Red Raiders Outlasted by Baylor in Four Sets

Monday, November 12

Lubbock, TX

6 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

16-11, 5-8

Baylor

18-7, 10-4

Baylor

Texas Tech

Red Raiders Outlasted by Baylor in Four Sets

November 12, 2018 | Women's Volleyball

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Tech splits season series with Lady Bears, turns focus to Kansas State Saturday.

By: Ty Parker, Texas Tech Athletics Communications

LUBBOCK, Texas – An even 1-1 match ended up in Baylor's favor as the Texas Tech volleyball team dropped a four-set battle to the Lady Bears, 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-20, 25-17) Monday night at United Supermarkets Arena.

The Red Raiders (16-11, 5-8) limited Baylor (18-7, 10-4) to .191 hitting but struggled to put the ball down themselves as the Lady Bears pulled away in the final two frames for the win.

Junior Emily Hill was the only Red Raider in double figures with 12 kills, but the Baylor defense limited Tech to sub-.100 hitting in all but the second set and .096 hitting for the match. It marked just the third time this season Tech has been held under .100 hitting as a team and just the second loss in 13 matches that the Red Raiders have held their opponent under .200.

"Too many hitting errors," head coach Tony Graystone said. "We did a really nice job with our first touch, block was very good tonight, we held them to a low (hitting) percentage and we had lots chances to score points. And we just didn't finish plays. Offensively, a frustrating night."

Winners of six in a row, Baylor earns a split in the season series after the Red Raiders defeated then-No. 19 BU in four sets earlier this season in Waco. Baylor inches closer in the overall series, which Tech leads 50-34.

Junior Shelly Fanning led three Lady Bears in double figures with 16 kills on .303 hitting. Leading killer Yossiana Pressley finished with 16 of her own, but was held to a .118 clip, while senior Aniah Philo added 11 kills.

Freshman Karrington Jones started for the fifth straight match in place of the injured Allison White and helped the Red Raiders to a fast start defensively. Tech recorded seven team blocks in the opening frame with Jones in on five of those. By the third set, Jones had set a new career high with seven blocks as Tech finished with 12 on the night to mark their third time in the last four matches to record 10-plus team stuffs.

Jones wasn't the only freshman to make an impact as defensive specialist Kiari Gier provided a spark off the bench in the third set. Trailing 21-16, Tech sided out on a kill from Jones and then Gier checked in on serve and recorded her third career ace to pull Tech within three at 21-18. She added a second ace in the fourth set to double her season-ace total and match her career high.

The Red Raiders finished with seven aces on the night, their highest output in a Big 12 match this season. Freshman Katy Northcut registered a big one in the second set, finding a hole in the Baylor defense to give Tech set point at 24-23 before an error from the Lady Bears gave Tech the set and evened the match at 1-1.

Libero Emerson Solano also recorded a pair of aces on the night while leading the back line for the 21^st time this season in digs with 17. Junior Kylie Rittimann also had a strong night with 13 digs, a career-high seven assists and an ace to mark her 10^th double-digit defensive effort on the year.

Offensively, Jones followed Hill with seven kills while senior setter Missy Owens tallied six of her own to go with 28 assists, five blocks and five digs. Freshman Brooke Kanas, who exploded for 19 kills in the win in Waco, struggled to find space and finished with just three kills.

"It's frustrating right now when we know where we're at and how close we are," Graystone said. "We keep finding ways to just come up a little bit short. The biggest thing is just staying positive and continuing to keep fighting. And we keep doing that. I have no problem with our effort, I have no problem with how coachable we're being. We're just not making plays in the end when we need to."

UP NEXT
The Red Raiders will hit the road on Saturday to take on Kansas State (13-11, 3-10) in the Little Apple with first serve from Ahearn Field House set for 8 p.m. on ESPN3.

POSTGAME NOTES

Texas Tech moves to 7-3 this season at United Supermarkets Arena
Hill led Tech in kills for the 14^th time this season
Hill has posted double-digit kills in 22 matches this season, including 12-of-13 in Big 12 play
The 28 assists were a career-low for Owens at Texas Tech in a four-set match

For the latest news and updates on all things Texas Tech volleyball, follow the team on Twitter and Instagram @TexasTechVB and click over to www.TexasTech.com.

Seven blocks in the first set, two of which came by this freshmen duo of Kanas & Jones ??#WreckEm pic.twitter.com/HvsLcLkXu8
— Texas Tech Volleyball (@TexasTechVB) November 13, 2018