Red Raiders Welcome No. 6 Kansas on “Dig Pink” Night

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech volleyball hosts its second-straight top 10 opponent on Wednesday, Oct. 26, as it takes on No. 6 Kansas at 6 p.m., at United Supermarkets Arena in the annual "Dig Pink" game, which is aimed at aiding the fight against breast cancer.

All fans who wear pink will receive free admission into the match, and the Susan G. Komen Foundation will be on hand with information on combatting breast cancer.

The match will be streamed on TexasTech.Tv with live stats available at TexasTech.Statbroadcast.com.

General admission tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for youth and are available at the ticket office. A reminder that the clear bag policy is in effect for all Texas Tech athletic events.

FROM COACH GRAYSTONE
"In a lot of ways, Friday was an important match. We don't want to get too caught up in it - we did lose the match, and we still have to take that next step, but we've been asking them to put themselves in the fight. They actually did it on Friday from start to finish. You don't have to play the No. 2 team to give that kind of effort. We have to see it all the time. The confidence has to extend, and we have to put ourselves in that fight (against No. 6 Kansas). We saw against Texas what our offense is capable of doing. We had three girls who had really good nights, but that all started with our passing. Our first touch was really good on Friday. When we played in Lawrence, that was the one thing that let us down. We have to be prepared for another level of serve and if we can take care of that first touch, then our offense can do its thing."

THE JAYHAWKS
No. 6 Kansas has won six in a row following their lone loss in Big 12 play against No. 2 Texas. Kansas leads the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.137) and service aces (1.56 per set). Kansas used their powerful serve, led by junior Madison Rigdon's conference-leading 43 total aces, to jump on the Red Raiders in their last matchup en route to a 3-0 victory. Rigdon is also their top attacker with 3.61 kills per set, while senior Cassie Wait leads the conference with 5.09 digs per set. The Jayhawks have a home date with No. 2 Texas on the horizon this Saturday.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Texas Tech trails the overall series, 16-26, and has dropped 11 matches in a row dating back to 2001. Tech fell 0-3 to the Jayhawks earlier this season at Horejsi Center. The Red Raiders last win in the series came in 2010 when Tech earned a 3-2 home win. The Red Raiders are 8-11 overall against the Jayhawks at home. The series, which dates back to 1982, features just one match prior to the formation of the Big 12 with Texas Tech earning a 2-0 victory.

LAST TIME OUT
The Red Raiders played one of their best matches of the season Friday, going toe-to-toe with No. 2 Texas before falling 2-3. The Red Raiders won their first set against the Longhorns since 2010 to take a 1-0 lead, before falling behind 1-2. Facing double match point in the fourth, Tech found a way to tie it up before going on to force a fifth set. Sophomore Sarah Redding led the team with 17 kills while senior Lauren Douglass added 14 and freshman Toni McDougald had 13. Senior Marguerite Grubb tallied 44 dimes, and sophomore Tita Akiu posted a match-high 23 digs.

AMONG THE BIG 12'S BEST
A trio of Red Raiders rank among the best in the Big 12 for their position. Senior Lauren Douglass is second in the conference with a .374 hitting percentage, a clip which ranks 39th nationally. Sophomore Tita Akiu led the conference in total digs before missing time with a knee injury, but remains second in the conference with 4.67 digs per set. Akiu has 369 digs for the year and is just 41 away from cracking the school's single-season digs individual digs top 10 list. Likewise, senior setter Marguerite Grubb is one of six players in the Big 12 averaging double-digit assists per set (10.00).

YOUTH MOVEMENT
Aside from seniors Lauren Douglass and Marguerite Grubb, a multitude of underclassmen have played pivotal roles on the team this season. Sophomores Tita Akiu and Katy Keenan have started every match this season when healthy, while fellow sophomore Sarah Redding and a trio of freshmen in Toni McDougald, Chandler Atwood and Maggie Sagers have been regulars in the starting lineup and rotation as well. In fact, of all possible starts this season, more than 60% of them have been made by freshman or sophomores.

Red Raiders Welcome No. 6 Kansas on “Dig Pink” Night

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Players Mentioned

Chandler Atwood

Lauren Douglass

Marguerite Grubb

Katy Keenan

Toni McDougald

Sarah Redding

Maggie Sagers