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 wasnt 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.

Its 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 cant 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 wouldnt need any outside motivation this time in preparation for Saturdays
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 wasnt 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 wouldnt 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 wouldnt 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 couldnt 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 wouldnt 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
werent ever really frantic or scared we were going to lose, we were just relentless on the court.

That confidence didnt 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. Its 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. Its a big
accomplishment. Even though we are used to doing it, its something that we work really hard to
get to. A lot of people dont see the sweat and tears that go on behind the scenes. Im 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 its not just something that
happens. Its 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 NealAmy 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. Shes been rock solid especially since the return from her injury,
although it wasnt 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. Shes got more swagger now, shes a little more
sassy with me, which is good. Shes showing me that she is confident and that shes 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, theyre 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. Im feeling good and being able to contribute to the
team and help on the floor is awesome. Im just glad Im back playing.

Ride down 35The 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 Oklahomas 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 theyre 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 wasnt 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 cant be on our heels and be in shock because (our
opponent) is playing so well. Thats going to happen when youre 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.

Whats 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.