Crunch Time for Gazelles

by patienthornsfan on Nov 13, 2008 12:56 PM CST

Texas finds itself in almost exactly the same position it was in last year at this time: contending for the Big XII Championship, and for a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. This despite a shocking - and annoying - loss to the lowly Sooners that snapped a lengthy home winning streak for the Gazelles. Texas has two critical "must-win" matches in a row - at No. 14 Kansas State on Saturday and at Gregory versus No. 3 Nebraska on Wednesday. Fortunately for Texas, Nebraska lost a match to Colorado the same night as our loss to the Sooners, so the Longhorns can nail down at least a share of the conference title for the second year in a row if they win both matches.

The tougher road is the battle to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The OU loss already hurts our chances for a top seed, but if we lose either of these matches we'll almost certainly slip to a 2 seed. And given our performance in the post-season the past two years, our path to the Final Four becomes much more difficult.

"Next week is going to go a long way in showing where we are," coach Jerritt Elliott said. "We're going to have our chance to earn it and play with pressure and in crunch time."

Gazelles

This is how I see it playing out...

Win both: 1 Seeds - Penn State, Stanford, Nebraska, Texas 2 Seeds - Washington, Cal, Hawai'i, Oregon

Lose one: 1 Seeds - Penn State, Stanford, Nebraska, Washington 2 Seeds - Cal, Hawai'i, Oregon, Texas

Lose both, and we're a likely 3 seed, replaced by either UCLA, USC or Wichita State. (Note - these projections are highly speculative, as the NCAA may not want to pack the top seedings with Pac 10 teams)

The Gazelles need - and deserve - your support, BON'ers. We nearly sold out the A&M game, let's see if we can do it for the Huskers game next Wednesday.

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Comments

I'm sure this has been answered before...

but why is the UT volleyball team named the Gregory Gazelles? I googled it, but didn’t find any answers. Sorry for not having a better place to ask this!

by TXinDC on Nov 13, 2008 3:03 PM CST reply actions

PB, you wanna take this one?

Still a Blaine Irby fan

by patienthornsfan on Nov 13, 2008 3:10 PM CST up reply actions

They have long, beautiful legs

So I coined the term, the Gregory Gazelles.

--PB--

by Peter Bean on Nov 13, 2008 5:21 PM CST up reply actions

Hahaha, that is classic. Thanks.

by TXinDC on Nov 13, 2008 7:53 PM CST up reply actions

Not a volleyball follower per se

but Juliann Faucette is pretty awesome.

May Colt be with you. Yeah, that's right.

by bfaut86 on Nov 13, 2008 9:43 PM CST up reply actions

Yes, she is.

by the1austin on Nov 13, 2008 10:16 PM CST up reply actions

That's nothing!

Destinee Hooker is the real leaper on the team, but new recruit Bailey Webster is an absolule freak. Follow Tempest’s link below, then click on the photo gallery. Half the girl’s body is above the net every time she jumps. It’s just not fair to the competition. We will have 4-5 girls on the team in 2009 who can touch over 10 feet. Ridiculous!

Still a Blaine Irby fan

by patienthornsfan on Nov 14, 2008 8:02 AM CST up reply actions

I was blown away with the athletic talent of the Gazelle's when on campus....

Going to a game at Gregory was truly one of the school’s best kept secrets.

by the1austin on Nov 14, 2008 12:35 PM CST up reply actions

And that’s the shame of it. It’s a secret that’s too well kept. Even the students seem to be limited to a very dedicated 100 or so. I’m not sure why there aren’t more guys as obsessed with the Gazelles as I am. Really fit, really good looking, really passionate girls. Sweating. In tiny lycra shorts. What’s up with that?

Maybe a National Championship will get this talented bunch the attention – and respect – they deserve.

Still a Blaine Irby fan

by patienthornsfan on Nov 14, 2008 2:02 PM CST up reply actions

Re: What's up with that?

I don’t know, but I can say from experience that it’s ~~surprisingly difficult~~ impossible to convince your 5’ 2’’ girlfriend that you’re interested in Women’s Volleyball for reasons related to athletic competition.

proud to swim home

by learned hand on Nov 15, 2008 1:29 AM CST up reply actions

Wednesday should be a sellout

My understanding is next Wednesday’s match at 8pm is close to selling out. If you have plans to go and don’t have tickets, get ’em now.

www.texasboxoffice.com

by TempestHorn on Nov 13, 2008 4:32 PM CST reply actions

Recruiting Class

http://dailytexanonline.com/volleyball_longhorns_sign_top-ranked_recruit_for_2009_season

Another Top 2 class signed by Jerritt Eliott. This time he had a little help. Coach Elliott reported last night at Point Texas that Mack Brown spent 1.5 hours with Bailey Webster in the spring. Even bringing her out into the huddle during spring practice.

by TempestHorn on Nov 13, 2008 4:42 PM CST reply actions

wow!

Look how high she is off the ground. She’s clearly really tall but wow! She’s also got like a 20+ inch vertical. At least it seems in the photo.

by Michael Bean on Nov 14, 2008 6:26 AM CST reply actions

Horns leading the league in key categories

Texas is hitting a conference-best .349 in league play, holding a large .079 edge on second-place Nebraska which is hitting .270 in the Big 12 … senior All-America middle blocker Lauren Paolini is leading the way for UT in league play, hitting a Big 12-best .524, registering 130 kills on 225 swings, while committing just 12 attack errors in 15 matches … Paolini has recorded six error-free matches so far in Big 12 action … junior All-America outside hitter Destinee Hooker ranks sixth in the league with a .331 attack mark, while leading the Big 12 with 5.35 points and 4.42 kills per-set … freshman setter Michelle Kocher ranks first in the conference in league play with 11.79 assists per-set.

KSU is a real worry for me tomorrow night. Manhattan is one of the toughest places in the country to play (only Lincoln is worse) and KSU is playing for their post-season lives. Texas swept the Cats in Austin 3-0, and have swept their 4 matches since losing to OU, but I think they’ll have their hands full.

The rest of the KSU preview is here.

PHF fave Lauren Paolini is nearing the end of her stellar career at Texas. She’s been great fun to watch since helping Jerritt nail down the first of four consecutive top recruiting rankings. And she’s leaving her mark on the record books as well. Pao…

..is in her final season on the Forty Acres and when her time is done her name will be written all over the Texas record books … last season, Paolini hit .419 and set a new single-season attack mark, but she is on pace to obliterate that mark this season as she is hitting .465 through 23 matches … the senior is also creeping up the career hitting charts, ranking second all-time at UT with her .359 attack mark, only trailing Brandy Magee’s (2003-07) school record of .373 … Paolini also ranks ninth all-time with 320 block assists and weighs in at 12th with 374 career total blocks.

Still a Blaine Irby fan

by patienthornsfan on Nov 14, 2008 8:17 AM CST reply actions

Gazelles escape Cats

We knew it would be a challenge, and KSU gave Texas all they could handle last night. It looked like a Texas sweep, but Texas lost focus at just the wrong time – down 21-22 in the third set. The Horns finally put the Cats away 15-9 in the fifth set.

Great play from the expected trio – Ashley had a season best 24 kills, Destinee had 18 and Pao 14. I’m still worried about the season-long funk Juliann has been in. She had only 7 kills against 9 attack errors. We’ll need all four of our big guns on their best form to hold off the Huskers on Wednesday.

Game Recap Here

Still a Blaine Irby fan

by patienthornsfan on Nov 16, 2008 2:40 AM CST reply actions