Red Raiders Host Kansas Saturday on Pink Day

LUBBOCK, Texas – Two of the top three teams in the Big 12 standings will square off Saturday as Texas Tech volleyball welcomes Kansas to United Supermarkets Arena for a 1 p.m. first serve.

The match will be streamed online at TexasTech.TV with Geoff Haxton on the call. Live stats will be available through www.TexasTech.com.

Saturday is the program's annual pink day, which is aimed at raising awareness for breast cancer. Fans wearing pink will receive $2 off admission to the match. A reminder that Texas Tech's Clear Bag Policy is in effect for all home events during the 2018-19 school year.

"It's an important day in women's sports and volleyball has been right at the forefront of calling awareness to this, promoting the right things and getting everybody on board with it," head coach Tony Graystone said of the pink day. "We're no exception. We have players who this hits really close to home, so we take it really personally."

"My mom is a breast cancer survivor, so getting to honor her and have a pink game is huge for me," said sophomore Allison White. "To be able to go out there and wear the pink color means a lot more to me just to honor her and bring awareness to it."

The Red Raiders (15-5, 4-2) look to bounce back after consecutive road losses at TCU and Oklahoma have dropped them to third in the Big 12 standings. Tech was outhit in both matches for the first time since league play began and committed 23 total service errors between the two tilts.

The Jayhawks (12-4, 5-0) head to Lubbock after an impressive 3-1 win over No. 4 Texas on Wednesday in Lawrence that placed them at the top of the Big 12 standings. Kansas, in its 21^st season under Ray Bechard, lead the Big 12 with 2.9 blocks per set. The Jayhawk duo of Rachel Langs and Zoe Hill rank as the conference's top two blockers during league play.

"(Kansas) is as athletic as it gets in the Big 12," Graystone said. "They're really fast, they want to do some things with their tempo and they have some really strong athletes over there that can get it done. I think throughout the nonconference and into the conference season, similar to us, they had some losses early on, had some new players getting adjusted to new roles and I think they've turned a corner and figured things out."

Saturday will mark the 46^th overall meeting between the two programs, with Kansas holding a 29-16 lead. The Jayhawks have won 21 of the last 22 meetings with Tech's last win coming in 2010. Tech hosted KU on senior night last season and dropped a tight four-set battle, 27-25, 25-14, 22-25, 25-22.

The matchup will not only feature two of the league's top three teams, but it will also boast the top two defenses in the Big 12. Tech ranks second in the league in opponent hitting percentage at .174 on the year, while KU's comes in at .167. The strong defense has carried over into conference play with Tech holding opponents to .199 hitting and Kansas at .159.

The Red Raiders carry a 6-0 home record into the contest, which includes wins over Iowa State, West Virginia and Kansas State. Tech's last two home matches averaged more than 1,300 fans at United Supermarkets Arena as the 1,618 that took in the Sept. 28 win over ISU marking the highest attended home match for Tech since 2002.

Keep up with all things Texas Tech volleyball by following the Red Raiders at @TexasTechVB on Twitter and Instagram and online at www.TexasTech.com.

Red Raiders Host Kansas Saturday on Pink Day

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Allison Bloss

Texas Tech University Athletics