Texas Tech volleyball stormed back from an 0-2 hole to ground the Rice Owls, 3-2 (22-25, 18-25, 25-15, 25-18, 15-9) on Saturday to cap off a perfect 3-0 start to the 2018 season.
The Red Raiders (3-0), who finished 2-3 in five-set matches last season, captured the Red Raider Classic title with the win over Rice (2-1). Tech earned straight-set wins over Northwestern State and North Dakota to open the season on Friday.
“This was one that we circled in the preseason because we knew how good they were,” head coach Tony Graystone said. “It was one we definitely needed and wanted. It’ll pay off for us later on. We’re going to get in a situation like this again sometime down the road, and these are the things we will fall back on.”
Strong defensive play at the net along with big outings from middle blockers Katy Keenan and Allison White propelled Tech to the come-from-behind win. This marked the second time under Graystone Tech has rallied from an 0-2 deficit with the other coming at North Dakota State on Sept. 2, 2016.
“We wanted to go inside-out on these guys, and we just couldn’t ball control enough to do it,” Graystone said of the first two sets. “So, everything was an outside for Emily (Hill) and Chandler (Atwood). Once we were able to get Missy (Owens) to be able to spread it around a bit, you saw what Katy (Keenan) and Allison (White) could do.”
Keenan, who was named to the all-tournament team, led the Red Raiders with 15 kills, hitting at an impressive .571 clip. She began turning it on in the second stanza, blasting six kills on seven swings. The Argyle, Texas, native tallied a career-high eight blocks against the Owls and finished with 14.0 on the weekend.
White was also a disruptive force in the middle, tallying 10 kills and coming up one block short of matching her career high of 8.0. She committed just one attack error on the day to swing at an efficient .500 clip. Another Argyle, Texas, native, White added six digs and served up her first career ace in the outing.
Senior setter Missy Owens was named tournament MVP. She secured 47 assists against Rice while adding nine digs, six kills and three blocks. She turned in 102 total assists on the weekend, averaging 9.27 per set. The Preseason All-Big 12 selection added 16 kills on .414 hitting with 22 digs, eight blocks and a service ace.
Redshirt freshman Andrea Janss, who sat out 2017 due to injury, was also named to the All-Tournament team. The lefthander recorded eight kills and five blocks against Rice, including back-to-back points for Tech in the fifth set that gave Tech a 12-8 advantage. An Austin native, Janss finished with 13 kills and nine blocks in the event.
Junior Chandler Atwood rounded out Tech’s double-digit kill performers with 14 on the day. After sitting out the opener, she registered 12 Friday night against North Dakota to finish in double figures twice at the event.
Both teams hit poorly in the opening frame as Tech outhit Rice .071-.065 for the set. A 5-1 Rice run put the Owls in front 13-8, however, the Red Raiders seemed to capture the momentum later in the set. Owens ran down a high pass and skied for a dump on the left side of the net, then followed that up by combining with Keenan for a block that trimmed the Owl lead to 19-16. Eight Red Raider attack errors and three service errors would prove too much for Tech to overcome as Rice closed out the set.
The Red Raiders began feeding Keenan and establishing their rhythm in the second, however, Rice found theirs as well en route to a .372 hitting percentage in the frame. Owl Nicole Lennon scored eight kills in the frame while Grace Morgan added three. Lennon and Morgan led Rice with 18 kills apiece Saturday.
The Red Raiders responded in the third set, jumping out to a 9-2 lead. Rice climbed back within five twice, but Tech’s block spearheaded a 4-0 run that gave Tech a comfortable 22-13 lead. White was in on four blocks in the frame while Atwood was in on a pair. A block my Hill and Keenan would extend the match to a fourth set.
Tech kept the pressure on in the fourth with another quick start, scoring five of the set’s first six points. The Owls came back to even it up at 9-9, but kills from Keenan, Atwood and Owens fueled a 5-0 run that gave Tech a 14-9 advantage. Rice narrowed the gap to two at 15-13, before Atwood, Janss and White engineered a 6-0 run to make it 21-13 and allow Tech to send it to a fifth set.
The final frame was knotted at 7-7 before a pair of freshmen made plays that allowed Tech to close it out. With the score at 8-7, defensive specialist Katy Northcut got on a roll on serve, delivering an ace that made it 10-7 and a strong serve that led to a Janss slam. Kills from Janss and Keenan, a block from Hill and Keenan, and a couple of Owl errors powered Tech to the 15-9 fifth-set victory.
UP NEXT
The Red Raiders hit the road for the next month starting with a visit to ACU Tuesday, Aug. 28, before preparing for a series of road trips to California and the Rio Grande Valley throughout nonconference play.
COURTESY OF TEXAS TECH ATHLETICS
