Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
Syracuse
Tech Takes Second at Big Orange Tournament
September 08, 2007 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 8, 2007
LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech volleyball concluded the Big Orange Tournament with a second-place finish after defeating Princeton 3-1 (30-22, 30-27, 27-30 and 30-27) and falling to Syracuse 3-1 (32-30, 25-30, 25-30 and 28-30). The Red Raiders are now 6-3 on the season.
Strong, balanced hitting led TTU to a 3-1 (30-22, 30-27, 27-30 and 30-27) victory over a tough Princeton team for its second win of the tournament Saturday morning.
The Red Raiders had four players with double-digit kills, as they hit .331 to get past a Tigers team that finished 21-3 a year ago. Michelle Flores led the way for the second-consecutive match with a team-best 15 kills on .331 hitting. Alicia Ostmeyer was right behind with a career-tying 14 kills on .722 hitting. Brandi Hood added a career-best 13 kills and five blocks, While Emily Ziegler sparked the attack with a match-high 54 assists.
After cruising through the first game with relative ease, Princeton came back in the second game to make things close. TTU pulled it out in the end, however, to take the win. The Tigers roared back to take the third game and make the match interesting. The Red Raiders shut down any Princeton hope to take the fourth game and claim the 3-1 victory.
Things looked promising for the Red Raiders early, as it was all Tech in the first part of its second match. The Red Raiders rolled out to a 26-18 advantage in game one. Syracuse made a late run at the end to make things interesting, but TTU finished it out with a 32-30 win.
Game two was close right up until the end, when the Orange pulled away to claim the 30-25 win. Syracuse followed it up by claiming a close game three 30-28.
Tech came out early in the fourth game looking to force game five. After taking an early lead, the Orange came back to even things up. It stayed tight right up to the end, when Syracuse pulled out a tight 30-28 win to take the match.
Several Red Raiders came up with strong performances in the loss, however. Flores finished her strong tournament play with a career-best 21 kills on .275 hitting. Ziegler had her fifth double-double of the season with a season-best 55 assists and 10 digs, while freshman Caroline Courtney concluded a strong-tournament showing with a career-high 15 kills on .300 hitting.
Flores' strong tournament showing earned her a spot on the all-tournament team. She was the only Tech player to make the team.
TTU will now return home to kick off Big 12 play. Colorado comes to town Wednesday, Sept. 12, while the defending national-champion Nebraska Cornhuskers visit United Spirit Arena Saturday, Sept. 15. First serve for both matches will be 7 p.m. CST.
