University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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Jim Sigmon I FLYING HIGH: Anna Ybarrondo, elementary educa- tion senior, goes up for a spike while on a hot streak dur- ing the match-up against Georgia. Jim Simmon PRECISION PERFECT: Eva Murray, education senior, completes a perfect set against Georgia Oct. 9. Texas won the home opener in front of 1,006 spectators at the Erwin Center. DIG IN: During a rally against Stanford, Diane Watson, physical education senior, makes a save. Volleyball 1 75

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aulting into the Final Four olleyball by Fran Harris After falling short of their ultimate goal for three consecutive years, the Lady Longhorn Volleyball team finally made it to the NCAA Final Four Tournament. While the road to the national tourna- ment was a long, hard one, the Texas team was confident it could endure. This is the best team we ' ve had and I think we all want it really bad, Jackie Campbell said. After defeating Southwest Texas State 15-12, 15-9 and 15-6, Sam Houston State 15-4, 15-2, 1 5-3 and UT Arlington 15-3, 15-11 and 15-4 in the Southwest Texas Invitational in San Marcos Sept. 4-6, Texas faced the No. 1 Stanford Car- dinals in their season opener at the Frank C. Erwin Center Sept. 1 1 . Ready for the challenge, the Longhorns pounded the Cardinals 15- 12, 15-17, 15-1 and 15-8 before an en- thusiastic home crowd. Dawn Daven- port said she and her Longhorn team- mates were prepared for the challenge. We just did things right and they couldn ' t get it back, Davenport said. Southwest Texas State ... 15-12, 15-9, 15-6 Sam Houston State 15-4, 15-2, 15-3 UT-Arlington 15-3, 15-1 1, 15-4 Stanford 15-12, 15-17, 15-1, 15-8 Stanford 15-8, 15-12, 15-11 Pepperdine 15-12,16-14, 15-11 Pacific 15-9,4-15,9-15, 15-6, 15-12 UCLA . 15-13, 15-4, 13-15, 12-15, 15-13 UCLA 17-15,15-13,3-15, 15-9 Rice 15-7,8-15,15-12,15-2 Eastern Kentucky .12-15, 15-3, 15-9, 15-3 Kentucky 13-15, 15-11,11-15,15-10, 16-14 Baylor 15-5,15-4,15-6 Georgia ... 11-15, 13-15, 15-7, 15-9, 15-5 Texas Tech 15-4, 15-3, 15-6 San Diego 13-15,15-13, 15-11,10-15, 15-11 Texas A M 16-14, 15-13, 14-16, 15-9 Houston 15-13,15-11,15-10 Nebraska . 6-15, 15-12, 15-7, 9-15, 15-13 Texas Tech 15-3, 15-6, 8-15, 15-3 Houston 15-8, 15-3, 15-10 Arizona 15-9,15-12,15-11 Rice 15-6,15-8,15-5 Pepperdine 15-9, 15-7, 15-10 LSU 15-6,15-2,15-6 CalPoly-SLO 15-12, 15-9, 16-14 Baylor 15-10,15-12,11-15 Texas A M 15-1, 15-8, 15-5 Illinois. . . . 13-15, 15-11, 15-8, 15-17, 15-6 NCAA Tournament Duke 15-8,15-3,13-15,15-0 Georgia 5-15, 15-4, 15-10, 15-6 LSU 15-3,15-11,15-13 Pacific 6-15,1-15,14-16 The win over Stanford gave the Horns the confidence they needed going into the season, but was not enough to get them through their next obstacle on the road to the Final Four. In a tough west coast trip Sept. 18-19, Texas lost twice, first to No. 17 Pepperdine 15-12, 16-14 and 15-11, then to No. 3 Pacific 15-9, 4-15,9-15, 15-6 and 15-12. Diane Watson said the Longhorns lost because they were not intense. We were just flat, we made a lot of errors, Watson said. Back home the Lady Longhorns had little time to regroup, facing west coast rival the University of California at Los Angeles, Sept. 22 in the Kaepa Challenge I game. Texas, determined to end a nine match losing streak against UCLA, played to win. Watson showed her Ail-American talents by leading Texas with 1 9 kills, making her the first player in Texas history to score more than 1,000 kills. With Karen Kramer adding 16 kills Texas was able to rally from an eight point deficit in the final game to defeat the Bruins 15-13, 15-4, 13-15, 12-15 and 15-13. (continued on page 1 76) IN YOUR FACE: Concentrating on a spike, Katie Salen, advertising sophomore, goes past a block helping the Longhorns in a victory over the Baylor Bears Oct. 7. John Mooref 174 Volleyball

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. cruising through conference contest (from page 1 74) The conference opener against Rice gave Coach Mick Haley the opportunity to use all of his players except Eva Mur- ray, who was sidelined with an ankle in- jury. Replacing Murray for two weeks was Sue Schelfhout, business sopho- more, who responded with 48 assists to help in a win over No. 20 Georgia in the first game of the Texas Classic Oct. 9. Anna Ybararrondo, added 21 kills as Texas defeated the Lady Dogs 11-15, 13-15, 15-7 and 15-5. Without using any of their regulars, Texas clinched the Southwest Con- ference title with its win over Baylor Nov. 18, 15-10, 15-12, 11-15 and 15-4. From the Southwest Conference, Texas entered the playoffs with a 12- game winning streak. This streak was broken by a loss to 1 2th-ranked Illinois Nov. 22. After playing five games, the Illinis finally won, 13-15, 15-11, 15-8, 15-7 and 15-6. The team ' s momentum remained de- spite the loss Murray said. We ' re not going to let this loss affect us. Texas opened the NCAA tournament with a first round win over Duke at Gregory Gymnasium Dec. 4. The Horns stunned the Blue Devils 15-8, 15-3, 13-15 and 15-0. Texas would then face Georgia again in the semifinals of the Regional tourna- ment Dec. 12-13. Texas did not let the Lady Dogs end the dream of going to the Final Four as they prevailed 5-15, 15-4, 15-10 and 15-6. With only one game remaining before the Final Four, Texas put three years of frustration be- hind them as they swept Louisiana State in three games 15-3, 15-11 and 15-13 to win the South Region Championship. Reaching the NCAA final Four Tour- nament for the first time, the Lady Longhorns had traveled a long road of successes. The trip came to an early end, however, as the University of Pacific knocked Texas off in three games 1 5-6, 15-1 and 16-14. Despite the Final Four loss, Texas ' s talents were not overlooked as seniors Watson and Murray were named to several All-American lists. Jim Sigmon DIG IN: Diane Watson, physical education senior, plunges for the ball during the Stanford match-up Sept. 1 1. POUNDING IT HOME: Dawn Davenport, broadcast journalism junior, zeros in for the kill on route to a win over Pepperdine Nov. 8. 176 Volleyball