State 2-3 to end the regular season. Texas will enter the post season with a 23-4 record and 15-1 Big 12 record with a Big 12 title.
Despite the loss, the Longhorns’ post season stock was not affected. On Sunday, Texas was seeded third overall in the NCAA Tournament and will host Colgate University in game one Thursday. With a win, the Longhorns will face either North Carolina State or Texas A&M in game two Friday.
Junior Bailey Webster produced 28 kills, a career-high, while hitting .446. Freshman Andie Malloy led the Cyclones with 19 kills while hitting .372.
The Cylcones got off to a fast start. The lead stayed close until back-to-back kills by Molly McCage and Webster ended the set in favor of the Longhorns 25-23.
To avenge the first set, the Cyclones came out fighting in set two posting a 16-12 lead. The Longhorns were not able to get much momentum as several service errors lead to a 19-25 win for Iowa State.
The Cyclones took a 12-4 lead in set three, but Texas was able to fight back to close the gap to one. A 3-1 rally by the Cyclones closed out set three for the 21-25 ISU victory.
The Longhorns dominated the fourth set and came out with a 25-15 win to even the match at 2-2. Webster closed out the set with five straight kills for the Longhorns in a 5-1 scoring run.
In set five, Iowa State quickly went up 11-6. The Longhorns were able to fight back, but an error by Webster ended the set 13-15 and the match.