Texas Tech Athletics
Texas
Red Raider Volleyball Falls at No. 2 Texas
October 17, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 17, 2015
AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas Tech volleyball (13-8, 2-5) dropped a tough bout to No. 2 Texas, 3-0, on Saturday, Oct. 17, in front of a sold-out crowd of 4,147 at Gregory Gym in Austin.
The Longhorns (16-1, 6-0) won in straight-sets: 25-18, 25-23 and 25-17.
Freshman Sarah Redding led the Red Raiders on the attack for the second-straight contest, racking up 10 kills. It was the third match this season she's notched double-digit figures and the second in as many matches. Sophomore Audrey Fragniere was close behind with eight kills.
Junior Lauren Douglass was the most efficient with her swings, recording a hitting percentage of .429 on seven kills.
Tech tallied 33 kills on Saturday, with junior Marguerite Grubb assisting on 28. She was also one of three Red Raiders to put up seven digs, with Fragniere and sophomore Ashley Morgan each hitting the mark. Senior Carlie Foust led the team with nine, helping Tech reach 35 digs on the day.
The Red Raiders battled the Longhorns through the middle of the first set, staying within one point until the media timeout at 15-13. At that point, Tech had eight kills for a hitting clip of .538, compared to Texas' seven kills and a .267 hitting percentage. However, a 6-0 run by the Longhorns extended their lead to 20-13. After staving off two set points, the Red Raiders dropped set one, 25-18.
Fragniere led the Red Raiders after the first set with three kills, while Douglass, Keenan and Redding all followed closely with two. Grubb assisted on all 11 of Tech's kills, helping the Red Raiders put together a hitting clip of .333.
After an early tie at two in the second set, the Longhorns used a 5-0 run to jump out to a 7-2 advantage, forcing a Texas Tech timeout. Out of the short break, the Red Raiders took a 3-0 run to make it 7-5, with kills by Fragniere and Douglass. A successful challenge by head coach Don Flora corrected the call to a Longhorn net violation and tied the set at eight.
Tech used that momentum and stayed within one before rattling off a 4-0 run to take a 13-10 lead. The Red Raiders kept the foot on the gas and pushed their advantage to 23-19 late in the second set. However, a timeout by Texas cooled off the Red Raiders and gave the Longhorns the ammo to battle back and claim the set, 25-23.
"It is tough when you play quality volleyball for an extended period of time and give yourself a chance to be 1-1 in sets versus a solid team and don't seal the deal," Flora said.
Redding racked up three kills in the second frame to give her a team-lead of six after the first half. Grubb added nine more assists on Tech's 13 kills to give her 20 at the break.
Tech jumped out to an early 5-3 lead in the third set, but the Longhorns would push back after tying the frame at seven with a 4-0 run. The Red Raiders pushed back, trailing 14-11, but another run by the Longhorns would give them the padding they needed to seal the third set and the match at 25-17.
"We like the way we competed and stayed with the game plan," Flora said. "If we can stay focused on the small details and continue to play hard, we can make the team we envision."
Up next for the Red Raiders is a date with Kansas State on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 3 p.m. at the United Supermarkets Arena.
