Texas Tech volleyball takes one step closer to the 2017 season Saturday, Aug. 19, as it hosts the Red & Black Scrimmage at 6 p.m., at the United Supermarkets Arena, which will serve as the final preparation before the new season begins the following week.
All fans will receive complimentary admission to the scrimmage, and are asked to use the elevated northwest entrance to enter the arena due to ongoing construction inside the west ground-level entrance.
The scrimmage wraps up two weeks of fall camp for the Red Raiders, who are now in year two under head coach Tony Graystone.
“I think everyone is tired of two-a-days and ready for the season to start,” Graystone said. “This time of year your body is beat up and mentally you’re thinking about the season, but in the meantime we still have a lot of work to do. The scrimmage will really get us ready for next week.”
Tech returns 11 student-athletes from last year’s squad, including juniors Reyn Akiu, Katy Keenan and Sarah Redding. A slew of newcomers that features four transfers and five freshmen are expected to contribute right away.
“From my point of view, this team that we have looks so much closer to a team that if I was building a team from scratch, this is really close to what I would have done with it,” Graystone said. “I’ve been really happy with who we have been able to bring in and the impact they have made. Some of it is their personality, some of it is their skill set and some of it is their potential long-term and what we will be able to do with them. We’re getting there. The top end of our roster looks pretty solid, and I think you’re going to see a much different brand of volleyball than what we saw last year.”
The Red Raiders will start the 2017 season with four matches in Houston at the Barcelona HBU Classic Fri.-Sat., Aug. 25-26. Tech opens its season with a 1:30 p.m., bout against Northern Kentucky and a 7 p.m., battle against host Houston Baptist Friday, before taking on Texas Southern at 10 a.m., and South Alabama at 4:30 p.m., Saturday.
(Courtesy: Texas Tech Sports Communications Department)
