Red Raiders Head to No. 8 Texas

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech volleyball hits the midway point of its Big 12 slate this weekend as it travels to Austin for an in-state showdown at No. 8 Texas Saturday at 1 p.m. inside a sold-out Gregory Gymnasium. The match will air on Longhorn Network.

After a 4-0 start to conference play, the Red Raiders (15-6, 4-3) look to end a three-match slide on Saturday. Tech benefitted from an off day Wednesday after dropping its first home match of the season last Saturday to Kansas, which jumped into the polls this week.

"We've spent all week thinking about ourselves and trying to ourselves back on track," head coach Tony Graystone said. "Our offense hasn't been what it was in the beginning of conference. There are some things that as teams have made some adjustments to us that we haven't countered. We needed a few days to get back on track, and I think we did a good job of that."

The Longhorns (11-4, 6-1) were also off Wednesday after getting back in the win column with a five-set victory in Norman. Texas had its 27-match Big 12 winning streak snapped last week at Kansas.

"They are bigger than most teams," Graystone said of Texas. "They're block is really good. Offensively, they're more balanced than most teams. They've got their go-to players just like everybody does, but they've got more weapons and can spread it around. There's a lot of trouble wherever you look across the net. Physically, they're a handful."

TEAM NOTES

Texas Tech enters Saturday tied for third in the Big 12 standings, while Texas is tied for first
Texas Tech remains in the top 40 of the NCAA RPI at No. 39
Texas Tech is 4-4 in true road matches this season, including 1-2 during league play.
Texas Tech is 1-0 against Top 25 teams entering Saturday with a win at No. 19 Baylor

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Brooke Kanas leads Tech in kills during Big 12 play. The freshman has been in double figures all seven league contests.
Emily Hill has led the team in kills a team-best 12 times this season. She also ranks third in the Big 12 in services aces.
In Big 12 play, Missy Owens ranks third in the league with 11.32 assists per set.
Libero Emerson Solano is third in the Big 12 in digs per set for the season and during conference play.
Senior Katy Keenan reached joined the 700 career kill / 300 career block club in Saturday's outing against Kansas.
54 matches into her collegiate career, sophomore Allison White has amassed 200 career blocks. She was the first Red Raider freshman to amass 100 blocks in a season.
Redshirt freshman Andrea Janss returns to her hometown for the first time in her collegiate career. The right side hitter attended McCallum High School in Austin.

SERIES NOTES
This will mark the 96th meeting between the in-state foes in a series that dates back to 1975. Tech is looking to reverse its history against the Longhorns, who hold an 84-9-2 all-time advantage. The Longhorns have won 34 straight matchups with Tech's last win coming in 2000.

Last season, Tech won its first set in Austin since 2009 before ultimately falling in four sets. Then-sophomore Chandler Atwood led Tech with 12 kills in the match while middles Allison White and Katy Keenan combined for 16 kills. The matchup in Lubbock saw Texas squeak out a 27-25 win in the first before winning in straight sets. White and Sarah Redding led Tech with eight kills each.

NEXT UP
Tech opens the second-half of Big 12 play at West Virginia (9-10, 1-5) next Wednesday. The Red Raiders defeated the Mountaineers, 3-1, in their Big 12 home opener.

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Players Mentioned

Chandler Atwood

Allison Bloss

Emily Hill

Andrea Janss

Brooke Kanas

Katy Keenan

Missy Owens

Sarah Redding

Emerson Solano