Sept. 7, 2006
AUSTIN, Texas - The No. 4 Santa Clara University volleyball team's momentum early on in the 2006 season hit a speed bump Thursday evening as they were swept 3-0 (30-20, 30-25, 30-17) by the host No. 7 Texas Longhorns at the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational. SCU just couldn't get anything going from the start and struggled offensively, hitting only .160 for the match.
The Broncos will return to Gregory Gym Friday afternoon to conclude tournament action against the No. 15 Missouri Tigers. First serve has been changed to 1 p.m. PT from the originally-scheduled 2 p.m. PT start.
"We weren't really comfortable with our setup game early, and that gave them confidence," said head coach Jon Wallace. "The environment was also a little tough for us, and we just couldn't ever settle in and play our game."
Kim McGiven had nine kills to pace the SCU attack, while Anna Cmaylo added eight. Freshman Lindsy Evans continued to hit well, making six kills at a .455 clip, the only Bronco to hit over .200 for the match. Caroline Walters also made 11 digs to pace the defense.
Defensive struggles also plagued the Broncos, as they did not make a block all match long, while Texas hit .347 on the night. The Longhorns were led by the 15 kills apiece of Dariam Acevedo and Ashley Engle, while setter Michelle Moriarty had 35 assists.
Things were close in the early goings of game one, but with the score deadlocked at 8-8, Texas broke out to a 17-9 run highlighted by five kills from Engle and four from Destinee Hooker. The Broncos could not respond, and the Longhorns reeled off four consecutive points to capture the first game.
Game two followed a similar path as the previous game, as the two squads battled, with Texas holding Santa Clara off just enough with an 11-6 advantage. But crucial kills from McGiven, Cmaylo, and Brittany Lowe got the Broncos back into the game and cut the deficit to 14-12, forcing the Longhorns to burn a timeout.
But the Longhorns roared back after the break in the action, benefiting from a pair of attack errors and a service ace to reassert command of the game at 19-12. The Texas lead got to as much as nine at 25-17 before the Broncos closed things to four at 29-25, but a Lauren Paolini kill closed the door and put the Broncos in an 0-2 hole.
The third frame was just as unkind, if not more, to Santa Clara as the first two had been. Texas took control early, using a quick 4-0 burst to jump to a 10-5 lead, then extending it to 16-8. The Broncos did themselves no favors offensively, hitting only .088 in the third game, as the Longhorns continued to roll, extending the advantage to 24-13 before closing out the match with an Engle kill.
