Texas Tech drops first game of season in Red Raider Classic opener
LUBBOCK, Texas – On Friday evening of the Red Raider Classic, the Texas Tech Red Raiders entered the loss column for the first time this season after dropping the match in four sets to the Wyoming Cowgirls (25-17, 26-28, 17-25, 13-25) at the United Supermarkets Arena.
The first set started out with Wyoming grabbing a 3-1 lead with kills by Tierny Barlow, Sarah Holcomb and Corin Carruth before Tech pulled off a 10-0 run featuring back-to-back service aces from freshman Abby Dickinson to create a commanding 11-3 lead for the Lady Raiders. During their 25-17 first set victory, the Lady Raiders hit .316 and posted a kill percentage of .395 with 13 assists and 16 digs.
The second set was tight throughout with two points being the highest lead of either team as well as the set having 20 ties throughout. Despite the effort from Tech, Wyoming came out on top with the 28-26 victory to tie the match up 1-1.
The Red Raiders drew first blood in the third set with a service ace by senior Reese Rhodes who tied her season high in that category. During the 17-25 losing set, sophomore Brynn Williams had her 10th kill of the match, the fifth time that she’s been in double-digit kills this season, with junior Madison Gilliland also seeing action in her first game of the season.
The fourth set saw Williams record her fourth double-digit dig performance and double-double of the season. Graduate Destiny Cox also had her first appearance of the year as she slammed down her first kill on her first attempt. Sophomore Currie Marusak recorded her season high in kills with three in the set. Tech eventually fell in the set 13-25 and the match 1-3.
Williams continues to lead the team in kills with 83. She has the team high in double-doubles, doing so in four of Tech’s five matches. Williams has also led the team in kills and points every game this season and is second on the team in digs with 61.
Rhodes had a team high in assists on the night, making her assist total on the year 124. She has recorded 1,400 assists in her four-year career at Tech with her 27 assists against Wyoming.
Junior Maddie Correa recorded a team-best 15 digs versus the Cowgirls, while freshman Kate Hansen boasted a team-high seven blocks. Freshman Reagan Engler led the team in hitting percentage with a .385 clip after collecting six kills on 13 attacks.
UP NEXT
The Red Raiders start a doubleheader on Saturday at the United Supermarkets Arena by first playing Texas A&M – Commerce at 2 p.m. and then the University of Louisiana at 7 p.m. to close out the Red Raider Classic.
–TECH–
Release provided by Casey Montalvo Texas Tech Athletics
