Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
8-5,0-1Big 12
Iowa State
7-5,1-0Big 12
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa St. | 19 | 29 | 25 | 17 | 15 | 3 |
| Texas Tech | 25 | 27 | 23 | 25 | 12 | 2 |
Volleyball falls in five-set match
September 25, 2026 | Women's Volleyball
Katelyn Cochran has career night in Big 12 opener
LUBBOCK, Texas โ Texas Tech (8-5) fell in five sets to the Cyclones (7-5) on Friday night at United Supermarkets Arena. Katelyn Cochran had a career night, recording 63 assists, the most by a Red Raider since 2022.
Four different Red Raiders recorded double figures in kills as Tech hit .329, the team's highest total of the season thus far and its highest since Oct. 29, 2025. Kenna McKenzie led the way with 18 kills on a .368 hitting percentage, followed by Sara Bowcutt with 17, Shelby Ignash with 13 and Gretchen Sigman with 12. Ignash also hit .526 and added seven blocks.
Emily Contreras held down the back row with 19 digs and added four assists. Elia Dinsmore had three kills on eight attempts but added nine digs, tied for second most on the team with fellow freshman Bowcutt. Maddie Smotherman had eight digs and an ace.
As a team, Tech hit better, had more blocks (eight to five), more assists (72 to 67) and more digs (63 to 61), but still fell short. The Cyclones did have more aces (five to two), while five blocking errors by the Red Raiders hurt. Still, Tech was an offensive force Friday night against a good Big 12 opponent.
Tech took the first set in convincing fashion with a 25-19 win. It was back-and-forth early on, with the Red Raiders taking a one-point lead into the media timeout. From there, the Red Raiders staved off a few small runs by the Cyclones and ended the set on a 10-5 run to take the first-set win.
Set two saw the most chaos, with 17 ties and five lead changes in a win-by-two set. The Cyclones won 29-27, but their biggest lead of the set was just three points, which Tech quickly answered with a 5-1 run to take a late 18-17 lead. It was good volleyball all around, but Iowa State was able to score the final two points.
The Cyclones won set three 25-23 and held the lead for most of the set outside of two ties. Iowa State never got more than a four-point lead but was able to fend off Red Raider runs, allowing it to close out the set.
Tech rallied with a big 25-17 set-four win to push the match to five sets. The Red Raider wings were on full display, hitting .350 in the set and holding the Cyclones to just a .103 hitting percentage. Set five mirrored the flow of sets two and three, with neither team gaining a substantial lead, and came down to the Cyclones getting the final points when they needed them.
UP NEXT: Tech will host No. 19 Kansas on Sunday at 1 p.m. at United Supermarkets Arena.
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
