Red Raiders Post 3-1 Comeback Over Iowa State

Wednesday, November 20

Lubbock, TX

6 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

16-12, 6-8Big 12

Iowa State

17-9, 8-6Big 12

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Iowa State	26	24	21	20	1
Texas Tech	24	26	25	25	3

Red Raiders Post 3-1 Comeback Over Iowa State

November 20, 2019 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Texas Tech ground out its second win over the Cyclones this season.

By: Shannon Carrico

LUBBOCK, Texas – Carrying over its momentum from the weekend, the Texas Tech volleyball team rebounded after an early 1-0 deficit to claim a 3-1 victory over Iowa State, Wednesday evening at United Supermarkets Arena.

Matching its Big 12 win total from last season, Tech improved to 16-12 on the season and 6-8 in conference play. The Red Raiders' win also marks the first time since 2004 that Tech has won both matches against the Cyclones in a single season.

Sophomore setter Alex Kirby had herself a night as she collected her third double-double of the season. The Knoxville, Tenn., native tallied 46 assists and 12 digs while four other Red Raiders finished with double-digit digs – the first time five Red Raiders have posted double-digit dig efforts since Sept. 2, 2017. Katy Northcut paced the Red Raiders with 19 digs, Hill and junior libero Emerson Solano finished the night with 18, and senior Kylie Rittimann shined with 15 digs against Iowa State.

Freshman standout Caitlin Dugan came into her own with 15 kills against the Cyclones and Emily Hill continued a phenomenal senior season with a team-leading 16 kills. Brooke Kanas followed behind with nine kills and Karrington Jones collected eight on the night.

At the net, Jones got big for five blocks against the Cyclones. Dugan, Hill, Kirby and Allison White all posted solo blocks and Tech finished the contest with nine team blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED

SET ONE: IOWA STATE 26, TEXAS TECH 24
Two Cyclone service errors gave Tech its first two points of the match until a kill from Hill broke Tech's silence and cut into Iowa State's lead, 6-3. After falling behind 8-3, the Red Raiders clawed their way back into the fight thanks to seven unanswered points. Kanas sparked the run with her first kill of the night and two Cyclone errors, along with an ace from Rittimann, kept the train rolling. Another Iowa State attack error forced a Cyclone timeout and Kirby and Jones kept the pressure on with their first kills of the week. The teams traded a pair of points before an untimely 6-4 run for Iowa State put Tech behind, 16-14. Another 5-0 swing for Iowa State created a 21-15 deficit for the Red Raiders, but Tech used kills and a block from Jones and Hill to stay in the fight. Tech powered an 8-2 run, highlighted by kills from Dugan and Hill, to tie up the opening stanza at 24-all. However, after a brief timeout, Iowa State responded with back-to-back points to steal the first set, 26-24.

SET TWO: TEXAS TECH 26, IOWA STATE 24
The Red Raiders used 17 kills on a .295 hitting percentage to rally back in the second set. Hill and Dugan registered Tech's first two kills of the set before a solo block from Hill evened up the set, 5-5. From there, the teams tied twice more before another statement kill from Kirby evened the set at 10 points apiece. Iowa State used a 5-2 run to take a 15-12 lead, and the Red Raiders found themselves down five points later on at 20-15. However, two kills from Hill and an Iowa State error sparked a comeback that would neutralize the match. After Iowa State responded with a pair of kills, Jones and Dugan combined for two kills and a block and two more Cyclone errors gave Tech a narrow, 23-22 advantage. The squads swapped kills but White pushed the Red Raiders ahead once more with a kill in the middle. With pressure looming, Kirby stepped up in a clutch situation and ended the second set, 26-24, with a strong ace against the Cyclones.

SET THREE: TEXAS TECH 25, IOWA STATE 21
White put Tech on the board with a kill but Tech fell behind, 8-5 at the beginning of the third. Despite the early deficit the Red Raiders came roaring back and used two kills, two Cyclone errors and four blocks from Jones, Dugan (2) and Kirby, to take a 12-10 lead. Iowa State reclaimed the lead, 17-16, but the Cyclones lead didn't last long as Jones drilled a point in the middle to tie things up at 17-all. Another block from Dugan and Jones followed the kill and Hill furthered Tech's lead with the Red Raiders' third ace of the day. From there, Tech never looked back and used kills from Hill, Kanas and a block from White to move to set point. Iowa State interrupted the momentum with one point, but Kanas sealed a 25-21 victory for Tech in the third with one final kill.

SET FOUR: TEXAS TECH 25, IOWA STATE 20
Tech kept the pressure on to start the third as Kirby opened up what would be the final set with her fourth kill of the day. Jones and Dugan followed with hard swings against the Cyclones and three straight points for the Red Raiders gave Tech an early 6-3 advantage. Iowa State neutralized the set two times until a Cyclone error and block from Hill and Jones put Tech ahead by two points at 12-10. Hill, Dugan and Kanas all used kills to keep the pressure on before four straight points gave Tech a commanding, 21-16 lead. Dugan's 15^th kill of the night held on to the Red Raiders five-point edge, 22-17, and The Cyclone's seventh error of the set put Tech just two points away from victory. Stepping up in true senior fashion, Hill pounded Tech's final two points of the match and Tech walked away with a 25-20 win in the final set of the night.

COMING UP NEXT

The Red Raiders will gear up for their final road match of the regular season with a quick trip to TCU on Saturday, Nov. 23. Live stats, as well as a broadcast on Fox Sports Southwest, will be available for the match. For all the latest information on the Texas Tech volleyball team, visit TexasTech.com or follow @TexasTechVB on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.