Red Raiders Close Road Trip with Win over TCU

Friday, October 9

Fort Worth, TX

5 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

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TCU

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Texas Tech

TCU

Photo by: Ellman Photography

Red Raiders Close Road Trip with Win over TCU

October 09, 2020 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Sanders' 24 kills leads Tech to victory in Fort Worth.

By: Harry Endicott

FORT WORTH, Texas – The Texas Tech volleyball team finished its road trip on a high note on Friday night, knocking off TCU, 3-1.

For the second-straight night, senior Samantha Sanders set a new career high—this time with 24 kills on a .364 hitting percentage, along with 12 digs for her second double-double of the year. Caitlin Dugan had another big night, tying her career high with 17 kills on a .389 hitting percentage. Setter Alex Kirby finished with 41 assists, three kills, nine digs and two blocks.

In her first appearance of the season, Karrington Jones finished with eight kills and eight blocks. Emerson Solano paced the team with 16 digs. Middle blocker Allison Bloss also recorded nine digs, which were a season high.

Dugan led the Red Raiders with seven kills in the opening set, but it was TCU who took the early lead, winning the set, 25-21. After a tight battle for much of the first half of the set, the Horned Frogs went on a 6-1 run midway through the frame to take a 19-14 lead, and eventually stretch their lead to 22-15. Tech would win six of the final nine points of the period, but it wasn't enough as the Red Raiders moved on to the second trailing, 1-0.

From that point, however, Texas Tech took control, winning three-straight sets to put the Horned Frogs away and end the weekend on a high note.

The Red Raiders rebounded from a tough start to the second set, finding themselves in an 11-5 hole to start off the frame; however, the team finished the second on a 20-9 run to finish the set and tie the match at one. The team recorded five blocks in the set—with Jones assisting on four—and hit .286, led by seven kills in the period from Sanders.

After another strong start for TCU in the third set, the Red Raiders once again rose to the challenge to come back and take the set victory. Tech seized control of the match with a 6-1 run midway through the frame to take a 15-12 lead. After three-straight from TCU to tie it back up, Tech won 10 of the next 15 points to clinch the 25-20 set win and take a 2-1 match lead. Sanders was once again huge in the period, adding six kills, while Dugan tallied four.

The fourth and would-be final set was nearly all Red Raiders. After trailing, 4-3, early on, Tech wouldn't trail again and eventually pulled off the 25-18 set win. Sanders had another seven kills in the fourth, while Solano and Lindsey Dodson were huge on the Red Raider backline, tallying five digs apiece in the final set.

The Red Raiders will be back in action next weekend at home, as they host No. 2 Baylor on Friday and Saturday at United Supermarkets Arena. Both matches are set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.