Dec. 5, 2008

Box Score

AUSTIN, Texas - The Lamar University volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision to the University of Texas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night at Gregory Gym.

The loss finishes the season for Lamar, who made their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1993, with a 17-12 record. Texas, who improves to 26-3 on the year, advances to play Wichita State in the second round on Saturday.

In the first set the Lady Cardinals started strong, jumping out to an early lead at 9-7. The two teams battled back and forth for the next nine points, but Lamar could not withstand a strong Texas run that gave the home squad a seven point cushion and an eventual 25-17 win.

The Lady Cardinals offense had a solid first set, posting a .350 hitting percentage, but the Longhorns rolled to a .520 hitting percentage. The LU offense was led by Kaci Brewer's four kills with a perfect hitting percentage, while Lauren Holdorff and Meagan Adams each added two kills.

"I thought we did a good job of executing our game plan in the beginning of the first set," Lamar head coach Justin Gibert said. "We served tough and got their offense out of rhythm and were able to make some nice shots."

In the second set the Longhorns started strong and rode the strong play of Destinee Hooker, who pounded out six kills in 10 attempts, for a 25-14 victory. Despite getting down big, the Lady Cardinals battled with their backs against the wall for a short rally, but UT was able to finish out the set.

Lamar hit .238 in the second set, led by Holdorff's three kills, while the Longhorns continued their strong offensive play with a .528 hitting percentage.

In the third set Texas jumped on top early with a 7-1 start and never looked back in a 25-8 win to close out the match. The Lady Cardinals struggled to get their offense going in the final set, hitting -.207.

"I think we did a good job of executing early on in the match," junior setter Adrianne Meengs said. "We knew coming into this match that Texas is a machine offensively, and they were able to do some things we couldn't stop."

Holdorff finished the match as Lamar's leader in kills, knocking down six with a .308 hitting percentage. Brewer, Adams and Shalayne Blythe each tallied five kills while Meengs and Gladle finished with three. Meengs finished the match with 22 assists and Andrea Hamilton led the LU defense with 9 digs.