The Texas Tech Volleyball team dropped its Big 12 opener, 3-1, at TCU Wednesday at the University Recreation Center in Fort Worth. The Red Raiders, who entered the match without two starters, were even with the Horned Frogs after two sets, but came up short in the third and fourth frames, suffering a 25-14, 22-25, 25-13, 25-14 defeat.
Texas Tech (10-6, 0-1), which was without the services of senior setter Marguerite Grubb and freshman standout Toni McDougald against the Horned Frogs, has now dropped four in a row after previously racking up 10 straight victories. TCU (8-3, 1-0) starts Big 12 action with a win for just the second time in program history.
“Overall I was happy with how we played,” head coach Tony Graystone said. “TCU just did what they do. The difference was the experience they had and how they kept the play at their speed and generated offense. For us, we had a hard time keeping up with them offensively, but I was really happy with how we fought and how hard we played.”
Senior Lauren Douglass paced a balanced offensive attack with 10 kills for her 11th doube-digit kill match of the season. Junior Alyssa Ybanez and freshman Chandler Atwood chipped in eight kills each and junior Audrey Fragniere, who received her first start of the season, added a season-high six kills. Sophomore Reyn Akiu posted a match-high 24 digs to lead the defense, while sophomore Kyndal Cowan and freshman Sophia Canales stepped in for the injured Grubb to combine for 28 assists.
Senior Sarita Mikals led the Horned Frogs with six of her game-high 16 kills in the first set as TCU hit .472 and claimed the opening frame, 25-14.
Texas Tech fired back in the second set, using a 4-0 run to take a 12-8 lead. Douglass, who connected on her first five attacks on the night, continued her tear in the second and a terrific defensive effort led by Reyn Akiu helped Tech build a three-point lead at 18-15. The Horned Frogs, however, were able to level the score at 19-19 before back-to-back kills by Douglass and Ybanez pushed Texas Tech in front, 21-19. Holding TCU to a .089 hitting percentage for the set, Texas Tech was able to close it out, 25-22, to level the score at 1-1.
The momentum went back to TCU as it opened up a 13-5 advantage in the third and took the set 25-13. The Horned Frogs outhit the Red Raiders .384 to .000 in the frame as Mikals and fellow senior Jillian Bergeson paced the attack with four kills each.
The Red Raiders battled in the fourth set, pulling to as close as four at 16-12, but TCU put the match away with a 7-1 run to take it 25-14.
Texas Tech looks to rebound in its Big 12 home opener Saturday, when it takes on West Virginia at United Supermarkets Arena at 1 p.m. A reminder that Texas Tech’s clear bag policy will be in effect.
(COURTESY: Texas Tech Sports Information Department)