MATCH NOTES OPENING SET A KEY FOR TECH The Red Raiders have found success this season when opening the match with a first-set victory as Tech is 14-3 when doing so. Where Tech has struggled is overcoming an early deficit as the Red Raiders are only 1-12 when dropping the opening set. FLORA MAKING QUICK CHANGES TO TECH Prior to his arrival, Texas Tech had only 11 wins over its last three seasons. Don Flora surpassed that total in mid-September. Now, the first-year head coach is aiming to put Tech in the midst of the Big 12 race as the Red Raiders have only won three conference matches during the past three years. TECH AMONG TOP 100 IN FIRST RPI POLL Tech was among the top 100 schools listed in the inaugural ratings percentage index poll released by the NCAA. The Red Raiders were picked 93rd overall, a step up from previous seasons when Tech would not have been among the top 100 ranked. Tech moved down 10 spots to 103rd overall in this week’s poll. TECH SELECTED FOR TWO TV APPEARANCES Two of Tech’s home matches will be broadcast locally by Ramar Communications. The Red Raiders’ matches against Texas A&M (Oct. 19) and Texas (Nov. 9) will be aired on Fox News Now, which is channel No. 9 on Suddenlink in the Lubbock area. RED RAIDERS SCORE COME-FROM-BEHIND WIN Tech’s come-from-behind win over New Mexico marked the second time this season the Red Raiders had overcome a deficit on the road. After winning the first set, Tech dropped the next two games before rallying to win the final two in the Red Raiders’ first five-set match of the year. Tech had previously overcome an early one-set deficit to defeat North Texas on Sept. 19 in Denton. RANGEL STEPS UP AT NEW MEXICO Dravon Rangel not only moved back into the starting lineup at New Mexico, but she also played a huge part in Tech’s 3-2 victory. The sophomore, who was starting in place of Aubree Piper, delivered a school-record 14 block assists in the match, breaking the previous single-match record of 11 that was last set by current director of operations Amy Gandy on Nov. 15, 2006 against Iowa State. RED RAIDERS BREAK BLOCKING MILESTONE Tech snapped a 19-year-old school record at New Mexico with 37 block assists against the Lobos, surpassing the previous milestone of 36 that was set against Utah State on Sept. 10, 1982. The Red Raiders finished with a season-high 19.5 blocks in the match as opposed to New Mexico’s six total. IOWA STATE SNAPS TECH’S WINNING STREAK Iowa State snapped the Red Raiders’ 13-match winning streak with a 3-0 victory in Tech’s Big 12 opener. The loss ended Tech’s longest run since the 1996 season where the Red Raiders got off to a 15-0 start. Tech, which had not lost a match since the season opener at TCU, dropped its fourth-straight Big 12 opener, falling to 6-10 in conference openers. TECH OPENS CONFERENCE ATOP STANDINGS After a successful start to the season, Tech began Big 12 action atop the conference standings for the first time since 1997 with a 13-1 record. The Red Raiders, who were also 13-1 at that point, finished
the 1997 season 23-11 overall, barely missing out on the NCAA Tournament. FLORA JOINS ELITE COMPANY IN RECORD BOOK When then athletics director Gerald Meyers hired Don Flora last January, he knew he was getting a proven head coach with an impressive record. Flora has proved Meyers’ pick to be a solid choice as Tech is 13-1 on the year, the best record through 14 matches for a first-year head coach in school history. The California native passed Donna Martin, who led Tech to a 12-2 start in 1985 as the Red Raiders eventually ended the year 19-9 overall. Flora entered the year as one of the winningest coaches all-time in NCAA history after compiling a 269-59 record over 11 seasons at the University of La Verne in California. SENIORS ENJOYING FINAL SEASON AT TECH Seniors Amanda Dowdy and Karlyn Meyers have to be enjoying their final season in a Texas Tech uniform. The duo won a combined 11 games over their first three seasons, one less than Tech’s total so far this year. Don Flora marked the fourth head coach to lead the duo as the co-captains started their careers under Nancy Todd in 2008. Now, Dowdy and Meyers are off to one of the best seasons in school history while both are also climbing the Tech record book in several categories. TEXAS TECH INVITATIONAL MARKS A FIRST The Red Raiders’ tournament win last weekend at the Texas Tech Invitational was the program’s first since it claimed the North Texas Tournament to start the 2008 season. Tech had also not won its own home tournament since 2004 when the Red Raiders defeated UTPA, UTEP, and North Texas as part of the Red Raider Classic. DAVID ADDS TO WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS Breeann David became the second Texas Tech player to earn a Big 12 weekly award this week as she was named the conference Rookie of the Week on Monday. David joins teammate Aubree Piper as a weekly award winner after Piper earned Defensive Player of the Week honors a week ago. It marked the first time in school history that two different players had been honored in the same season. PIPER HONORED ON BIG 12 WEEKLY AWARDS Prior to Tuesday night’s match at Texas-Pan American, sophomore Aubree Piper was named the Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Week for her performance during the Texas Tech Invitational. Piper finished with 21 blocks to go along with 15 kills on the weekend, matching her single-game highs for total blocks and block assists in the process. No Tech player had been previously honored with a Big 12 weekly award since Amanda Dowdy was named the conference Rookie of the Week on Sept. 15, 2008. DOWDY LEADS TECH ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM Amanda Dowdy was one of three Red Raiders named to the Texas Tech Invitational all-tournament team as the senior picked up most valuable player honors. Fellow senior Karlyn Meyers and junior Miara Cave were also honored as the Red Raiders claimed the tournament title following a 3-0 weekend. DOWDY, CAVE MAKE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM Texas Tech senior Amanda Dowdy and junior Miara Cave were both named to the TCU Invitational AllTournament team after leading the Red Raiders to a second-place showing.
TEXAS TECH VOLLEYBALL
AVCA TOP 25 POLL Rk. School Pts. Rec. LW 1. USC (41) 1,488 24-4 1 2. Nebraska (2) 1,424 23-3 4 3. Hawaii (5) 1,289 26-1 6 4. UCLA 1,229 24-5 2 5. Texas 1,215 20-4 9 6. Stanford 1,180 21-6 5 7. Illinois 1,062 25-4 7 8. Purdue 1,041 25-4 8 9. Penn State 1,023 21-7 12 10. California 987 25-6 3 11. Washington 934 21-7 10 12. Northern Iowa 878 30-1 11 13. Oregon 807 20-8 15 14. Iowa State 763 22-4 13 15. Tennessee 686 26-3 14 16. Kentucky 560 26-4 16 17. Florida 541 23-6 17 18. Pepperdine 519 21-6 18 19. Minnesota 364 16-11 19 20. San Diego 328 27-4 20 21. Florida State 297 24-5 21 22. Michigan 201 19-11 23 23. Long Beach State 174 20-6 24 24. Western Kentucky 108 31-3 NR 25. Miami (Fla.) 75 24-4 22 Receiving Votes: Colorado State 58; Texas A&M 52; Ohio State 42; Dayton 29; Michigan State 29; Tulsa 29; Arizona 24; Northern Illinois 15; Duke 13; Cincinnati 11; Kansas State 11; Oregon State 11.
BIG 12 PRESEASON POLL Rank 1. 2. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Team (First-place votes) Texas (7) Iowa State (2) Oklahoma Texas A&M Missouri Baylor Kansas Kansas State Texas Tech
Points 63 53 53 43 32 30 22 20 8
TECH IN NCAA STATS TEAM RANKINGS
As of matches through Nov. 20
Blocks per set____________________ 14th (2.78) Aces per set_____________________ 186th (1.15) Assists per set__________________ 161th (11.62) Digs per set____________________ 209th (14.39) Hitting percentage_______________ 153rd (.201) Kills per set____________________ 174th (12.38) Win/loss percentage_____________ 156th (.500) INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
As of matches through Nov. 20
Amanda Dowdy Kills per set_______________________41st (4.05) Points per set_____________________51st (4.51) Mikia Mills Blocks per set___________________ 137th (1.02) Aubree Piper Blocks per set___________________ 172nd (0.99) Karlyn Meyers Assists per set___________________ 137th (9.63)
2011 TEXAS TECH VOLLEYBALL
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