TEXAS TECH VOLLEYBALL UPCOMING SCHEDULE The Red Raiders continue Big 12 play this Saturday when No. 9 Texas travels to Lubbock for a 2 p.m. match in the United Spirit Arena. Texas Tech will then turn its attention back to non-conference action Oct. 2 when the Red Raiders travel to face Central Arkansas. WELCOME TO THE BIG 12 After being swept in straight sets to open Big 12 play last Saturday against Kansas, Don Flora described the experience as a welcoming to the Big 12 party for his young roster as seven of the 12 players who saw action against the Jayhawks were making their conference debut. Flora also used a starting lineup that consisted of five newcomers against the Jayhawks as only junior Aubree Piper and sophomore Megan Dominguez had previously appeared in a Big 12 match. The Red Raiders closed the night hitting a season-low .080 while totaling just two blocks and 33 kills, both season lows as well. DAVID RETURNS TO ACTION AGAINST KANSAS Breeann David returned to the court Saturday night for the first time since Sept. 7 when the sophomore was injured early in the first set against Towson. David was Texas Tech’s leader in kills prior to her injury and also ranked second on the team in blocks as well. The Denver City, Texas native entered the match near the start of the third set against Kansas and registered a kill off six attempts. 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 McKay recording a .341 average and Piper trailing slightly with a .333 percentage. The two, along with fellow middle blocker Mikia Mills, have combined for 235 kills so far this season, 34 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. BRIEFLY … • 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. 9 Texas leads the group that also includes No. 15 Kansas State and No. 19 Iowa State. Oklahoma and Kansas are both receiving votes to finish just outside the top 25. • Success in the opening set has been a focus point for the Red Raiders this season as Texas Tech is 8-1 when winning the opening frame and 22-4 when doing so under head coach Don Flora. When losing the opening set, though, Texas Tech is just 3-4 on the year and 4-18 under Flora. • While most of the Red Raiders struggled in the Big 12 opener against Kansas, Lydia McKay continued her strong play from the past few weeks as the freshman totaled a team-high 11 kills. The performance marked the fifth-straight match where McKay has reached double digits in kills as she also matched her season high for the third time during the five-match stretch. • Rachel Brummitt enters this week ranked fourth in the Big 12 for digs per set as the sophomore transfer is averaging 4.70 per frame. The two-time Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week is also among the league leaders in service aces as she has 18 on the year at an 0.30 per set average. • Brummitt has also recorded two of the three highest dig totals in the Big 12 this season after finishing with a conference-leading 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 786 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) is the only other setter to register 60 or more assists in a match. • Emily Ehrle leads a group of five Red Raiders who have already totaled at least 100 kills this year as the freshman has 153 entering this week. The Crowley, Texas also leads Texas Tech with 424 attempts as well.
UPCOMING BIG 12 SCHEDULE TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 Texas at Baylor (ESPNU) WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 Texas Tech at TCU Iowa State at Kansas
7 p.m.
6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 West Virginia at Kansas State
7 p.m.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 TCU at Iowa State Texas at Texas Tech West Virginia at Oklahoma Kansas State at Baylor
Noon 2 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m.
2012 PLAYER AWARDS RACHEL BRUMMITT Boston College Invitational MVP Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week (Aug. 27) Lonestar Showdown all-tournament team Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 4) BREEANN DAVID Lonestar Showdown MVP EMILY EHRLE Montana Invitational all-tournament team Big 12 Rookie of the Week (Sept. 10) LYDIA MCKAY Rice Invitational all-tournament team AUBREE PIPER Boston College Invitational all-tournament team EMILY RUETTER Boston College Invitational all-tournament team Lonestar Showdown all-tournament team Big 12 Rookie of the Week (Sept. 4)
FLORA JUST FIVE WINS SHY OF 300 Don Flora enters this week needing five wins to reach 300 for his career as the second-year head coach is 295-81 midway through his 13th season and 26-22 while at Texas Tech. Flora arrived at Tech prior to the 2011 season as one of the winningest active coaches in the NCAA after posting a 269-59 record during 11 seasons at the University of La Verne in California. The Red Raiders wrapped Flora’s first season in Lubbock with a 1517 record that marked the program’s most wins since 2001.
2012 BIG 12 STANDINGS Texas Kansas TCU Iowa State Oklahoma Kansas State Baylor Texas Tech West Virginia #WRECKEMTECH
BIG 12 W L Pct. 2 0 1.000 1 0 1.000 1 0 1.000 1 0 1.000 1 0 1.000 0 1 .000 0 1 .000 0 1 .000 0 2 .000
SETS W-L 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 3-3 0-3 1-3 0-3 2-5
OVERALL W L Pct. 9 3 .750 13 2 .867 12 2 .857 7 4 .636 12 4 .750 13 1 .929 13 3 .813 11 5 .688 8 7 .533
SETS W-L 30-10 41-12 37-11 27-19 39-17 39-7 40-18 35-26 31-26
Last 10 7-3 9-1 9-1 6-4 7-3 9-1 8-2 5-5 6-4
Streak W3 W2 W3 W2 L1 W1 L2 L4 L1
vs. RANKED TEAMS Top 10 Top 25 0-1 3-3 -- -0-1 0-1 1-0 3-3 0-2 2-3 1-0 2-0 0-1 1-2 -- -0-1 0-1
TEXAS TECH VOLLEYBALL
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