Volleyball Opens Red Raider Classic with Victory Over Houston

Friday, September 20

Lubbock, TX

6 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

8-4

Houston

5-8

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Houston	15	25	17	19	1
Texas Tech	25	20	25	25	3

Volleyball Opens Red Raider Classic with Victory Over Houston

September 20, 2019 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Three Red Raiders posted double-digit kills against the Cougars.

By: Shannon Carrico

LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas Tech volleyball team started the Red Raider Classic on a high note as is downed the Houston Cougars, 3-1, on Friday night United Supermarkets Arena.

Three Red Raiders – Emily Hill, Caitlin Dugan and Brooke Kanas – posted double-digit kills in their second home match of the season. Hill led the squad with 18 kills on the night, Dugan tallied 15 and Kanas collected 14 through four sets.

Tatum Rohme had a career night and racked up 50 assists against the Cougars. Rohme, along with Allison White and Karrington Jones, produced three total blocks. Emerson Solano collected a team-leading 17 digs and three other Red Raiders posted double-digit digs.

As a unit, the Red Raiders limited the Cougars to a miniscule .084 hitting percentage. Tech banded together for 21 more kills than Houston with 61, and the crew finished the night hitting .227. With the win, the Red Raiders improve to 8-4 on the season and a perfect 2-0 at United Supermarkets Arena.

HOW IT HAPPENED

SET ONE: Texas Tech 25, Houston 15
The Red Raiders dominated the night's opening stanza. Tech posted a .226 hitting percentage while they out-hit the Cougars, 14-6. A 6-1 run for Tech – highlighted by kills from Jones, Rohme and Dugan – helped the Red Raiders to an early lead. Houston scored points here and there, but five consecutive points for the Red Raider offense gave the 2019 tournament host a commanding 14-6 lead. Houston responded with five unanswered points, but Tech quickly racked up four more points to take a 19-12 lead. Jones's third kill of the set sparked three more points for the Red Raiders and Hill closed out the first set, 25-15, to give Tech a 1-0 lead.

SET TWO: Houston 25, Texas Tech 20
Tech stalled in the second set as the crew collected just nine kills to Houston's 12. The Cougars led 9-6 to start, but the Red Raiders used two kills from Dugan and an ace from Rohme to tie things up at nine points apiece. The Red Raiders held a short lead at 12-11, but a 12-3 scoring difference in favor of the Cougars put Tech in a 23-15 hole. Two Houston errors, a kill from Dugan and an ace from Solano closed the gap, but the Red Raiders couldn't make up ground and Houston evened the match, 1-1, with a 25-20 victory in set two.

SET THREE: Texas Tech 25, Houston 17
After Houston scored the first point of the set, Kanas opened up a series of five consecutive points with back-to-back kills early on. After the Red Raiders took a 7-5 lead, the teams traded pairs of points until Tech broke away, 18-14, on a three-point streak thanks to a Cougar error, a block from Rohme and Jones along with a kill from Hill. More kills from Jones, Dugan, and Rohme furthered Tech's lead and Rohme moved the Red Raiders to set point with an absolute monster block on the right side. One final kill from White sealed the third set, 25-17, and Tech pulled ahead, 2-1, in the evening contest.

SET FOUR: Texas Tech 25, Houston
Tech jumped out to a 5-3 advantage, but Houston came storming back and took a 6-5 lead after three consecutive points. However, two Hill kills, a point from Rohme and one Houston attack error catapulted the Red Raiders back in front by three. Tech maintained a steady lead until a 6-1 run for the Cougars gave them a one-point edge at 15-14. Determined to end the match in four sets, Tech rallied the troops and powered an 8-1 run to regain the lead 22-16. During the offensive surge, Kanas and Hill both collected a pair of kills and Houston helped out with four errors. The teams traded points from there on out, but Dugan's 15^th kill of the match clinched the 3-1 victory for the Red Raiders.

COMING UP NEXT

The Red Raiders are set to close out the Red Raider Classic tomorrow with matches against UIW (1 p.m.) and UTEP (7 p.m.). Live stats, as well as live streams, will be available for the matches. Fans who purchase a ticket for tomorrow's first match can use the same ticket for Tech's nightcap (no additional ticket purchase is required). For all the latest information on the Texas Tech volleyball team, visit TexasTech.com or follow @TexasTechVB on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.