Red Raiders Battle to Five Set Loss Against Iowa State

Friday, November 4

Lubbock, Texas

5:00 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

10-17, 0-12

Iowa State

14-9, 6-5

Iowa State

Texas Tech

Red Raiders Battle to Five Set Loss Against Iowa State

November 04, 2016 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Douglass, Redding and Keenan all post double-digit kills in the loss.

LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas Tech volleyball team went to a fifth set for the third time in five matches, but Iowa State would use a late run to pull out a 3-2 win over the Red Raiders (10-17, 0-12) Friday night at United Supermarkets Arena.

The Cyclones (14-9, 6-5) matched a season-high with 13.0 total blocks while out-digging the Red Raiders 78 to 59 to help them escape with a tight 19-25, 25-20, 25-17, 23-25, 15-12 victory.

"Iowa State is definitely a ball-control, defense-first team, so it was everything we were expecting tonight," head coach Tony Graystone said. "It was the second time we have played each other, so we know what the other team is trying to do. I hope everyone was able to see our fight the way I saw it. These are the signs that our team is growing. We wear these losses tougher now because we know that we are right there. That's the way it's supposed to be."

Tech struck first, taking the opening set for the third time in its last five matches. The Red Raiders used an 8-2 run midway through the frame to open up a 16-9 lead. Sophomore Katy Keenan had the hot hand early on with five of her 12 kills in the first set, and would end up closing the set out with an unassisted kill at the net to give Tech the set (25-20) and a 1-0 lead.

The Cyclones would bounce back in the second and third sets to take a 2-1 lead. Three Cyclones finished with double-digit digs led by libero Hali Hillegas's match-high 25, as the Red Raiders could only hit .179 and -.095 through the second and third frames.

The Red Raiders trailed by as many as three in the fourth set at 14-17 before back-to-back aces by senior Lauren Douglass helped Tech put together a run and claim an 18-17 lead. Tech was able to win five of the final eight points in the frame capped off by a Douglass kill to force a fifth set.

Tech relied heavily on the arms of Douglass and sophomore Sarah Redding in the fifth set as the two accumulated four kills each. The Red Raiders led 8-6 as the teams switched sides, but Iowa State mounted a rally behind four Tech errors to steal the match with a 15-12 win in the final set.

Three Red Raiders recorded double-digit kills led by Redding's 16, which marked her fourth time in double figures in the last five matches. Keenan added 12 while Douglass posted her 17^th double-digit performance of the season with 11 kills.

Sophomore libero Tita Akiu tallied 24 digs in the loss while fellow sophomore Katelyn Bryant had 10. Senior Marguerite Grubb dished 45 assists with five digs.

UP NEXT
Texas Tech gets eight days off before its next match. The Red Raiders will travel to Norman Sat., Nov. 12, to take on Oklahoma with the match time to be announced next week. Tech fell to the Sooners 3-0 (28-26, 25-23, 25-17) at home earlier this season.