Red Raiders Head to Baylor Wednesday

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LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech Volleyball searches for its first Big 12 win of the season as it heads to Waco Wednesday, Sept. 28, for a 7 p.m. tilt against Baylor at the Ferrell Center. The match will be broadcast on FOX Sports Southwest Plus and FOX College Sports Central.

The Red Raiders (10-7, 0-2) fell for the first time at home Saturday to West Virginia, 0-3, as they worked several major contributors back into the rotation after injury. Senior Marguerite Grubb posted a match-high 29 assists after missing the prior match at TCU. Sophomore Sarah Redding, junior Ashley Morgan and freshman Toni McDougald also returned after missing time with various ailments. Texas Tech kept pace with the Mountaineers in each set and led late in the second, but fell 19-25, 23-25, 20-25.

Baylor (13-4, 1-0) is riding a nine match win streak into the meeting after knocking of Kansas State, 3-0, in its Big 12 opener Saturday. The Bears are led by juniors Katie Staiger and Jana Brusek, who were named the Big 12 Volleyball Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively, after helping Baylor go 3-0 last week. Staiger, who leads the Big 12 in total kills and kills/set, was also named the Sports Imports/American Volleyball Coaches Association Player of the Week after tallying 64 kills last week.

The Red Raiders are looking to break a five-game losing streak and avoid their first 0-3 start to conference play since 2013. The Bears have not won 10 matches in a row since 2009.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Texas Tech holds a decisive 50-29 advantage in the overall series, but has won just two of the last 10 meetings. The Bears have won four straight matches with the Red Raiders' last win coming in a five-set battle in Waco in 2014. Texas Tech, which captured only one set in the two meetings last season, is 18-16 against the Bears in Waco.

AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS
Texas Tech boasts a pair of players who rank among the best in the nation for their position. Senior Lauren Douglass is in the top 30 nationally in hitting percentage (.398) and total blocks (72), while sophomore Tita Akiu ranks 14^th in the nation with 304 total digs.

KEENAN CRACKS THE TOP 10
Sophomore Katy Keenan is in the midst of a breakout year at the middle blocker position, racking up a .306 hitting percentage, which currently ranks 10^th in the Big 12. Senior Lauren Douglass (.398) is currently second in the conference, making Texas Tech one of just four with multiple players in the top 10 of the conference's hitting percentage leaders.

DEFENSIVE DUO
After surrendering hitting percentages of .326 and .404 in their first two losses on the season, the Red Raiders showed tremendous improvement defensively during its 10-match win streak, holding opponents to under .200 hitting in eight of the ten wins. The combination of senior Lauren Douglass at the net and sophomore Reyn Akiu in the back has proven a tough code to crack. Akiu (4.98 digs/set) ranks second in the conference in digs/set and her 304 total digs is 14th nationally, while Douglass (1.18 blocks/set) ranks fourth in the conference in blocks/set.

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. The senior has dished out 552 assists in 16 matches this season and ranks fifth in the conference with 10.22 assists/set. Overall, she is inching closer towards the eighth spot on the school's all-time assists list with 2,217, just 122 away from the next slot.

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Players Mentioned

Reyn Akiu

Lauren Douglass

Marguerite Grubb

Katy Keenan

Toni McDougald

Sarah Redding

Texas Tech University Athletics