Volleyball Set for Final Road Trip Before Conference Play

Match Notes | Rice - Stream, Live Stats | Roadruners Roundup - Live Stats, UTSA Audio

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech volleyball takes its nine-match win streak on the road as the Red Raiders travel to Rice Wed., Sept. 14, before competing at the Roadrunners Roundup Thursday-Friday in San Antonio, Texas, against Texas State, Wichita State and UTSA.

The Red Raiders will take on the Owls at Wednesday 7 p.m. at Tudor Field House in Houston. Texas Tech and Texas State will square off Thursday at 1 p.m., while the Red Raiders face Wichita State and UTSA Friday at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

Texas Tech captured the title at the Texas Tech Invitational last weekend after going 4-0 with wins over Abilene Christian, Stephen F. Austin, UT Rio Grande Valley and Oral Roberts. Senior Lauren Douglass was named Tournament MVP after racking up 51 kills and 20.0 total blocks at the event, while sophomores Katy Keenan and Reyn Akiu were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Rice enters Wednesday's contest 4-6 after dropping its last matchup against No. 24 USC. Texas Tech which leads the all-time series 25-10, is looking to break a two-game losing streak to the Owls after dropping matches in 2012 and 2010.

Texas State is 6-5 after earning a sweep of Portland in its last outing. The Red Raiders have won three straight in the series (2010, 2013, 2014) and lead the all-time series, 19-4.

Wichita State comes in 5-3 and receiving votes in the AVCA Rankings after sweeping Samford 3-0 in its last match. The Red Raiders hold a 4-2 advantage in the all-time series, dropping the last two contests in 2004 and 2005.

UTSA has won three in a row and enters the tournament 5-2. Texas Tech is 3-0 all-time versus the Roadrunners with the last contest a 3-1 triumph for Tech in Houston in 2010.

A live stream of Tech's match at Rice can be found at CUSA.tv., while live stats of matches at the Roadrunners Roundup are available at GoUTSA.com. An audio stream of the Red Raiders match against the Roadrunners can also be found at GoUTSA.com. Follow @TTUVball for updates and team information.

CONFERENCE PLAY ON DECK
This week the final week of nonconference play for the Red Raiders as Texas Tech opens its Big 12 slate Wed., Sept. 21 at TCU, before its first Big 12 home match against West Virginia on Sat., Sept. 24. Texas Tech has opened Big 12 play with a win in each of the last two seasons (Oklahoma in 2015, TCU in 2014). The Red Raiders have a chance to eclipse last season's 11-3 nonconference record with the four matches on tap this weekend. Texas Tech hasn't posted more than 12 nonconference wins since 2011 when it posted a 14-1 mark outside of league play.

STREAKING
After a pair of tough outings to open its season, Texas Tech has responded with nine straight wins leading up to this week's road trip. Five of the Red Raiders' nine wins during the streak have been sweeps (vs. South Dakota State, at North Dakota, UTEP, Abilene Christian and UTRGV). The streak is Texas Tech's longest since opening 13-0 in the 2014 season.

DEFENSIVE DUO
After surrendering hitting percentages of .326 and .404 in their two losses, the Red Raiders have shown tremendous improvement defensively, holding opponents to under .200 hitting in all but one of their nine-straight wins. Overall, Tech is holding opponents to a .175 hitting percentage, which ranks third in the Big 12. The combination of senior Lauren Douglass at the net and sophomore Reyn Akiu in the back has proven a tough code to crack. Douglass (1.35 blocks/set) and Akiu (4.93 digs/set) both rank second in the conference in their respective defensive categories.

MEMORABLE ACHIEVEMENT
Texas Tech hit .507 (42-6-71) in a sweep of Abilene Christian, marking the first time since the 1998 season the Red Raiders have hit over .500 in a single match. The .507 hitting percentage matched the fourth-highest hitting percentage in school history and is the highest offensive output in the Big 12 this season.

IN THE RECORD BOOK
Seniors Marguerite Grubb and Lauren Douglass didn't waste any time planting themselves in the Texas Tech record book this season. In the Red Raider's first match of 2016, Grubb compiled 52 assists to crack the school's all-time top 10 list in assists. Douglas made a mark of her own in a win against Portland State, powering her way to 17 kills with a .773 hitting percentage, a clip that ranks as her career-best and sixth all-time in a single match in the Texas Tech record books.

FORCE IN THE MIDDLE
Leading the pack in the middle for the Red Raiders is two-time All-Big 12 honoree and All-Southwest Region award winner Lauren Douglass, who returns for her final year in the scarlet & black after rattling off a school-record hitting percentage of .377 last season. Douglass is currently the Big 12's second-leading attacker (.435) with 138 kills overall, and is the driving force behind Tech's .274 team-hitting percentage, which ranks third in the conference.

SET UP ARTIST
In 2015, Marguerite Grubb put up 1,007 assists, becoming the first Red Raider to record 1,000+ assists in a single season since Emily Ruetter in 2013. She cracked the school's all-time top 10 list in assists in the Red Raider's first match of 2016, compiling 52 assists against Colorado. Overall, Grubb has dished out 424 assists in the first 11 matches and ranks sixth in the conference with 10.6 assists/set.

YOUNG PASSERS
Sophomores Reyn Akiu and Katelyn Bryant have stepped in at the libero/defensive specialist position, providing solid play in the back line. Akiu has consistently been one of the Big 12's top performers with a conference-leading 197 digs and ranks second in the Big 12 with 4.93 digs/set. Last week alone, she compiled 80 digs, which led the Big 12, and she is also second on the team with 34 assists. Fellow sophomore Katelyn Bryant has also been terrific defensively with 90 digs, while senior Marguerite Grubb has chipped in 93 of her own. Freshmen Maggie Sagers and Kylie Rittimann have combined for 89 digs as well, providing a spark off the bench.

Volleyball Set for Final Road Trip Before Conference Play

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Players Mentioned

Reyn Akiu

Katelyn Bryant

Lauren Douglass

Marguerite Grubb

Katy Keenan

Kylie Rittimann

Maggie Sagers