While it will certainly be tough to get through the next three games, the Texas Longhorns tonight looked like a team that can at least dream of a volleyball national championship and not be kidding itself. In what should have been an even Sweet Sixteen matchup tonight at Gregory Gym between No. 10 Wisconsin and No. 7 Texas, the Longhorns were utterly dominant, settling the match in a quick three games: 30-19, 30-22, and 30-12.
The only scare of the evening came at the very beginning, when the Badgers jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead. But a timeout by Horns coach Jerritt Elliott was all the Longhorns needed to regain their composure, and with the noisy Gregory Gym crowd behind them, the host team went on a roll.
Wisconsin was simply outmanned on height at the net – by the end, they might as well have been playing a brick wall. A very tall brick wall. Six-foot-five Lauren Paolini and 6-foot-3 Ashley Engle combined for 11 block assists and 23 kills, and whenever the Badgers foolishly allowed a ball to hover over the net, Paolini would toss it down in the volleyball equivalent of a slam dunk. Freshman sensation Destinee Hooker (who is also national champ in the high jump for the track & field team) and Jennifer Todd were also brutally effective, with hitting percentages of .615 and .714, respectively.
Tomorrow’s game looks to be a lot tougher, though: No. 2 Stanford, also at Gregory, held off an inspired California 31-29, 30-25, 31-29. The Longhorns and the Cardinal will face off at 5:30pm on Saturday. Perhaps with a full, rowdy house, Texas can pull off the upset? Get tickets at the door or at TexasBoxOffice.com.
This article appears in December 8 • 2006.