Volleyball Preview: Texas Tech vs. No. 7 Texas
November 12, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 12, 2010
LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech continues Big 12 play this Saturday when the 7th-ranked Texas Longhorns come to town for a 1 p.m. match in the United Spirit Arena.
ON THE AIR
Saturday's match will be broadcast throughout the Lubbock area on the Fox NewsNow channel (Suddenlink channel No. 9). Matt Driskell and Harley Chambliss will call the action live courtside.
THE SERIES
With 19-straight wins in the series, Texas controls the series with a 68-9-2 all-time advantage. Tech has not defeated the Longhorns since the 2000 season when it swept UT at home and earned a 3-1 victory in Austin.
THE RED RAIDERS
After winning the first set in its second-straight road match Wednesday night, Tech could not find enough points down the stretch to keep Missouri from rallying to take a 3-1 victory. The loss dropped Tech to 3-22 on the year and 1-15 in Big 12 play. Tech is under the direction of interim head coach Beth Falls, who was named to the position on Oct. 25.
Preseason All-Big 12 selection Amanda Dowdy has powered the Tech offense with 4.08 kills per set and 4.55 points per set, both ranked fourth in the conference. Dowdy has led the team in kills in all but two matches this season, and her 4.42 kills per set in conference play is tops in the league. She ranks 36th in the nation in kills per set.
Karlyn Meyers is currently ninth in the conference with a 9.04 assists per set average. Miara Cave and Aubree Piper are Tech's next offensive options besides Dowdy as the duo is averaging 1.80 and 1.71 kills per set each. On the defensive end, libero Jackie Vincent has been a consistent option for the Red Raiders, posting 283 digs on the year, while middle blocker Barbara Conceicao leads the squad with 1.03 blocks per set, 10th-highest in the conference. Dowdy has added 200 digs of her own this season while posting a team-high eight double-doubles.
SCOUTING TEXAS
Texas (18-5; 13-2) enters Saturday with the Big 12's longest active winning streak as the 7th-ranked Longhorns have won 10-straight matches dating back to early October. Four of Texas' five losses have come to teams ranked in the top 10 nationally.
With a Big-12 leading .295 team hitting percentage, the Longhorns boast a powerful offense that has three players, Rachael Adams, Juliann Faucette, and Amber Roberson, over 200 kills thus far. Both Faucette and Roberson are among the conference's top 10 for kills per set, while Adams' .432 hitting percentage ranks second among Big 12 players. Setters Hannah Allison and Michelle Kocher are averaging 9.86 and 9.27 assists per set. Jerritt Elliott is in his 10th season in Austin, compiling a 232-69 record during that span.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Red Raiders will take a week off following Saturday's match prior to traveling to Colorado on Nov. 20 for a 7:30 p.m. (CT) first serve in Boulder.
RECAPPING THE LAST MATCH
Texas Tech opened with one of its best offensive performances of the season, taking the first set against Missouri. The Tigers eventually found their rhythm, however, to win the next three sets for a 3-1 victory Wednesday night at the Hearnes Center in Columbia.
LAST TIME VERSUS TEXAS
AUSTIN, Texas (Oct. 16) - Texas raced out to early leads in every set and never looked back as the 11th-ranked Longhorns swept Texas Tech, 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-13), on Saturday night at Gregory Gymnasium.
The Longhorns (12-5; 7-2) controlled the match from the beginning, limiting the Tech (3-15; 1-8) offense to a .049 hitting percentage while Texas posted a .412 percentage of its own.
Attacking errors once again came back to cost the Red Raiders as Tech committed 18 in the match compared to Texas' nine. Tech was fortunate to get eight service errors from the Longhorns, but on the other side, the Red Raiders trailed in blocks, 18-5.
After coming off a Texas Tech record 37 kills on Wednesday night, Amanda Dowdy led the Tech offense with eight kills in the match, while Miara Cave added six kills of her own. Karlyn Meyers finished with 10 assists, one more than fellow setter Brandy Huskey. Jackie Vincent had a team-leading seven digs.
Texas' Amber Roberson finished with a match-high 17 kills off 28 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage. Setter Michelle Kocher posted 33 assists, and Sarah Palmer had a match-high eight digs.
FALLS WANTS TO SEE A "FINISH"
In Tech's last two road matches at Kansas State and Missouri, the Red Raiders came out and won the first set for an early lead. Tech has dropped the next three sets in both matches, however, as interim head coach Beth Falls has encouraged the Red Raiders since then to finish off its opponents.
OFFENSE ACCURATE IN FIRST TWO SETS
Tech's offense shined in the first two sets against Missouri with a .333 hitting percentage, its highest through two sets this season. The Red Raiders eventually ended with a .222 hitting percentage, fueling interim head coach Beth Falls' message to the team "to finish sets."
HAYES, VINCENT MATCH CAREER HIGHS
Jackie Vincent and Aleah Hayes both matched their career highs in digs against Missouri with Vincent posting 19 and Hayes, who was playing in her home state, added 10.
MEYERS MOVING UP THE CHARTS
Karlyn Meyers moved up further on the career assists chart Wednesday as the junior setter now has 1,694, good for eighth in the Tech record book. Her 40 assists against Missouri passed Rochelle Kaa'iai's 1,676 towards the beginning of the third set.
DOWDY A STAPLE IN THE RECORD BOOK
After two and a half seasons at one of Tech's primary offensive targets, Amanda Dowdy continues to enshrine herself in the Tech record book. After the Missouri match, the junior is now among the top 10 in career kills and attempts in the school record and has a realistic chance to climb higher up the charts with four matches remaining.
Career Kills
1. Kelly Johnson (2001-04) - 1,925
2. Melissa McGehee (1992-02) - 1,333
6. Sabrina Zenon (1988-91) - 1,014
7. Lacy Nye (1993-96) - 1,005
8. Philister Sang (2005-06) - 973
9. Amanda Dowdy (2008-Pres.) - 968
Career Attack Attempts
1. Kelly Johnson (2001-04) - 5,142
2. Melissa McGee (1999-02) - 3,368
7. Lisa Clark (1987-90) - 1,769
8. Lacy Nye (1993-96) - 2,710
9. Kiley Lyons (2003-06) - 2,680
10. Amanda Dowdy (2008-Pres.) - 2,659
