Volleyball Splits with Georgia, CSU Bakersfield Friday

Friday, August 31

Irvine, CA.

2:30 PM CT

Texas Tech Athletics

4-1

Georgia

4-0

Georgia

Texas Tech

Volleyball Splits with Georgia, CSU Bakersfield Friday

August 31, 2018 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Georgia Box Score CSUB Box Score

Red Raiders move to 5-1 on the year, take on UC Irvine Saturday.

By: Ty Parker, Texas Tech Athletics Communications

IRVINE, Calif. – Texas Tech volleyball split its first two matches at the UCI/Adidas Invitational on Friday. The Red Raiders suffered their first loss of the season, 3-0, to Georgia before rebounding to top CSU Bakersfield, 3-0, to finish the day.

"It was a tough matchup with Georgia," head coach Tony Graystone said. "We knew it would be coming in, but we decided afterwards there was nothing we could do but learn from it and move on. I'm proud of how our team responded against Bakersfield."

Georgia's serve and length made it difficult for Tech to score as the Bulldogs (4-0) claimed a 25-13, 25-19, 25-14 victory.

Georgia (4-0) recorded eight team blocks and held Tech to a .012 hitting percentage, its worst of the Graystone era.

Bulldogs T'ara Ceasar and Rachel Ritchie combined for 25 kills to lead Georgia, while Emily Hill, Katy Keenan and Allison White led Tech with four kills each.

Tech rebounded in the second match with a 25-16, 25-16, 25-18 victory over CSU Bakersfield. Tech outblocked the Roadrunners 12-4, outhit them .211-.046 and out served them with seven aces to one.

Senior Missy Owens flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 21 assists, 10 kills, nine digs and six blocks. It marked the first double-double of the season for the Red Raiders and the 27^th of her career.

Hill added nine kills and two aces for Tech, while White chipped in seven kills and six blocks. Keenan tallied five blocks to go with three kills.

TECH-GEORGIA BREAKDOWN
The first set started tight with the Red Raiders down 8-7 before the Bulldogs began opening up a lead with a 4-0 run. Georgia posted five blocks and held Tech to -.069 hitting on their way to a 25-13 win in the opening set.

The Red Raiders responded to start the set by winning four of the first five points. The Bulldogs, however, rallied and took their first lead at 6-5. Despite a .345 Bulldog hitting percentage for the stanza, Tech trailed by just two at 18-16 after a kill down the middle from White. Georgia would win seven of the next 10 points to close out the set and gain a 2-0 advantage.

Tech fell behind 7-2 early in the third and began rotating in several freshmen. Setter Alex Kirby and outside/right side Brooke Kanas played the remainder of the match as Georgia went on to take the sweep.

TECH-CSUB BREAKDOWN
Leading 15-13, Tech stole momentum for good off three straight points by White and Owens. The Red Raiders finished off the set with a 7-0 run behind the serve of Owens. Tech outblocked the Roadrunners 4-1 with White in on three of those.

In the second set, Tech's service game picked up with Hill, Emerson Solano and Katy Northcut combining for four aces. Hill recorded five kills in the frame on nine swings, and Tech held CSUB to .032 in the frame on its way the set win.

Six blocks in the third set limited the Roadrunners to .000 hitting in the frame, and Owens tallied five kills and three blocks in the frame to help Tech cruise to the win.

UP NEXT
Tech closes out the tournament at 2 p.m. CT Saturday against host UC Irvine. A live stream is available through BigWest.TV. Fans can also follow @TexasTechVB on Twitter and Instagram for live updates and behind-the-scenes content.