Away match diary: Austin for No. 2 Texas

I’ll be flying down to Austin with the volleyball team to see if they can upset the nation’s No. 2 team Wednesday. Check back around 8:00 am for updates. Until then, be sure to check out my away match diary for Baylor.
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Firs update of the day! The team is starting to file in, and a pilot asked Jules “you gonna win today?” Her response: “Heck yeah!”
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Just landed in Austin. It’s cloudy and raining here. Weird–I thought Texas was always supposed to have better weather than Missouri in the fall/winter.
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Everybody in the car agrees that UT’s basketball arena looks like an army bunker.
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Amanda and Catie are back to counting cowboy hats. Also, DKR is a MASSIVE football stadium. Wow.
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Just got into the arena. I have to say, this is a pretty neat setup they have here at Texas.
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Practice is underway at Gregory Gym. They’ll be practicing until 2 and the we’ll hit up some lunch.
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Rosa’s looking very good in practice. Mizzou’s going to need all the firepower they can get against on of the nation’s best teams, so it’s good to see her playing so well this afternoon.
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Just finished lunch, now back to the arena. I hope the players didn’t eat as much as I did.

Also, let’s hope we avoid any near-car crashes on the way back. Just saying.
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That’s my vantage point for today’s match. We’re about 90 minutes from first serve here in Austin.

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Both teams have taken the floor with about 45 minutes until gametime. Today is also Texas’ “Volley for the Cure” night in support of breast cancer research.

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Alright, we’re under 15 minutes until this thing gets underway. I’ve mentioned it before, but Texas is a really, really good team. Even if the all-world Destinee Hooker gets shut down, UT can turn to pretty much anybody else on the team to fill in for the scoring. There’s a reason why they’re right up there with Penn State as one of the top teams in the nation, and if Mizzou is going to pull the upset, it’ll take a near-perfect match from the Tigers.

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Also, I didn’t mention this earlier, but here’s my favorite moment from the trip so far: As we were pulling off I-35 to get lunch, our car had to come to a quick stop on the offramp to avoid rear-ending the car in front of us. As this happened, Wendy yelled “I’m not ready to die yet!” Seriously, this team is awesome.

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Pretty cool gesture by Texas fans—they clapped for every one of Mizzou starters during player intros.

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Mizzou calls timeout down 11-4. Destinee Hooker has been her usual incredible self, already accounting for six kills on eight errorless attacks. Wow.

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That’s the scene just before gametime—Texas really does have a great volleyball atmosphere.

It’s 17-10 Texas right now.

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Texas takes the first set 25-14. Hooker ended up with seven kills on 11 errorless attempts. As a team, Texas hit .593 in the set. Mizzou only had seven digs as a team.

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Another couple of notes: Hooker hit .636 in the set and Paola had a team-best five kills.

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Mizzou hanging tough in the second set, down 6-5 with with the serve.

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Timeout Missouri with the score 12-8 Texas.

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Nice, nice rally by the Tigers to make it 13-11 Texas as the ‘Horns call for a timeout.

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Mizzou tied the match at 13 but now is down 18-15.

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Texas has opened up their lead to 22-17 as Mizzou calls for a timeout. While Mizzou has certainly played better in this set (Lei has nine assists in the set), a bunch of UT blocking errors have helped the Tigers stay in this one.

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And Texas takes the second set 25-20.

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File this under the “wow” category: Through two sets, Texas is hitting .500 as a team. Destinee Hooker has 11 kills in 18 attempts and is hitting .611, still with no errors.

Paola Ampudia isn’t getting cheated, though. She has nine kills on 25 attempts and a .250 hitting percentage.

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10-6 Texas in the third set. Mizzou’s really not playing all that badly—but UT has really taken advantage of every little mistake MU has made. And even when Mizzou plays a perfect point, Texas has found a way to come up with a point. There’s a reason why they’re the No. 2 team in the nation, folks.

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So as impressive as Hooker has been in this match, Paola has looked just as great. She’s swinging incredibly well—and with the entire Missouri offense running through her right arm, she hasn’t disappointed.

it’s 17-13 Texas.

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Timeout Missouri with UT leading 20-14.

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Mizzou hanging tough, down 21-17 as UT calls for a timeout. I’d have to think that when I talk to coach Kreklow next, he’ll be pleased with his team’s effort in this one. The outcome may not end up being what he wanted, but the effort certainly has been there from Missouri—especially Paola and Rosa.
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Texas takes the set 25-20 and the match 3-0. But I really liked what I saw from MU today, and the team really shouldn’t be all that disappointed on their showing against arguably the nation’s top team.
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Another great quote–
Amanda: “What can you get for five dollars?”
Lei (from the front of the car): Five dollas footlong! (I was told to quote it like that)

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Alright, I just got back to my house—and I had a blast with the team even though they couldn’t pull out a victory. Thanks for reading!