Texas Tech University Athletics
Volleyball Tops Wayland Baptist 5-0 Wednesday in Spring Showdown
April 06, 2017 | Women's Volleyball
Red Raiders earn a 5-0 sweep, will close the spring next Saturday at the Lone Star Classic College Showcase in Dallas.
LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech volleyball continued its spring with a 5-0 victory over Wayland Baptist Wednesday evening at United Supermarkets Arena.
The Red Raiders earned convincing wins in the first three sets by scores of 25-14, 25-10 and 25-13 to clinch the victory. The two squads played out the fourth and fifth sets with Tech earning 25-23 and 15-9 wins.
"It was a good showing for the team last night," Texas Tech head coach Tony Graystone said Thursday. "We were a little shorthanded, but we played clean, efficient volleyball and looked comfortable when we got out of system."
Libero Tita Akiu led the defensive effort with 24 of the team's 44 digs, while Long Beach State transfer Missy Owens recorded four of the team's 13 blocks. Owens was also one of four Red Raiders to post double-digit kills, tallying 13 in the contest.
Middle blocker Katy Keenan led the team in kills with 15, while hitters Chandler Atwood and Taylor Haskins added 13 and 12 kills apiece, respectively.
"I really liked our ball control and setting and love how much we've improved in those areas since last fall," Graystone said. "We still have some things to work on with the timing of our offense, but overall we're in good shape."
The exhibition match was the second of three events for the Red Raiders this spring, the second spring under the direction of Graystone.
Texas Tech's spring season concludes with a trip to the Lone Star Classic College Showcase on Saturday, April 15, at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas.
The Red Raiders opened the spring Saturday, March 25, with the Texas Tech Spring Tournament, which featured seven other teams from across the region. Tech defeated UT Permian Basin (25-13, 30-28), Abilene Christian (25-15, 25-20), Cisco College (25-12, 25-11) and split sets with Angelo State (23-25, 25-10).
The Red Raiders return 13 letterwinners from 2016 and added Owens to the mix, who started all 31 matches at Long Beach State last season and finished second in the Big West Conference with 10.56 assists per set.
