If one moment defined the tone of the Texas volleyball team’s Tuesday night sweep against Texas State, it was the first serve of the game.
Freshman libero Naliani Iosia opened with a well-timed dig, leading to a comfortably placed assist by sophomore opposite hitter Skylar Fields and a precise kill by junior middle blocker Brionne Butler –– nothing new for the Longhorns.
Despite the absence of head coach Jerritt Elliott due to COVID-19 contact tracing protocol, Texas’ veterans consistently stepped up to create a steady momentum the Bobcats couldn’t match, winning the game 25-21.
Butler, second in the nation in blocks, quietly finished with two blocks but found a way to implement some strong offensive strategies. Butler started the first and third sets with easy kills by striking from the middle of the net.
Junior outside hitter Logan Eggleston put up one of the defining performances of the match. Eggleston had several slam dunk kills, enough for her to notch a .345 hitting percentage on the night as well as to keep the Longhorns ahead nearly the entire match.
In addition to solid work put up by the Texas juniors, the team’s rising star, freshman outside hitter Melanie Parra, had another lights-out game. Parra was looking to duplicate Wednesday’s breakout performance against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and stepped up to make big plays. Parra also notched her first double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs, both season highs.
Texas outmatched the Bobcats’ offense, taking each of the first two sets 25-11. Despite Texas State junior outside hitter Janell Fitzgerald being the nation’s leader in total kills this season, the Longhorns barely gave Fitzgerald the opportunity to make plays with their swift offense and brick-wall defense, defined by 10 total blocks.
Texas’ defense led to offense as four Longhorns had double-digit kills. Eggleston led the team with 14, Fields finished with 12 and both redshirt sophomore middle blocker Asjia O’Neal and Parra finished with 10. Junior setter Jhenna Gabriel’s 39 assists were instrumental in facilitating the offense.
However, Texas was quiet from the service line despite creating five aces. The team’s eight total service errors created an imbalance that cost them, especially in the third set when three errors occurred. Those mistakes nearly allowed Texas State to mount a comeback.
But the Longhorns also found a way to create runs when it mattered most. They started the match with three straight kills and finished the second set on a 12-0 run. The third set proved to be the trickiest for Texas to maneuver after Texas State finally found a rhythm, but the Longhorns stuck to their tried-and-true aggressive mindset and capped off the set with a 3-1 run.
The No. 2 Longhorns will head back to Austin for a week off before a home match against Rice on March 23, where they look to extend their 20–0 record.
