No. 3 Texas 3, Texas Tech 0
AUSTIN, Texas -- Third-ranked Texas hit a season-high .378 (47-13-90) in a 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-16) victory against Texas Tech on Wednesday evening at Gregory Gym. Senior outside hitter Bailey Webster recorded a match-high 14 kills in Texas' seventh consecutive win, while senior setter Hannah Allison led all players with 32 assists.
The win marked Texas' 25th consecutive victory in the all-time series between the in-state rivals. It was also the Longhorns' fourth sweep in the last five matches, including 3-0 victories against LSU (Oct. 5) and Big 12 Conference opponents TCU (Sept. 25) and Oklahoma (Sept. 28).
Trailing 7-2 in the opening set, Texas (11-2, 4-0 Big 12) bounced back with a 13-8 run to tie it up at 15 apiece. An attack error by Texas Tech's Mikia Mills and a kill by sophomore middle blocker Sara Hattis put Texas ahead, 19-17. From there, Texas went on a 6-2 run with a final kill by freshman Chiaka Ogbogu to win the first set, 25-19.
The second set started off with back-and-forth play that included 11 ties and five lead changes until Texas went on a 5-0 run to gain a 19-14 lead. Freshman Pilar Victoria had three consecutive kills to give the Longhorns a 23-15 lead, and Texas emerged victorious again after the two teams traded four more points. Texas recorded a .400 hitting percentage in the set, including four kills from Victoria to lead the offensive attack.
Although Texas never trailed in the third set, the game began again with another back-and-forth start before a kill by Webster and a service ace by Victoria gave Texas a 15-11 lead. The Longhorns finished the set with a 5-1 run finished by consecutive Victoria kills to win 25-16. Texas logged a match-high .500 hitting percentage and were paced by Webster's seven kills.
No. 4 Penn State 3, No. 11 Minnesota 2
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Behind career-high contributions from a trio of senior standouts, No. 4 Penn State (13-2, 4-1) rallied to a close 3-2 (25-19, 23-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-11) victory against No. 11 Minnesota (15-3, 3-2) on Wednesday evening at Rec Hall.
Senior Ariel Scott led the squad with a season-high 25 kills, while senior Katie Slay matched a career-high mark with 16 kills on .444 hitting. Slay also logged a season-high 10 blocks to bring her career total to 502 total blocks, which ranks eighth on the Penn State all-time list.
Senior Deja McClendon rounded out the group with her fourth double-double of the season (14 kills, 16 digs), totaling four blocks, including two solo blocks. Sophomore Megan Courtney also notched a double-double, registering 10 kills and a career high 22 digs, while also chipping in six blocks. Junior Micha Hancock dished out a career-high 67 assists, adding four kills, eight digs and one block.
The triumph also marks head coach Russ Roses' 1,104th career victory, moving him just two victories away from tying former UCLA head coach Andy Banachowski for second on the all-time wins list.
