TEXAS TECH VOLLEYBALL
AVCA TOP 25 POLL Rk. School 1. Penn State (55) 2. Stanford (2) 3. Oregon (3) 4. Nebraska 5. Washington 6. UCLA 7. USC 8. Texas 9. Hawai’i 10. Minnesota 11. Florida 12. Florida State 13. San Diego 14. Kansas State 15. Louisville 16. BYU 17. Purdue 18. Dayton 19. Western Kentucky 20. Ohio State 21. Kansas 22. Iowa State 23. Pepperdine 24. Miami (FL) 25. Illinois
Pts. 1490 1380 1374 1348 1295 1169 1152 1054 1037 941 882 801 791 701 642 626 521 462 367 342 259 201 185 104 71
Rec. LW 18-1 1 16-2 4 16-1 5 15-2 3 16-1 2 13-4 7 17-3 6 15-3 9 15-2 8 15-4 10 15-2 11 16-2 12 16-2 13 17-2 14 18-3 15 18-1 16 14-5 17 15-4 18 22-3 20 14-6 19 17-3 21 10-6 23 14-7 24 16-3 27 9-9 22
Receiving Votes: Kentucky 48; Marquette 41; St. Mary’s (Ca.) 39; Michigan 33; Tennessee 32; Texas A&M 32; Creighton 22; North Carolina 14; Michigan State 11; Oklahoma 11; Oregon State 10; N.C. State 2.
BIG 12 PRESEASON POLL Rank Team (First-place votes) 1. Texas (8) 2. Iowa State (1) 3. Kansas State 4. Oklahoma 5. Baylor 6. Kansas 7. TCU 8. TEXAS TECH 9. West Virginia
Points 64 54 53 40 36 30 22 17 8
BIG 12 PRESEASON TEAM Preseason Player of the Year Bailey Webster, Texas Preseason Freshman of the Year Molly McCage, Texas Name, School Torri, Campbell, Baylor Kristen Hahn, Iowa State Alison Landwehr, Iowa State^ Jamie Straube, Iowa State Caroline Jarmoc, Kansas^ Caitlyn Donahue, Kansas State Kaitlynn Pelger, Kansas State^ Lilla Porubek, Kansas State Tara Dunn, Oklahoma Sallie McLaurin, Oklahoma^ Yvonne Igodan, TCU Khat Bell, Texas Haley Eckerman, Texas^ Bailey Webster, Texas^ Miara Cave, Texas ^ - Unanimous Selection 4
POS. MB DS/L S MB MB S MB OH OH MB MB MB/OH OH OH OH
TEXAS TECH VOLLEYBALL
Yr. Sr. Jr. Sr. Sr. Jr. Sr. Jr. Jr. So. Jr. Jr. So. So. Jr. Sr.
age. Stacy’s 10 kills marked her most during Big 12 play this year as she reached double digits for the first time since dropping a season-high 16 on Sept. 14 against Houston Baptist. Hragyil, meanwhile, posted season highs in both categories as she reached double digits in digs for the third time in her career. Both players were in the starting lineup Wednesday evening when Tech fell in straight sets to Oklahoma. WRAPPING UP THE WEST VIRGINIA WIN • Snapped a nine-match losing streak that dated back to the Sept. 14 Rice Invitational opener against Houston Baptist. • Marked Texas Tech’s first Big 12 road victory since defeating Colorado on Nov. 10, 2010, in Boulder. • Marked the first time Texas Tech had defeated a Big 12 opponent in four sets since topping Kansas on Sept. 26, 2006, in Lubbock. • Marked the first time Texas Tech had gone on the road to defeat a Big 12 opponent in four sets since edging Baylor approximately eight years to the day on Oct. 13, 2004, in Waco. • Marked the first time the Red Raiders had overcome a first-set deficit in a Big 12 match since defeating Colorado on Nov. 10, 2010, in Boulder. • The Red Raiders held West Virginia to just 10 points in the second set, marking the fewest for a Big 12 opponent since the NCAA moved total points from 30 to 25 per set prior to the 2008 season. RED RAIDERS BOAST BALANCED ATTACK With her five kills at Baylor, Breeann David became the sixth Red Raider to reach the 100-kill mark this season, joining freshmen Emily Ehrle, Lydia McKay, and Meghan Stacy along with junior Aubree Piper and senior Miara Cave. Texas Tech has not previously had six or more players reach 100 kills in a season since 2001 when seven players did so en route to the school’s most recent NCAA Tournament appearance. Ehrle leads the balanced attack with a team-high 207 kills followed by Cave with 180 and Piper with 148. McKay and Stacy round of the group with 147 and 141 kills while David now has 111 on the year. BRIEFLY … • Texas Tech announced Wednesday that its originally-scheduled Nov. 9 non-conference match with New Mexico has been canceled. The Lobos will instead travel to Lubbock during the 2013 season. • The Big 12 Conference has five teams ranked in the top 25 or receiving votes in this week’s AVCA poll which marks the most for the league this season. No. 8 Texas leads the group that also includes No. 14 Kansas State, No. 21 Kansas, and No. 22 Iowa State. Oklahoma is also receiving votes for the sixth-straight week as the Sooners picked up 11 points this week. • The Red Raiders are No. 91 in this week’s ratings percentage index (RPI) poll that is released every Monday leading up to NCAA postseason selections. Tech came in at No. 75 nationally in the first set of rankings that were released a week ago, marking a significant improvement in Don Flora’s first season where the Red Raiders were No. 93 in the opening rankings. • Texas Tech boasts one of the youngest rosters in the Big 12 as 15 of 18 Red Raiders who have appeared in a conference match so far are classified as either a freshman or sophomore. • Following the Red Raiders’ victory over West Virginia last Saturday, Don Flora is just four wins shy of reaching 300 for his career as the second-year head coach is 296-86 over 13 seasons and 27-27 while at Texas Tech. • Rachel Brummitt enters this weekend ranked fourth in the Big 12 for digs per set as the sophomore transfer is averaging 4.52 per frame. The two-time Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week has also recorded two of the five highest dig totals in the Big 12 this season after finishing with 34 against Houston Baptist and 27 against San Jose State. • Tory Vaughan enters this week among the leaders in digs among active Big 12 players as the senior has totaled 839 over her four seasons which ranks sixth in the conference. • Emily Ruetter’s 71 assists against Houston Baptist during the Rice Invitational ranks as the most for a Big 12 player this season as Erin Mcnorton (Kansas) and Hannah Allison (Texas) are the only other setters to register 60 or more assists in a match. • Ruetter entered this week ranked 55th in the NCAA for assists per set as she has totaled a 10.66 average. She also ranks fifth in the category among Big 12 setters as well. STEPPING UP THE MIDDLE Prior to this season, one of the main aspects Don Flora wanted to improve in the Texas Tech attack was the play in the middle. The Red Raiders attacked primarily from the outside during his inaugural campaign on the Tech bench but have looked more to the middle this season with returning junior Aubree Piper and emerging freshman Lydia McKay. The two middles enter this week ranked among the top 10 in the Big 12 for hitting percentage with Piper recording a .309 average and McKay trailing slightly with a .295 percentage. The two, along with fellow middle blocker Mikia Mills, have combined for 351 kills so far this season, 33 percent of Tech’s team total which is vast improvement from a year ago where Tech received only 20 percent of its kills from the middle. Tech has not had two or more middle blockers post 100 or more kills in a season since Piper and Barbara Conceicao combined for 255 in 2010. DAVID SEES FIRST FULL ACTION BACK AGAINST KANSAS Despite having played briefly in two matches since returning from injury, Breeann David made her full return to the court against Texas as the sophomore connected on 10 kills over three sets. David was Texas Tech’s leader in kills prior to suffering an ankle injury early in the first set against Towson on Sept. 7. Since then, she has played just a few points in Tech’s first two Big 12 matches against Kansas and TCU. The Denver City, Texas native has primarily played three rotations since returning from injury. RED RAIDERS RECEIVING MORE ATTENTION UNDER FLORA Don Flora’s hiring at Texas Tech has not only resulted in more wins for the Red Raiders but it has also brought more recognition to the program as well. In the 15 seasons prior to his arrival, Texas Tech had only been @TECHATHLETICS