Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raider Volleyball Opens Season in Houston
August 25, 2005 | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 25, 2005
Lubbock, Texas- The Texas Tech volleyball team will open the 2005 season at the University of Houston tournament on Sat., Aug. 27, in Houston, Texas. The Red Raiders are slated to play Wichita State, at 11 a.m., and Houston, at 8 p.m.
Head coach Nancy Todd welcomes back eight letterwinners and four starters from the 2004 squad. Joining the returnees will be seven newcomers, three true freshman, three junior transfers and a redshirt freshman.
Top returnees from the 2004 squad include seniors Brianna Florus and Desiree Batista 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 she notched 12 15-digs matches during the season.
Florus led the team in blocks with 114, 12 solo and 102 assisted, 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 (11 kills, 11 digs). Lyons had a career season-high 49 total blocks while being short one kill of a 20-kill match twice during the season. She is the lone returnee who was named to the Academic All-Big 12 second team.
The last meeting between the Red Raiders and Wichita State was Sept. 3, 2004, in San Diego, Calif. WSU won the match, 3-1, by scores of 28-30, 30-27, 30-21, 30-19. Batista led the attack with 11 kills and four service aces. Daneen Grisham notched 11 digs.
The Shockers are picked first in the 2005 Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. It is the second-straight season that the Shockers have been picked to finish first. The Shockers return nine letterwinners and five starters to a team that won the first MVC regular-season and tournament titles in school history. The team finished 25-6 overall and 17-1 in The Valley and made the first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance for WSU.
The last meeting between Red Raiders and Houston was Oct. 18, 1995, in Houston, Texas. The Cougars defeated the Red Raiders, 3-2, by scores of 15-9, 15-6, 10-15, 6-15, 9-15.
The Cougars are picked to finish fourth in the Conference USA Preseason Coaches Poll after finishing the 2004 with an 11-21 record. Houston returns six starters and a libero. UH is led by junior outside hitter Kelly McAnelly who led the team with 490 kills in 2004. The Cougars are led by 20th-year head coach Bill Walton.
The Wichita State match can be heard at www.shockerradio.com. Live stats for the Houston match can be found at www.uhcougars.com
