Texas Tech Athletics
13-2,2-0Big 12
Kansas State
9-6,0-2Big 12
Tech sweeps Wildcats to remain undefeated in Big 12
September 28, 2022 | Women's Volleyball
LUBBOCK, Texas – Earning their seventh sweep of the season, the Texas Tech Red Raiders (13-2, 2-0 Big 12) snapped a five-game losing streak to the Kansas State Wildcats, 25-22, 25-23, 25-15, on Wednesday night at the United Supermarkets Arena.
In the match, both Kenna Sauer and Reese Rhodes collected double-doubles. Sauer recorded 16 kills and 11 digs while Rhodes tallied 35 assists and a career-high tying 16 digs, which led the team.
Fifth-year middle, Brooke Kanas, put together a solid game after totaling eight kills on 15 attacks (.400 hitting) and adding a team-high six blocks. Senior Reagan Cooper also collected eight kills, four digs and a block on the night. Sauer, Rhodes and O'Brien all totaled three blocks and KJ Adams added 15 digs in the match.
As a team, the Red Raiders tallied 44 kills on 114 attacks for a .272 hitting clip, 40 assists, 10.0 blocks and 60 digs – which is a season-high for a three-set match. Tech also held Kansas State to just .144 hitting on the night and 37 kills.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set One
The Red Raiders and Wildcats started the match tied at 4-4, before Tech won two-straight points on kills from Kanas and Cooper. More back-and-forth play ensued until the Red Raiders took a 12-9 lead thanks to a slam from Rhodes. Kansas State got one point back, but Tech won three more in a row highlighted by an ace from O'Brien. Leading 22-18, Tech would win their next three points on kills from Cooper and Kanas to claim set one, 25-22.
Set Two
Kansas State took an early 4-3 lead, but the Red Raiders went on a 5-0 run thanks to errors from the Wildcats, a kill by Kanas and blocks from Sauer and Kanas. K-State chipped away, eventually tying the match at 11-all. But, the Red Raiders would win six of the next eight points to lead 17-13. The Wildcats went on a run of their own, claiming six-consecutive points, to take a 19-18 lead. The Red Raiders kept battling, though, winning the set on a slam from Karrington Jones, 25-23.
Set Three
The third set was all Red Raiders as the team began with a 5-3 advantage. Kansas State would try and close the gap, getting within two points of Tech at 9-7, but the Scarlet and Black would win seven points in a row and keep that momentum for the remainder of the set. Leading 21-13, Tech claimed four of the next six points to complete the sweep of the Wildcats, 25-15.
Notables
- Texas Tech moves to 2-0 in Big 12 play.
- Kansas State had won the last five meetings against the Red Raiders until the streak was snapped with Tech's win tonight.
- Today's victory also marks the seventh sweep of the season for the Red Raiders and first of conference play.
- Both Reese Rhodes and Kenna Sauer recorded double-doubles in the match, making it the fifth game of the season where multiple players collected double-doubles.
- Sauer has now led the team in kills in 13 of 15 games.
Quotable
Head Coach Tony Graystone
Opening statement…
"Really nice performance tonight. I'm more than happy with pretty much everything. Small things to work on. We'll keep addressing, but it was a good response to the last couple of matches where we've gotten off to not the best start. Tonight, the first few sets were close and we found a way to get across the finish line. Then in the third set, we broke it open. But, I'm really, really happy. This was one of our better performances of the year. Brooke [Kanas] kind of took over in that third set and it was really fun to watch. We've kind of been seeing her evolve over the last few matches and finding herself, and the more we can get the ball to her, the better."
On how the team broke it open…
"I think this is kind of typical. We were playing well right from the jump and really, the message for us during that intermission, was just to stay engaged and make sure that we were going to start off first and we wanted them to take the first time out. We wanted to be the first team to seven and we did it, so I knew we were checked in and that's really all it took."
On Kenna Sauer's performance tonight…
"Tonight was the Kenna that we as a team and as a coaching staff think of and know. For her, she has a lot of responsibility on this team. There are times when the burden is heavy and we have to get her to just relax, stay within herself and not try to do more than she needs to do. Tonight, she was there right from the beginning. It helps so much when her team, like Brooke [Kanas] and Reagan [Cooper], are scoring as well. She can kind of relax and just know that it's not going to just be her, and then you see a whole different side of her."
#21 Middle Blocker, Brooke Kanas
On finishing strong in the third set…
"We talked about how it's a choice in everything we do, and we made that choice – We were going to win the set and we were going to set the pace and not wait to see what they were going to give us."
On how it feels to have won six-straight sets…
"It's been a lot of fun. There are definitely moments that are up and down, but we always find a way out of it. We are a really tough team, and we all have each other's backs. Even if it's not going our way sometimes, we know we have a lot of grit to get through a win together."
Up Next
The Red Raiders host No. 1 Texas for a huge matchup on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the United Supermarkets Arena. This match will also be aired on ESPN.
