Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders Continue Road Trip at No. 13 Iowa State
November 04, 2011 | Women's Volleyball
The Red Raiders return to the road this weekend at No. 13 Iowa State.
Nov. 4, 2011
LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech completes its week-long road trip Saturday afternoon when the Red Raiders travel to Ames, Iowa to face 13th-ranked Iowa State at 4 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum.
| GAMEDAY INFORMATION | |
| Date | Saturday, November 5 |
| Location | Ames, Iowa (Hilton Coliseum) |
| Time | 4 p.m. (CT) |
| Radio | None |
| Live Stats | Iowa State Athletics |
| Live Video | Iowa State Athletics |
THE SERIES
Despite 10-straight losses in the series, Texas Tech maintains a 20-14 lead in the overall series that dates back to when the Red Raiders took 16 of the first 17 meetings from 1989 to 2002. Since then, Tech has defeated the Cyclones just four times in 17 attempts with the Red Raiders last victory coming on Oct. 14, 2006 in Lubbock. Tech is 10-6 all-time when playing in Ames but has not won since taking a 3-1 victory on Sept. 25, 2004.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Red Raiders return to the United Spirit Arena next Wednesday night to face in-state rival in a 6:30 p.m. first serve. The match is one of two at the USA next week as the Kansas Jayhawks travel to Lubbock for a Saturday (Nov. 12) match. A start time for the Kansas match will not be determined until after television selections are made for next weekend's football game against Oklahoma State.
IOWA STATE SWEEPS TECH IN PREVIOUS MEETING
Iowa State spoiled Tech's Big 12 opener with the Cyclones' 3-0 sweep of the Red Raiders on Sept. 24 in Lubbock. The Red Raiders came into league play riding a 13-match winning streak that dated back to its season opener at TCU. The Cyclones quickly changed that, though, as the Red Raiders did not reach the 20-point mark in any of the three sets. Amanda Dowdy led Tech with a team-high 10 kills to go along with 10 digs.
BAYLOR VICTORY MOVES TECH TWO WINS SHY OF FIRST WINNING SEASON SINCE 2001
With its win over Baylor a week ago, Tech is now two wins shy of ensuring its first winning season since 2001 as the Red Raiders have five Big 12 matches remaining along with a non-conference contest at San Jose State. Tech's 2001 squad finished the year 18-14 en route to earning an NCAA Tournament selection. The Red Raiders will face three nationally-ranked squads over the final month of the season with two of those coming on the road.
FLORA EARNS FIRST BIG 12 VICTORY
After eight tries, including two close calls, Don Flora earned his first Big 12 victory when Tech defeated Baylor in five sets last week. The first-year head coach nearly led Tech to victories over No. 25 Oklahoma and Texas A&M earlier in the year before falling in five sets. In his 12 totals seasons as a head coach, Flora is a combined 141-18 during conference matches, boasting an .889 winning percentage.
VAUGHAN ADDS TO WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS
Tory Vaughan became the third Red Raider to earn a Big 12 weekly award Monday as the junior libero was named the conference defensive player of the week after recording a career-high 31 digs against Baylor. Her dig output marked the most for a Tech player in the rally scoring era (2001-present) and the most since Ann Romjue set the school record with 36 digs against Texas A&M on Nov. 18, 2000. Vaughan joined Aubree Piper (Defensive on Sept. 6) and Breeann David (Newcomer on Sept. 12) as Tech's three weekly award winners, the school's most selections in a single season since 2002.
PIPER ADDS TO OFFENSE SINCE RETURN
After missing most of the month of October, Aubree Piper has made quite an impact on the Tech offense since returning to the lineup prior to the Baylor match. In her two matches since then, Piper has totaled 15 kills to go along with seven blocks. She recorded nine kills Wednesday night at Texas A&M, which was one shy of Amanda Dowdy's team high.
BAYLOR WIN MOVES TECH UP IN LATEST RPI
Tech jumped up 14 spots in the latest ratings percentage index after its victory over Baylor. The Red Raiders went from 103rd overall to 89th on the poll that is used widely for NCAA Tournament selections. The Big 12 Conference ranks only behind the Big 10 in conference strength as the Big 10 boasts nine schools ranked inside the top 60 of the poll compared to eight of nine Big 12 schools. The next-highest conference is the Pacific-12 with seven schools in the top 60.
TECH STILL AMONG NATIONAL BLOCK LEADERS
The Red Raiders remained in the top 10 in the blocking rankings this week as their 2.98 stuffs per set average ranks seventh nationally. Tech leads the conference in the category as well. Mikia Mills is in a tie for 94th nationally with 1.09 blocks per set while Miara Cave has a 1.02 average that is tied for 138th overall.
DOWDY MOVES TO SECOND ALL-TIME IN KILLS
Amanda Dowdy took one more step up the Texas Tech record book against Texas A&M, moving to second all-time in career kills early into the second set. The senior now has 1,388 kills over her career after dropping 16 last week against Baylor. She passed Melissa McGehee, who totaled 1,333 kills from 1999-2002. After starting the year ranked fifth in kills, Dowdy is now second in the category as well as career attempts. Only Kelly Johnson stands in her way of moving even further up the school charts as Johnson notched 1,925 career kills and 5,142 attempts during the 2001-04 seasons.
PASS AND SERVE, PASS AND SERVE
Tech's passing and serving ability came back to haunt the Red Raiders at Texas A&M Wednesday night as the Red Raiders surrendered eight aces in the match while also posting one of their own. In addition, Tech recorded seven service errors, giving the Aggies additional points to complete the 3-0 sweep. The Red Raiders had previously given up only 12 aces over their last three matches, including only three in its previous meeting against the Aggies on Oct. 19.
