AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas swept West Virginia (25-17, 25-10, 25-15) on Thursday evening at Gregory Gymnasium to claim a share of the Big 12 Conference regular-season title for the third consecutive season. The Longhorns can win the conference crown outright Saturday afternoon when they host the K-State Wildcats.
The victory increased Texas' win streak to 16 consecutive matches and improved the Longhorns to 20-2 overall on the season. This marks the 10th consecutive season of 20 or more wins under Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott.
Junior All-American Haley Eckerman put together a dominant performance that matched her career-high of 27 kills and set personal bests in both hitting percentage (.634, 27-1-41) and points (28.5). Senior Hannah Allison and freshman Chloe Collins notched 15 assists apiece, while sophomore libero Kat Brooks recorded a career-best four aces. Senior libero Sarah Palmer led both teams with 15 digs.
Texas (13-0 Big 12) overcame an early 0-3 deficit in game one and put away West Virginia (18-12, 4-10 Big 12) by a final score of 25-17. Eckerman led the Longhorn offense (13-5-33, .242) with nine kills on 15 attempts (.600) while the Mountaineers were limited to -.023 (10-11-44) in the opening set.
The Longhorns never trailed in game two and pulled ahead by nine points, 12-3, to put the set out of reach early for the Mountaineers. Texas clinched its 13th consecutive conference win behind Eckerman's 10 kills in the third set.
