The Texas Tech women's volleyball team's challenges are not finished yet.
After being swept by the No. 25 Oklahoma Sooners Oct. 10, The Red Raiders head on the road to face No. 14 Kansas State (14-5, 6-3 Big 12) at 7 p.m. today in Manhattan, Kan.
"Kansas State's a good team, and they came really far from last year from what they were," Tech assistant coach Beth Karasek said. "They brought in some really good kids, and they're a high-energy team. We're going to have to go and really focus and just do our job and not really worry about what they're doing."
The Wildcats are coming off a sweep of the Iowa State Cyclones in Ames, Iowa - the first time the Cyclones were swept at home since 2000. Kansas State had one losing streak this season, dropping matches to Nebraska and Texas prior to its win against Iowa State.
The Wildcats had 53 kills, a .237 hitting percentage and 20 errors in the win over Iowa State. Kansas State is in fourth place in the Big 12 Conference, hitting .259 as a team.
"We were watching film on them, and coaches have really told us a lot about them," Tech outside hitter Caroline Courtney said about Kansas State. "We're really prepared for it, and we're ready for the game. I feel like the intensity really is rising. Our team is coming together a lot more. Everyone's just coming together and working harder and playing as a team."
Tech (7-11, 1-8) is continuing the search for its first conference win since Sept. 12. The Red Raiders will enter the match with Kansas State without setter Emily Ziegler, who was unable to play in Tech's match against Oklahoma due to injury. Sophomore Kourtney Dunnam, who filled in for Ziegler against Oklahoma, is being worked in to fill Ziegler's place.
Tech coach Nancy Todd said that because Ziegler may be out indefinitely, the team is preparing Dunnam to fill the setter position until further notice.
"Kourtney will be setting (today)," she said. "Maybe the next couple of weeks, Emily will be out. She has surgery this morning, so we'll see what goes on from there. We don't really have a lot of information about it except Kourtney's going to fill in that spot for a little bit, and (Dunnam is) doing a nice job."
In 2006, Ziegler played in 109 games, which is the second highest number for the Red Raiders in school history. She has 91 kills on a .356 hitting percentage. She is ninth in the conference in assists, averaging 10.67 per game.
Tech is riding an eight-match losing streak entering today's match. The Red Raiders are averaging 13.81 kills per game, ranking them No. 10 in the Big 12.
Jenn Harrell is seventh in the Big 12 in digs with 279 on the season. Tech is ninth in the conference in service aces with 82 in 2007.
The Wildcats feature junior outside hitter Natalya Korobkova, who averages 4.53 kills per game. Middle blocker Kelsey Chipman is second in the Big 12 in blocks with 102 on the season. She averages 1.48 per game. Third in the Big 12 is Megan Farr who has 99 total blocks, averaging 1.43 per game.
Todd said serving, among other skills, was the focus in this week's preparation for Kansas State.
"We're going to do a lot of serving," she said. "Serving tough. Serving some short balls, that kind of thing. Taking people out of position. (Kansas State has) some nice hitters. A lefty Russian girl (Korobkova) that hits a lot of balls, taking people out of system, that kind of stuff."
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