Texas Tech Athletics
Kansas State
Errors Haunt Texas Tech As Kansas State Earns Sweep
October 08, 2011 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 8, 2011
LUBBOCK, Texas - Kansas State forced Texas Tech into 26 attacking errors en route to a 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-19) sweep of the Red Raiders Saturday afternoon at the United Spirit Arena.
The loss marked Tech's fourth-straight in Big 12 play as the Red Raiders are now 14-5 overall and 0-4 in conference. Kansas State, meanwhile, improved to 14-5 overall and 3-2 in league play.
"We played a really good Kansas State team," Tech head coach Don Flora said. "It's one of those days where you think you need one or two pieces to get over the hump, and we just made some costly errors at critical times. Kansas State is a really good squad, so you've got to play clean in order to win."
Errors were the theme from the beginning for the Red Raiders as Tech committed 12 in the first set alone, allowing the Wildcats to take the early momentum thanks to an early 16-8 lead.
The Red Raiders went on an 11-3 run from there to tie the set at 19, but Kansas State responded with four-straight points to put Tech in an early deficit.
Tech was unable to get back into the match until the third set when Tech appeared primed to prolong the match with a 15-12 lead at the midway point. The Wildcats retaliated, though, with a 12-4 run to end Tech's shot at forcing a fourth set.
Amanda Dowdy led all players with 15 kills while Miara Cave added 11 kills of her own. Dowdy's 10-match double-double streak came to an end as the senior finished with only five digs.
Kaitlynn Pelger finished with 13 kills on 28 attacks to lead the Wildcats. Lilla Porubek and Alex Muff added nine and eight kills each, respectively.
Pelger also had eight blocks to help frustrate the Tech offense. The Wildcats finished with a 15-10 block advantage as Ashley Kelican also posted seven blocks.
Tory Vaughan and Nicole Hragyil led the Tech defense with eight digs each, while Dravon Rangel recorded a team-high eight blocks on the net.
The Red Raiders return to the court next Wednesday in the state capital as Tech faces No. 10 Texas at 7 p.m. in Gregory Gymnasium. The match will be broadcast live by the Longhorn Network.
