Texas Tech Athletics
Central Arkansas
Red Raiders Sweep Central Arkansas in Home Opener
September 02, 2011 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 2, 2011
LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech extended its winning streak to three-straight matches Friday afternoon as the Red Raiders opened the Texas Tech Invitational with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-19) sweep of Central Arkansas at the United Spirit Arena.
The Red Raiders took control of the momentum early in the match, hitting .497 over the first two sets with only four attacking errors. Tech finished the match hitting .329 as a team, its second match this season to hit over a .300 average.
The win marked Tech's (3-1) third-straight 3-0 sweep as the Red Raiders three-match winning streak is the school's longest since the start of the 2008 season.
"We felt as a staff that it was very important to come out focused for our first match in our home gym," Tech head coach Don Flora said. "We wanted to see good energy and focus from the team, and I think we got that over three sets today."
Accuracy proved to be the difference for Tech in its home opener. The Red Raiders had only 10 attacking errors in the match as Amanda Dowdy and Miara Cave led the way as the duo had only two combined errors in 43 attempts.
Dowdy led all players with 12 kills, moving to third all-time on the school's career kills chart in the process. Dowdy passed Brande Brown (1994-97) midway through the second set as she ended the match with 1,091 career kills. She added a 11 digs for her 16th career double-double and third so far this season.
Cave, meanwhile, finished the match hitting .615 overall after nailing nine kills off 13 attempts. Her hitting percentage marked a career high and continued an accurate start to her season as the junior has only seven attacking errors through four matches.
Breeann David added seven kills for the Red Raiders, while Aubree Piper came on to record six kills of her own. Piper ended the match with a match-high six blocks en route to leading the Red Raiders to a 12-3 block advantage.
Jessica Hays led Central Arkansas (1-4) with 10 kills while Cristin Curl posted a match-high 15 digs. The Sugar Bears finished with a .030 hitting percentage after committing 22 attacking errors.
Tech led every offensive and defensive category as the Red Raiders recorded 47 digs to Central Arkansas' 32 total digs. Tory Vaughan led Tech with 12 digs from the libero position, while Karlyn Meyers added 34 assists.
The Red Raiders will look to continue their winning streak later this evening as they play game two of the Texas Tech Invitational against Northwestern State. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the United Spirit Arena.
