Texas Tech University Athletics
2005 Volleyball Preview
August 18, 2005 | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 18, 2005
The 2004 Red Raider volleyball season saw the typical ups and downs that occur for every team. Third-year head coach Nancy Todd has brought in six newcomers to add to her experienced veterans to change that rocky momentum into a steady rise of success for the 2005 season.
Three true freshmen, a red shirt freshman and three transfers will join eight returnees.
"We have a solid mix of older players and newcomers that will hopefully work to our advantage," said head coach Nancy Todd. "We have a lot of work to do. We put a great emphasis on drills and working on their individual skills. Now we have to focus our energy on taking those drills and skills and using them in game situations."
"We have really good ball control out there. Hopefully that will come into play during games and can help us out. Throughout the season we are going to need to be able to play good defense and control the ball well to compete in our conference."
Top returnees include seniors Desiree Batista and Brianna Florus and junior Kiley Lyons. Batista led the team in digs and digs per game with 373 and 3.81, respectively, and led the squad in digs in 16 matches. She set the Tech record for most aces in a four-game match with six in Tech's first-ever win over San Diego State and also tallied five aces against Baylor, ranking her third all-time in five-game matches and sixth in all matches. Batista's season-high 29 digs came against Baylor and notched 12 15-digs matches during the season.
Florus led the team in blocks with 114, 12 solo and 102 assists, and posted a block per game average of 1.18. She also led the team in blocks in 19 matches and posted a career-match high of 10 blocks against Baylor. Florus sits seventh on the block-assist single-match record list with nine.
Lyons ranked second on the team in kills with 238, a career season-high, and was fourth on the team in digs with 182. She posted 21 services aces on the season while tallying 503 points, the second-best on the team. She had one 15-dig match against Iowa State and posted five double-doubles, including the team's first double-double of the season against UT-Pan American. Lyons had a career season-high 49 total blocks while being short one kill of a 20-kill match twice during the season. Lyons is the lone returnee who was named to the Academic All-Big 12 second team.
"We have really good leadership in our returning players. We had many new players last year that got their first experience in the Big 12 who can carry that experience over into this year. Our seniors, Desiree Batista and Brianna Florus, who were both new last year, are fired up to play their senior seasons," said Todd.
Tech volleyball will add to its' international flair with the addition of Philister Sang of Kenya, Aidan Mooney of Canada and Michelle Flores of Puerto Rico. Three Texas natives will also venture to Lubbock in Jamye Pauley (Victoria), Kattie Turner (Amarillo) and Holly Hicks (Round Rock).
"Our junior transfers, Philister Sang, Jamye Pauley and Kattie Turner, will be starting in the mix right away. Kattie will probably see defensive playing time. They bring great experience to the tea, because they have played at high levels of competition."
In addition to the transfers, three true freshmen will begin their Red Raider careers this fall.
"Our freshmen, Holly Hicks, Aidan Mooney and Michelle Flores, will all have an immediate impact and are fighting for spots. Everyone is in the mix right now. They are all competing for spots. It's anyone's game right now."
Newcomers adjusting won't be Todd's only concern this fall. A grueling non-conference schedule will precede a very difficult Big 12 schedule abundant with matches against Top 25 teams and NCAA qualifiers.
"I made our non-conference schedule pretty tough. That is good and bad because we play in such a tough conference," said Todd. "When we go to the Houston Tournament, we'll face Wichita State first, who we lost to last year in San Diego, so the team will be fired up to face them again."
Victories and solid play are the goal of every coach but Todd sees more in this group.
"I want them to compete all the time. I never want them to give up. I want them to compete, be aggressive and play like they want to play and play like they can."
