Texas Tech Athletics
9-1,0-0Big 12
SMU
5-5,0-0AAC
Sauer posts double-double in win over SMU
September 15, 2022 | Women's Volleyball
LUBBOCK, Texas – Behind a double-double from Kenna Sauer and 42 assists from Reese Rhodes, the Texas Tech Red Raiders (9-1) pulled out a hard-fought victory over the SMU Mustangs, 25-18, 16-25, 25-23, 29-27, on Thursday night at the United Supermarkets Arena.
Sauer collected her fifth double-double of the season with 21 kills and 11 digs. Rhodes almost surpassed her career high in assists when she dished out 42 on the night, pushing her total to five matches with 40 or more assists.
Senior Reagan Cooper was close to a double-double in the game after tallying 12 kills (.346 hitting) and six digs, while also adding three blocks. Junior Maddie O'Brien had a solid match after totaling nine kills on 19 attacks (.316 hitting), with two blocks and a career-high four aces.
Leading the defense was sophomore Maddie Correa, who collected 20 digs. Graduate KJ Adams was right behind with seven digs of her own and Rhodes added six more. Fifth-year senior Brooke Kanas led the charge at the net with a team-high four blocks. As a team, the Red Raiders hit .246 with 53 slams, 48 assists, six aces, 61 digs and eight blocks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set One
Texas Tech started on a 5-1 run highlighted by kills from O'Brien and Kanas. SMU chipped away to close the gap at 6-5 before the Red Raiders scored three points in a row on kills from Sauer and Karrington Jones to take a 9-5 lead. With a 13-10 advantage, Tech would score the next four points. The Mustangs tried to cut into the lead, but the Red Raiders pulled away for a 25-18 first-set win.
Set Two
The second set began with SMU taking a 9-1 lead. Tech was able to cut the lead in half when the Mustangs held a 10-5 advantage, but SMU would go on to score nine of the next 13 points. To close out the set, Natalie Perdue would get a kill and give the Mustangs a 25-16 victory.
Set Three
The third set was close from start to finish as the two teams would tie 5-5 to begin. SMU took a 7-6 lead, but Tech would go on to score three-consecutive points on kills from O'Brien and Cooper and with another O'Brien ace. The Mustangs would go on a run of their own to take a 14-11 lead, but Tech fought back to tie things up at 15-all. Back-and forth points commenced, but the Red Raiders would end the set on a 3-1 run to win by a score of 25-23.
Set Four
The final set was a grind from start to finish. SMU took a 7-4 lead halfway through the set, but Tech would eventually tie it at 9-9 with an ace from Adams. Both teams traded points to make it 18-18, but a Sauer kill would put Tech in the lead. Tech had an attack error that put SMU on top, 22-21, but then the Red Raiders were able to tie it back up at 22-22 thanks to a service error on the Mustangs. The set went back-and-forth until Sauer laid down a slam to give the Red Raiders the win, 29-27.
Notables
- The Red Raiders picked up their fourth-straight victory over the Mustangs
- Kenna Sauer recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 21 kills and 11 digs.
- Freshman Ellie Baumert posted her first career kill in the match
- Maddie O'Brien tallied a career-high of four aces in the match and also posted a season-high in kills with nine
- Maddie Correa collected her ninth game with double-digit digs and second with 20 or more digs
Quotables
Head Coach Tony Graystone
Opening statement…
"That was a nice way to finish. Tough match. I felt like we were kind of fighting ourselves tonight. The first set was pretty easy and then they figured some things out… We were just kind of starting over for the third set, but it was back-and-forth. I was really happy with how we managed and kept our sideout game strong. Point scoring was hard tonight, but at the end in those last two sets, the two points wins, those were clutch. I'm happy we could get it done, that's a good team."
On the SMU matchup….
"Well, we knew they were a capable team, no question. They've got good size, they've got a nice setter, they move the ball around and their offense is pretty solid. We talk about how good their PINS were coming in, and when you have two PINS that can score, you're really never in trouble. Their sideout game was strong tonight, and I felt like that was the battle within the battle. Who could have their sideout game hold up the longest? Then, at the end, they got a little error in that fourth set with some missed serves and a couple of hitting errors, so we needed those points to finish them off."
Senior Outside Hitter, #11 Kenna Sauer
On today's team efforts…
"I mean, I always love it when my teammates step up. I think that's been our thing more this year. We really are a threat from every position. Of course, I like to get all the balls and I like the pressure, but I really think my teammates do too. I get pretty tired, but I think as a team, we've been thriving in those pressured moments. I don't ever have a second where I'm worried that someone's not going to do their job."
On chemistry with Reese Rhodes…
"I love hitting off Reese. I think she's a winner, I think you get in the game and you know. I mean, I know what I'm going to get from Reese every game, regardless, even if she's having a little bit of an off day. She's always going to get me balls and she's going to give our middle the ball. She's not going to stop being aggressive. You saw her get offensive there in the last set and we can always count on her to do that. So, I think our connection is really good. It's getting better every game. We have a lot to get better at, but I'm happy with it and it's only up from here."
On playing at home…
"Traveling is pretty tough. I think a lot of people don't account for what we're actually doing when we're on the road. We are playing frequent games, but sometimes we have to be up at 3:30 a.m. or we're traveling all day and practicing at night. So, it's really nice to be in town to get back into our normal game day routine. Honestly, the crowd has been really great so far. It's exciting and fun to play in front our friends and family, too."
Up Next
Texas Tech is back in action at the Red Raider Classic with two matches tomorrow against Oral Roberts and Arizona State at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively.
