Now with eight matches remaining for the Texas Tech volleyball team, time is running out for the Red Raiders.
The team still is trying to get a win against a Big 12 Conference team.
Tech (2-18, 0-12 in Big 12 play) was swept by No. 22 Baylor (19-5, 8-5) Saturday in Waco — extending the Red Raiders’ struggles with what is now a 51-match losing streak to Big 12 opponents.
However, solid production from players such as setter Karlyn Meyers and the return of outside hitter Miara Cave has the Red Raiders peaking going into a bye week. Tech’s next match is against Colorado on Nov. 7.
“Miara went out and warmed up well, so I decided to play her,” Tech coach Trish Knight said. “She did a good job and made a couple of mistakes, but nonetheless she had a pretty solid performance. Karlyn did a great job of setting and running the offense which she’s improved on in the past couple of weeks.”
What Knight and the Red Raiders also took note of is the closing stages of this match.
A 23-22 lead had everything pointed toward a win in the third set for Tech. However, the Red Raider defense that kept them in the match ultimately gave the set away to the Bears when it mattered most.
Baylor reeled off three consecutive points to end Tech’s bid for a set win with the help of outside hitters Tori Campbell and Katie Sanders along with middle blocker Anna Breyfogle, who all combined for 32 of the teams’ 51 kills.
Tech players and coaches said the close call is another building block for the team, but they are not satisfied.
“We gave the girls a really good gameplan since we have already faced Baylor prior to tonight,” Knight said. “The girls communicated well on the court, which led to much better shots. They have been doing a much better job doing that lately.”
The Red Raiders finished the match with 46 digs as a unit, 13 of those coming from Jenn Goehry. The play from the defense propelled Tech to that lead in the final set and put them in position to extend the match to a fourth set, but it could not capitalize.
Although they finished strong, the Red Raiders didn’t start that way.
Baylor came out much stronger than Tech in the first set, winning it 25-17 and Baylor wrapped things up in the second set 25-20.
“We need the right attitude from the beginning of the match,” Goehry said. “We need to just come out aggressively from the very start and play like that through the whole match.”
Tech picked up the offense in this match thanks to contributions from many players. Middle blocker Amanda Dowdy led the team with 11 kills, but the 20 combined kills from Meyers, Cave, Barbara Conceicao and Caroline Witte kept the Red Raiders within pace of the Bears.
Knight said the balanced production can be a result of having seen Baylor’s defense before — the Bears swept Tech on Sept. 7 in Lubbock. That might help when Tech takes on Colorado at home after the bye week. The Buffaloes are the last Big 12 team Tech defeated, and they are the last Big 12 team Tech has won a set against.
“We have to pull it all together and focus on our side of the court,” Cave said. “We have been working hard as a team and giving it our all, we just have to put in that extra work that will put us over the top.”
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