Cyclones Fall To No. 2 Texas, 3-0

Friday, September 18

Austin, Texas

6:30 PM

Iowa State

Texas

09.18.2009 | Volleyball

By: cyclones.com

AUSTIN, Texas ? Destinee Hooker had 18 kills and hit .400 as No. 2 Texas earned a 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-17) sweep of No. 10 Iowa State Friday night at Gregory Gym.

The Cyclones (9-2, 1-1 Big 12) struggled to find an answer for the All-American Hooker, who also posted 10 digs and two block assists in the match for Texas (7-0, 2-0). Juliann Faucette was the only other Longhorn in double-figures with 10 kills.

“Hooker really took over the match at times tonight,” ISU head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch said. “I feel like we are close, but to beat these teams we really need to sustain a high level of play throughout the match. It's the little things that are hurting us right now, the missed serves and missed tips, those are the things you have to do to beat these top teams.”

Iowa State was led by Victoria Henson, who finished with 12 kills. Henson has been in double-figures in the last six matches. The junior also had two solo blocks and six digs in the contest.

Rachel Hockaday finished with nine kills and Debbie Stadick added eight for ISU.

“Our outsides played pretty well tonight,” Johnson-Lynch said. “I also thought that Deb (Stadick) had a pretty good match, but it just wasn't enough tonight.”

The Cyclones were out dug 57-44 by the Longhorns, marking the first time this season they have been out dug. Ashley Mass had 12 digs and Hockaday chipped in 10 for ISU.

Iowa State was able to hold the Longhorns well below their season hitting percentage, limiting UT to a .277 efficiency. Texas, which has now defeated a ranked opponent in all seven matches this season, entered the match hitting .319 as a team.

In the opening frame, Texas grabbed a 5-0 lead on the Cyclones out of the gate and ISU spent the rest of the set working to get back in it. The Cyclones eventually tied it at 22-22 but a costly service error by Henson gave Texas the lead and they never let up, taking the set 25-22.

The Horns hit .324 in the opening stanza and got seven kills from Hooker.

In the second it was ISU that took a quick lead, running off the first three points before Texas scored three straight. The teams went back-and-forth with Texas finally pushing the lead to 16-13 and forcing a Cyclone timeout. ISU responded, tying it at 17-17 on back-to-back kills from Hockaday and Henson. Texas then went on a 5-2 run to force Johnson-Lynch to use the Cyclones final timeout. ISU answered the call again, running off three consecutive to tie it at 22-22.

After Hockaday smashed a kill to give the Cyclones a one point edge, Faucette and Webster notched back-to-back kills to give the Horns set point. Straube then had a huge solo block of Hooker to tie it at 24-24 but the Horns scored the next two points to win 26-24 and go into the break with a 2-0 lead.

The third set was all Texas, which took the lead for good at 4-3 and never gave it up. The Longhorns hit .310 in the set behind six kills from Hooker. ISU hit just .111 in the frame.

The Cyclones were hurt by seven service errors, while recording no aces in the match.

Iowa State returns to action Wednesday when it travels to face No. 24 Baylor at 7 p.m.