Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
6-2,0-0Big 12
Portland State
4-5,0-0Big Sky
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland St. | 22 | 24 | 23 | 0 |
| Texas Tech | 25 | 26 | 25 | 3 |
Tech sweeps Portland State to end Red Raider Classic
September 11, 2026 | Women's Volleyball
Red Raiders end home tournament 3-0 after recording first sweep of the season
LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech volleyball (6-2) swept Portland State (4-5) on Friday to close out the Red Raider Classic in the United Supermarkets Arena.
Kenna McKenzie had another offensive outburst as she led the team with 15 kills on 44 attempts. Gretchen Sigman and Shelby Ignash both finished with eight kills and combined for five blocks. Sigman also hit .429 for the match to lead all attackers with over 10 attempts. Tatum Johnson had six kills while hitting .625 on eight attempts.
Katelyn Cochran posted 31 assists and six digs as Emily Contreras and Ashlyn Bellamy both had 13 digs to lead the team followed by Maddie Smotherman who posted nine digs. Contreras, Ignash and Sara Bowcutt were all named to the Red Raider Classic Tournament Team for their performance.
Tech went down 8-3 early in the first set and the Vikings looked to be coasting to an early win up 11-6 before a 7-1 run capped off by a kill by Ignash gave Tech the lead. The two teams shared the next couple of points but another run by Tech put them up 18-14 as they looked in firm control. Portland State saw Tech's run and raised them as they scored five straight points to retake the lead and force a Red Raider timeout. Tech forced Portland State to take its two timeouts after going on a 3-1 run and then scoring the next two points after the first timeout. The Red Raiders were not iced out of the break and took the set 25-22.
This time Tech jumped out to the early lead, going up 7-4 before the Vikings took a short 8-7 lead. The set was a tug of war for momentum as it went to a win-by-two situation, one that the Red Raiders would clinch with a 26-24 win.
Down 21-17 in the third set, Tech called a timeout to gather themselves and try to mount a comeback to record the first sweep of the season. Back-to-back kills from Ignash and Johnson had the Vikings call a timeout to try and cool the hot hands and ended up forcing a service error to make it 22-19 in their favor. Johnson and Sigman combined to score the next three points as they each recorded a kill and then combined on a block to tie it 22-22. A huge solo block by Ashlyn Bellamy forced match point and with a crowd of over 1,600 on hand, Tech clinched the match to improve to 5-2 on the season.
UP NEXT: The Red Raiders will be back at home on Tuesday against Tarleton State.
