Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
SMU
Tech Wins One, Drops One to Finish off Round Up
September 01, 2007 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 1, 2007
LUBBOCK, Texas - A pair of hard-fought contests highlighted the Texas Tech volleyball team's final day of the Red Raider Round Up Saturday as TTU beat the Lamar Cardinals 3-2 (30-25, 21-30, 30-21, 27-30 and 15-8 ) and lost to SMU 3-1 (26-30, 30-22, 30-32 and 26-30) to take second place.
Tech took home its share of honors for the two day event, however. Amy Gandy was named to the all-tournament team, while Emily Ziegler claimed the setter of the tournament award. Sophomore Jenn Harrell took home the Libero honor.
Things looked promising early in the day for the Red Raiders, as they took advantage of suspect passing from the Lady Cardinals and hot hitting from junior-transfer Amanda Sbragia to take a 30-25 win in game one of their first match.
Lamar came out strong in game two and jumped out to a three-point lead early. Tech failed to match the energy of the Lady Cardinals and found itself fighting from behind the entire game. Lamar took the game 21-30.
It was all TTU in the fourth game. The Red Raiders jumped out early to a three-point cushion before the Lady Cardinals fought back to within a point. Tech stormed back to take a 13-8 advantage and cruised the rest of the way to the 30-21 win.
Both teams came out determined to capture the momentum in the fourth game. It was Lamar that captured the momentum late in the contest and came out with the 30-27 win to force the deciding game five.
Game five, however, was all Red Raiders. They jumped out to an early 9-3 lead and never looked back to take the 15-8 win to finish the match.
Michelle Flores recorded 15 kills on .345 hitting, while Amy Gandy and Alicia Ostmeyer each added 14 kills to lead TTU. Setter Emily Ziegler spread the offense with 54 assists to go along with 11 digs for her third double-double of the season.
The Mustangs took advantage of a weary TTU team and out hit the Red Raiders to win the last match of the Round Up 3-1 (26-30, 30-22, 30-36 and 26-30) and keep their undefeated 6-0 record. TTU dropped to 4-2 with the loss.
After the grueling five-set match with the Lady Cardinals, Tech was unable to match SMU's energy in game one of the Red Raiders' second match of the day. TTU fought hard and kept things close until midway through, when the Mustangs took advantage of the tired Red Raiders to seize the momentum and take the game 26-30.
SMU took the early leads in game two, before Tech fought back and seized control of the game and rode out the 30-22 win.
Coming out of the locker room, both teams looked to get control of the match. Neither could manage to gain any type of advantage, however. After a hard-fought back-and-forth battle, SMU took the lead only to see TTU make a strong push and got to game point at 29-28. Fatigue caught up with Tech though, as the Mustangs surged forth and eventually took the 30-32 win.
Tech came out hard in the fourth game and took a four-point lead midway through. The Red Raiders could not hold off SMU's attack, however, and faltered down the stretch. The Mustangs pushed forward to claim the 26-30 win and take the match and tournament crown.
Flores led the Tech offense with 16 kills, while Gandy and Ziegler each added double-doubles. Gandy finished with 10 kills and 15 digs, while Ziegler added 12 kills and 43 assists for her third double-double of the tournament and fifth of the season. Brandi Hood was strong in the middle with eight blocks and seven kills.
Villanova vs. SMU SMU came out firing early and eased to a 3-0 (30-24, 32-30 and 30-18 victory. Rachel Giubilato led the way with an 18 kill-12 dig double-double.
Villanova vs. Lamar The Wildcats edged the Lady Cardinals 3-2 (30-23, 15-30, 26-30, 30-24 and 18-16) in the fifth match of the tournament. Alona Cherkez led the way with a tournament-high 28 kills and 19 digs from her outside hitter position.
Tournament Awards Natalie Peters, SMU - MVP; Emily Ziegler, TTU - Setter; Jenn Harrell, TTU - Libero
All-Tournament Team Stefanie Kons, SMU; Caitlin Rainbird, SMU; Alona Cherkez, Villanova; Amy Gandy, TTU; Kacy Sellers, Villanova; Molli Abel, Lamar
