Undefeated Red Raiders set for Adidas Invitational
LUBBOCK, Texas. – Off to their best start since 2014, the Texas Tech Red Raiders (6-0) head to Houston for the Adidas Invitational hosted by Rice University on Sept. 9-11 at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Tech will face Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Friday, Sept. 9 at 3 p.m., then will play Brown on Saturday at noon. To conclude the tournament, the Red Raiders play host team, Rice, at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11.
Tech is coming off a perfect, 4-0 week when the team swept Tarleton State in their home opener, then picked up wins over College of Charleston, Charlotte and Georgia in the Bulldog Classic.
At the tournament, two Red Raiders reached major milestones as both Kenna Sauer and Reagan Cooper each collected their 500th career kill. Sauer totaled 22 kills in the match against Charlotte to reach 500, while Cooper tallied 15 kills versus Georgia getting her to 500 kills.
Sophomore libero Maddie Correa also had a dominant week on defense as she picked up not only her first career Big 12 honor, but also the Red Raiders’ first conference award of the season when she was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday. In the last four matches, she tallied 66 digs (4.71 d/s), 18 assists and five aces. In addition, Correa has put together double-digit dig efforts in every single match of the season so far, making her the only Red Raider to do so.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Tech holds a perfect, 3-0 record over the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders, with their last win coming on Sept. 5, 2014. The Islanders come into the match on Friday holding an 0-8 record, with some losses coming against Nebraska, Indiana and Pepperdine. As a team, the Islanders are hitting .180 with 12.5 kills per set. They have also recorded 332 assists, 25 aces, 407 digs and 42.5 blocks. Offensively, they are led by Leah Stolfus who has 82 kills and 91.0 points. Carissa Barnes leads the team with 145 digs and Tayah Little totals a team-high 20.0 blocks.
For the third-straight week, the Red Raiders will face a completely new opponent for the first time in program history as they take on the Brown Bears on Sept. 10. Brown is 2-2 on the season with wins over Rhode Island and Siena and losses against Air Force and Bryant. Overall, the Bears are hitting .240 and holding opponents to just a .129 hitting clip. Sophia Miller leads the team with 68 kills, Victoria Vo has a team-high 61 digs and Gabby Derrick totals 21.0 blocks.
Texas Tech posts an all-time record of 27-10 against former conference foe, Rice, as the Red Raiders last defeated them on Aug. 25, 2018. In addition, the Red Raiders have also won the last two meetings. The Owls, who are receiving votes in the latest AVCA poll, boast a 5-1 record on the season with their only loss coming against No. 18 Oregon. Rice is hitting .248 and holding opponents to a .138 hitting clip. Two players total 60 or more kills as Danyle Courtley (66) and Sahara Maruska (60) lead the team offensively. Defensively, Nia McCardell leads with 113 digs and Satasha Kostelecky has 20.0 blocks.
FOLLOW ALONG
Follow TexasTechVB on Twitter for all the latest updates, including how to watch the game and follow the live stats. All games this weekend will have live stats available here, while the match against Rice will be streamed on CUSA.tv (subscription required).
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Release provided by Casey Montalvo Texas Tech Athletics
