Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders Close Road Trip at North Texas
September 18, 2011 | Women's Volleyball
The Red Raiders will be looking to extend their 12-match winning streak Monday night.
Sept. 18, 2011
DENTON, Texas - Texas Tech closes its nine-match road trip Monday night when the Red Raiders battle North Texas at 7 p.m. in the Mean Green Volleyball Center.
| GAMEDAY INFORMATION | |
| Date | Monday, September 19 |
| Location | Denton, Texas (Mean Green Volleyball Center) |
| Time | 7 p.m. |
| Radio | None |
| Live Video and Audio | Available through North Texas Athletics |
TEXAS TECH OFF TO BEST START SINCE 2000
The Red Raiders enter this weekend's tournament boasting a 12-1 record, marking the program's best start since the 2000 squad opened the year 16-1 en route to a 24-9 record and trip to the NCAA Tournament. Tech began that season with eight-straight wins before falling to Baylor on Sept. 13 and then followed with seven more wins to start its tournament run.
RED RAIDERS RIDING LONGEST WIN STREAK SINCE 1996
Tech boasts a 12-match winning streak entering Monday's match, the school's longest run since 1996 when the Red Raiders won 15-straight to open the season. The school record for consecutive matches won is 25-straight which was done from Sept. 10-Oct. 9, 1976.
THE SERIES
The two schools will be meeting for the 20th time in program history Monday as Tech maintains a commanding 18-1 lead in the series. Tech's only loss all-time against the Mean Green came on Sept. 15, 1978 in Denton as the Red Raiders have won the last 13 contests. The two programs last met on Aug. 29, 2008 as Tech took a 3-0 victory in its season opener at the North Texas Invitational.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Red Raiders open Big 12 play this weekend as 12th-ranked Iowa State travels to Lubbock for a 1 p.m. match Saturday. The Cyclones open conference play on Wednesday at home against Missouri as Tech drew an open date to begin league action. Tech returns to non-conference action just two days later as the Red Raiders travel to Albuquerque to face New Mexico next Monday.
FLORA JOINS ELITE COMPANY IN SCHOOL RECORD BOOK
When then athletics director Gerald Meyers hired Don Flora last January, he knew he was getting a proven head coach with an impressive record. Flora has proved Meyers' pick to be a solid choice as Tech is 12-1 on the year, the best record through 13 matches for a first-year head coach in school history. The California native passed Donna Martin, who led Tech to a 11-2 start in 1985 as the Red Raiders eventually ended the year 19-9 overall. Flora entered the year as one of the winningest coaches all-time in NCAA history after compiling a 269-59 record over 11 seasons at the University of La Verne in California.
SENIORS ENJOYING FINAL SEASON AT TECH
Seniors Amanda Dowdy and Karlyn Meyers have to be enjoying their final season in a Texas Tech uniform. The duo won a combined 11 games over their first three seasons, one less than Tech's total so far this year. Don Flora marked the fourth head coach to lead the duo as the co-captains started their careers under Nancy Todd in 2008. Now, Dowdy and Meyers are off to one of the best seasons in school history while both are also climbing the Tech record book in several categories.
ROAD TRIP MEANS NOTHING TO TECH
Possibly the most important factor in Tech's transformation under Don Flora has been its ability to score wins on the road. The Red Raiders had traditionally struggled away from Lubbock in recent years but have posted a 9-1 record in road or neutral site contests so far. That's impressive for a program that entered the year with only 14 wins away from Lubbock since 2007.
RED RAIDERS TAKE BIG 12 LEAD
Tech has gone from the bottom of the Big 12 to the conference leader early in the year as the Red Raiders enter Monday night's match leading Kansas by percentage points for the conference lead. Tech has finished in the bottom three of the Big 12 standings for the past six seasons, a streak it will be trying to halt once Big 12 play begins next weekend.
NOTABLES
• Texas Tech's win over UT-Arlington marked the program's third tournament title of the season, a feat that had not been previously accomplished since the 2000 season.
• The Red Raiders have ended their last seven matches via a 3-0 score, which had not been done previously since Tech opened the 1998 season with eight-straight sweeps.
• Tech's 3-0 sweep over UT-Arlington was its 11th of the year which is the school's most in a single-season since it totaled 14 during the 2000 season.
• Tech has already surpassed its win total from the 2008-10 seasons combined as the Red Raiders won 11 games during those three years.
• The Red Raiders have broken the 10-win barrier for the first time since the 2006 season where Tech finished 12-17 under Nancy Todd.
• Tech has held its opponent to a hitting percentage below .100 in six of its last seven matches. Only UConn has posted a hitting percentage over .200 against the Red Raiders this year.
• Tech has also held four of its opponents to a negative hitting percentage, which prior to the year had not been accomplished since facing Northwestern State on Sept. 2, 2010.
• The Red Raiders, meanwhile, have hit over .200 in all but two matches this season. Tech has been over .300 in four matches as well, including last weekend's finale against UT-Arlington.
• Amanda Dowdy and Karlyn Meyers are two Tech players familiar with the Mean Green Volleyball Center as the duo helped lead Tech to a 5-1 record in Denton during the 2008 season. Tech played in two different tournaments during that season as Dowdy and Meyers were both freshmen.
TEXAS TECH BOOSTS OFFENSE WITH SERVE
One of Don Flora's areas of improvement early in the season was Tech's serving ability after the Red Raiders posted double-digit error numbers twice in their first three matches. Tech has used the serve to its advantage lately as the Red Raiders have totaled 74 aces so far, six more than the 2010 season. Nicole Hragyil and Tory Vaughan led the team with 12 aces each while Amanda Dowdy has added 11 of her own.
