Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Volleyball 2010 Season Review
December 03, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 3, 2010
LUBBOCK, Texas - The 2010 Texas Tech volleyball season was one marked by ups and downs, but at the end of a tumultuous year, the Red Raiders showed signs of improvement that will benefit the young squad in a year to come.
THE RED RAIDERS
Texas Tech finished the season 4-23 overall and 2-18 after back-to-back 3-1 losses at the hands of 16th-ranked Iowa State and Baylor. The Red Raiders played the final nine matches under the direction of interim head coach Beth Falls who was 1-8 during that span.
Amanda Dowdy led the Red Raiders with 424 kills at a 4.12 kills per set rate, finishing tied for 27th in the nation in the statistic. Dowdy chipped in 243 digs on the year with a team-high 10 double-doubles. With 55 blocks as well, Dowdy averaged 468.5 points per set, fourth highest in the Big 12.
Karlyn Meyers wrapped the year with a team-high 9.07 assists per set, which ranked ninth in the Big 12. Following Dowdy, Meyers found Miara Cave and Aubree Piper most often as Cave recorded a 1.91 kills per set average and Piper added 1.40 k/s. Jackie Vincent led the Tech back row all season, finishing with 351 digs, including 60 over the final three matches, while Barbara Conceicao made her presence known on the net with a team-high 93 blocks at a 1.03 blocks per set average, 10th-highest in the conference.
SENIORS GO OUT IN STYLE
Tech's 2010 senior class of Caroline Courtney, Barbara Conceicao, Alexxa Roberts, and Jackie Vincent might have played their final match in a Red Raider uniform, but the group leaves the program in better shape than when each first arrived. Backed by the play of its four seniors, Tech took sets from three NCAA Championship teams in the final five matches while also defeating Colorado on Nov. 20 in Boulder.
RED RAIDERS SNAP SEVERAL STREAKS
Entering the season, the biggest question facing the Tech volleyball program was when the Red Raiders would snap its conference losing that expanded nearly three seasons. Tech fans got their answer on Oct. 2 when the Red Raiders dropped Kansas in five sets, ending a 64-match conference losing streak. In its Nov. 20 victory at Colorado, Tech claimed its first conference road victory since Oct. 28, 2006, at Kansas.
DOWDY NAMED TO ALL-BIG 12 FIRST TEAM
Amanda Dowdy became the first Texas Tech player to be named to the All-Big 12 first team since Kelly Johnson did so in 2002 in the conference's annual postseason awards. Dowdy, a junior from Lexington, Texas, finished second in the Big 12 in kills per set and fourth for points per set.
UNDERCLASSMEN EXPECTED TO RETURN
With only four seniors on the roster, the Red Raiders could return up to 13 letterwinners next season as 10 of Tech's 17 players this season were classified as either a freshman or sophomore.
BIG 12 CONTINUES TO SHINE NATIONALLY
The Big 12 Conference continued its tradition of being one of the strongest volleyball leagues in the nation as five conference schools earned NCAA Championship bids. Led by No. 2 seed Nebraska, the Big 12 will have four schools host first and second round matches in the Huskers, No. 9 seed Texas, and Oklahoma, while Missouri will travel to Northern Iowa for the Tigers' first round matchup and Iowa State goes to Minneapolis, Minn. to face Creighton.
FALLS STEERS TECH TO SUCCESS IN SHORT TIME
With only nine matches on her head coaching resume, interim head coach Beth Falls may not have the total number of wins she might have liked, but the Red Raiders showed improvement under the fifth-year assistant coach. Tech won eight sets after Falls took over on an interim basis prior to the Texas A&M match on Oct. 27. Tech had previously won six sets in its first 11 conference matches this season. The Red Raiders won four sets total during conference last year compared to the eight won in 2008 and nine in 2007. Under Falls, Tech was able to take sets against two ranked teams - No. 7 Texas and No. 16 Iowa State - along with one against Missouri, an NCAA Championship squad.
NON-CONFERENCE SEEMS TOUGHER NOW
All nine of Tech's non-conference opponents this season finished with at least a .500 record with three schools advancing to the NCAA Championship. UTSA, who Tech defeated 3-1 at the Rice Invitational, claimed the Southland Tournament title and will face Texas in the first round, while Colorado State claimed the Mountain West Conference crown and will face Cal State Fullerton in the opening round. Ole Miss claimed an at-large berth from the Southeastern Conference and will open with North Carolina. Tech's non-conference opponents combined for a 180-97 record, a .650 winning percentage.
SEVEN NAMED TO ACADEMIC ALL-BIG 12
Texas Tech had seven student-athletes named to the Academic All-Big 12 teams that were announced towards the end of the season. Senior Caroline Courtney was honored on the first team for the third time in her career, while juniors Amanda Dowdy and Karlyn Meyers were second-time honorees. Senior Alexxa Roberts and sophomores Tory Vaughan and Aleah Hayes earned first team honors for the first time in their careers, while sophomore Miara Cave was also named to the second team for the first time.
VINCENT'S DIG NUMBERS SOAR LATE IN SEASON
With the way Jackie Vincent played in Tech's final three matches, the senior probably did not want to see the season end as she recorded 60 digs over Tech's final three matches, including a career-high 21 at Colorado. The Dallas native recorded 19 or more digs in four of Tech's final five matches.
CAVE BUILDING TOWARD JUNIOR SEASON
Miara Cave's ending to her sophomore season should give Tech fans some encouragement for the junior in 2011. Cave posted double-digit kills in three of Tech's final four matches. Her lone match out of double-digits during the span was against Iowa State where she finished with nine.
DOWDY CHASING SEVERAL RECORDS IN 2011
Amanda Dowdy will begin her senior season chasing several school records, including the career marks for kills and attempts. Already a member of the 1,000 career kills club, Dowdy finished the 2010 season ranked fifth all-time in career kills and sixth in attempts. Her numbers this season placed her into the top 10 for single season kills and attempts.
MEYERS IN THE RECORD BOOK AS WELL
Like teammate Amanda Dowdy, Karlyn Meyers entered the Tech record book this fall as the junior setter finished the year eighth in career assists and seventh for assists per set average. With a similar senior year, Meyers might narrow the gap between eighth and seventh as 488 assists stand in the way.
PIPER OVERCOMES PRESEASON INJURY
While the rest of her teammates were hard at work during preseason practices, freshman Aubree Piper could often be found on a stationary bike or observing from a chair as the freshman suffered a foot injury the first couple days of drills. By the time the Amarillo native recovered, Tech was in its second non-conference tournament, forcing Piper immediately into action. Piper ended the year as Tech's third-leading scorer with 140 kills and should benefit from her first round of spring practices.
SPRING SHOULD HELP YOUNG TEAM
With up to 13 players returning next year, Tech's young squad should benefit from spring drills that focus on individual training and building certain skill sets. Tech will be looking to fill spots both in the middle and at the libero position due to the graduation of the program's four seniors.
"SEEBO" SHINES ON SENIOR NIGHT
Barbara "Seebo" Conceicao wrapped her career inside the United Spirit Arena with a memorable performance against No. 16 Iowa State. The senior from Rio de Janiero, Brazil was a consistent obstacle on the net, recording a season-high 10 blocks in the match while adding five kills. Conceicao ended the year with 16 blocks in Tech's final three matches.
ROBERTS ADDS MEMORABLE FINAL PERFORMANCE
Alexxa Roberts added to the list of Red Raiders who had memorable final matches in a Tech uniform as the Carrollton native recorded six blocks to go with seven kills in the season finale at Baylor. A week earlier, Roberts sparked Tech at Colorado with nine kills and five blocks in the five-set victory.
HUSKEY SEES ACTION LATE IN THE YEAR
Tech coaches have praised the athletic ability and ultimate potential of Brandy Huskey since the freshman first stepped onto campus. With a quality setter in front of her in Karlyn Meyers, Tech interim head coach Beth Falls found a way to get Huskey into matches late in the year as a defensive specialist who could also fill outside hitter spots late in sets. The move worked at Baylor as Huskey recorded eight digs, her second-highest total of the year.
BIG 12 HONORS HAYES FOR WORK OFF COURT
Sophomore Aleah Hayes was honored for her work in the community late in the season as Texas Tech's representative on the Big 12 Fall Chick-fil-A Community of Champions list. The conference recognizes one student-athlete from each school during the fall, winter, and spring terms for leadership and involvement in community activities as well as work in the classroom.
