Atwood, Hill Lead Texas Tech to Second Postseason NIVC Win

NIVC Second Round Match Stats

• Texas Tech def. Texas State 3-0 (25-18, 25-10, 26-24)
• Texas Tech moves to 17-14; Texas State ends the season at 25-10
• Texas Tech will play UC Irvine at 5 p.m. ET Wednesday in the NIVC Third Round in Fort Worth
• San Marcos, Texas
• Box Score 

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas Tech hit at a .306 clip and outdid Texas State 5-1 in aces and 7-2 in blocks in a sweep to move on to the NIVC round of eight on Friday. It marks the first time in program history that the Red Raiders have won two postseason matches.

The Red Raiders got a 14-kill effort from sophomore outside hitter Chandler Atwood and 12 from sophomore outside Emily Hill. Atwood hit at a .414 clip, while junior middle blocker Katy Keenan hit .571 with nine kills. Redshirt senior libero Kate Klepetka pulled up 13 digs, while freshman middle Alison White managed a team-leading four blocks.

Senior middle Jaliyah Bolden notched 12 kills on a .400 hitting effort to lead the Bobcats. Freshman middle Tyeranee Scott (7) and sophomore outside Megan Porter (6) followed. Scott put up a team-best two aces, while sophomore libero Micah Dinwiddie registered 21 digs.

Texas Tech scored four straight to turn a 7-5 deficit into a 9-7 lead and never relinquished control in a 25-18 Set 1 win. Texas State tied it up four times, last at 13-all, but could not break through. The Red Raiders went up five at 22-17 with kills by three different players and a stuff by White and Hill. TTU scored three straight to end the set on a Klepetka ace.

The Red Raiders rode the momentum to a 14-5 Set 2 lead as five Bobcat miscues piled up and Hill notched three kills. Atwood downed three kills as Texas Tech raised its lead to 13 at 21-8 and added two more to give TTU a set-point try at 24-9. Keenan downed the final kill at 25-10.

Trailing 13-10 in Set 3, Texas State scored five of the next six to grab a brief 15-14 lead. Amy Pflughaupt notched a kill and an ace in the rally. Missy Owens answered with an ace of her own at Tech went up 18-15. Bolden turned it on with five kills to give the Bobcats at 23-21 lead. Keenan downed two putaways as the Red Raiders scored three in a row to go up 24-23. Bolden kept the match going with another kill, but a setting error and a stuff by Owens and Keenan sent TTU through to the NIVC Third Round.

?? | Highlights and postgame interviews from Friday's sweep at Texas State.

Our #NIVC Quarterfinal match against UC Irvine is scheduled for 4 p.m. Wednesday at TCU. #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/KT9RzwFhdO

— Texas Tech Volleyball (@TexasTechVB) December 2, 2017

PRESS RELEASES

Courtesy: Texas Tech Athletics

The Texas Tech volleyball team earned a 3-0 sweep at Texas State Friday night at Strahan Coliseum in the second round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.

With wins over SMU and Texas State in the NIVC San Marcos regional, the Red Raiders (17-14, 4-12) advance to the Quarterfinals, where they’ll take on UC Irvine (24-7, 10-6 Big West) Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 4 p.m. at the TCU Rec Center in Fort Worth.

Tech outhit the Bobcats .306 to .183 and outblocked them by five on its way to a 25-18, 25-10, 26-24 victory. The Red Raiders checked off another milestone as they move past the second round of a postseason tournament for the first time in program history.

“It’s so much fun to watch our girls grow so fast now that we’re in these playoff matches,” head coach Tony Graystone said. “You see what they’ve been learning all year. I’m really happy with the last three or four points of the match where we fought back. We’re going to celebrate, enjoy what we’ve done and appreciate how we’ve gotten here. We know UC Irvine is a well-rounded group, so we’re going to have to be ready for them.”

After combining for 37 kills Thursday, sophomore outside hitters Chandler Atwood and Emily Hill led the team in kills again Friday with 14 and 12, respectively. Junior middle Katy Keenan was the team’s most efficient weapon, recording nine kills and just one error on 14 swings to finish with a .571 clip. Atwood’s .414 hitting percentage marked a season high as she led the team in kills for the 12th time in 2017.

Freshman Allison White led the team with four blocks while Keenan and Hill chipped in three each. Senior libero Kate Klepetka posted a team-high 13 kills and two aces, and junior setter Missy Owens distributed 33 assists.

Texas State (21-10) was led by senior Jaliyah Bolden‘s 12 kills. Sophomore Micah Dinwiddie tallied 21 digs while setter Erin Hoppe finished with 25 assists.

Tech used a 6-2 run late in the first set to help turn its 16-15 edge into a 22-17 advantage. The Red Raiders got four kills from Atwood in the frame while holding Texas State to .189 hitting.

The momentum carried over into the second, where Tech jumped out to a 14-5 lead and never looked back. The Red Raiders recaptured their firepower from Thursday’s sweep of SMU, hitting at a .406 clip to earn their biggest set win of the season at 25-10.

The Red Raiders led by as many as three at four separate instances during the third set, but Texas State mounted a 6-1 run late in the frame to take a 23-21 lead. Owens would dial up two kills from Keenan and one from Atwood to retake the lead at 24-23. After the Bobcats saved match point, Tech forced a pair of errors to finish out the match.

POST-GAME NOTES

Tech moves past the second round of a postseason tournament for the first time in program history.
Tech improves to 20-5 all-time against Texas State and 6-3 against the Bobcats in San Marcos.
The 25-10 win in set two marked Tech’s largest of the season.
Hill has been in double figures for 23 matches this season, Atwood 20.
Tech is now 12-0 in 2017 when holding its opponent under .200 hitting and 6-0 when hitting .300 or better.
Tech is now 13-2 this season against out-of-conference foes.

Courtesy: Texas State Athletics

The Texas State volleyball team lost 3-0 (25-18, 25-10, 26-24) to Texas Tech in the second round of the 2017 National Invitational Volleyball Championship Friday night inside Strahan Coliseum.

The Bobcats closed out the season with a 25-10 mark in front of an NIVC-best 1,183 fans. The victory and loss totals were both the best marks since 2011 (27-8). The Red Raiders (17-14) advanced to the quarterfinals of the postseason event and will meet UC Irvine.

Seniors Jaliyah Bolden and Erin Hoppe saw their successful careers come to a close. Bolden posted 12 kills on a .400 attack percentage to finish with 730 kills in her three years at Texas State. Hoppe dished out 25 assists and ended with 3,010 career assists. That mark is fifth all-time in school history and is the second-highest total in the rally-scoring era (since 2001).

Sophomore Micah Dinwiddie had a match-high 21 digs and finished the 2017 campaign with a school-record total of 599 digs. She broke the previous record by 51 digs (Sierra Smith, 2013).

The visiting Red Raiders were able to claim the opening period by a 25-18 margin. They broke a 13-13 tie with a kill and never trailed again, closing on a 12-5 run.

The second set was all Texas Tech, as the side jumped on top early and polished off a 25-10 period. Texas State played to a 23-21 lead in the third frame and looked poised to send the evening to a fourth set, but the Red Raiders ended the match with a 5-1 run to capture the game 26-24.

Chandler Atwood (14 kills) and Emily Hill (12 kills) paced the Red Raider offensive attack. Missy Owens posted 33 assists, while Kate Klepetka finished with 13 digs.

Texas Tech led in kills (43-36), attack percentage (.306-.183), assists (38-35), aces (5-1), and blocks (7-2). Both sides finished with 48 digs.