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McDonald posts season-best in kills against FIU
September 19, 2024 | Women's Volleyball
MIAMI – Graduate Aliyah McDonald collected a season-high eight kills as the Texas Tech Red Raiders (8-2) earned a 25-15, 25-23, 25-19 sweep over the FIU Panthers (2-9) on Thursday night at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
McDonald went 8-for-18 for a .389 hitting clip while leading the team with four blocks on the night. Mia Wesley once again led the Red Raiders with nine kills against FIU with Brynn Williams and Emily Merrick close behind with seven slams apiece. Merrick also totaled two blocks and a .467 clip on 15 swings.
Setter Katelyn Cochran played the first two sets as she ranked up 19 assists, six digs, two blocks and four kills on .571 hitting. In addition, Reagan Leinen went 4-of-6 at the net for a .500 hitting percentage and added three blocks for Tech. Defensively, Maddie Correa (9) and Emily Contreras (8) led the Scarlet and Black in digs. As a team, the Red Raiders totaled 40 kills on 106 attacks for a .264 hitting clip while picking up 39 digs and eight blocks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Tech started the first set with a 3-2 advantage thanks to blocks from Merrick and McDonald and a kill from Wesley. FIU took a 6-4 lead, but it was short-lived as the Red Raiders went on a 9-0 run, highlighted by a couple aces from Wesley and kills from Williams and Leinen to make it 13-6. The two teams traded points at the end of the set, but the Red Raiders ultimately took it by a 25-15 score thanks to another kill from Leinen.
In set two, the Panthers took a 5-3 lead before the Red Raiders answered with the next four points on two aces from Wesley and two kills from Cochran. FIU responded with a 6-0 run before Tech got a kill from Leinen to stop it. A back-and-forth affair ensued before the Red Raiders tied things at 18-18 on back-to-back kills from Williams. At 23-23, Lola Davila served an ace before an attack error on FIU solidified the set for Tech, 25-23.
Tech jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the third set on a solo block and kill from McDonald and a kill from Merrick. Tech held an 8-4 advantage, but FIU fought back to take the lead after winning five-consecutive points. Tech responded with the next four points on a kill by Williams and a block assist by the duo of McDonald and Williams for the 12-9 advantage. Tech added a 3-0 run on back-to-back kills from Merrick and an ace by Contreras for the 16-11 lead. FIU tried to claw its way back, but the Red Raiders closed out the match with a slam by Wesley to win it, 25-19.
UP NEXT
The Red Raiders take on Miami tomorrow at 5 PM CT in the Knight Sports Complex.
