Red Raiders split the UTRGV Tournament’s final two games.
Texas Tech beats Houston Christian after dropping first match of the day
The Red Raiders (7-2) finished up playing three matches in less then 24 hours on Friday evening with a 3-2 win over Houston Christian (2-6) after dropping their noon match to Texas A&M – Corpus Christi (4-3) 3-1.
Sophomore setter Katelyn Cochran led the way with a career high 45 assists against the Huskies and notched back-to-back double-doubles.
Emily Merrick was great in both matches, with 14 kills on a .440 hitting percentage against TAMU – CC followed by a 12 kill, 3.0 block performance against HCU.
MATCH 1:
From the beginning neither team could separate from the other. The Islanders went on to win the first 30-28 after 20 ties and just two lead changes within the set.
The Red Raiders dominated in the second set, winning 25-17 while hitting .345 but the Islanders did not go away.
TAMU – CC took the third set 25-20 thanks to a 6-0 run after Tech went up 15-13. The Islanders capped it off by hitting .350 in the fourth set to clinch the match.
MATCH 2:
The Red Raiders looked ready to run away with the match against HCU, winning the first set 25-13 and holding the Huskies to a -.056 hitting percentage while hitting .281 themselves.
The Huskies came out on fire in the second set, going up 22-12 before Tech went on an 8-1 run to make it interesting. Needing just two more points, however, HCU was able to take the second set 25-20.
Set three finished with the same score, but in favor of the Red Raiders as they finished off the set on a 5-0 run.
HCU jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the fourth set before Tech got it to 13-10. It was a tight battle the rest of the way with the Huskies scoring three of the last five to win 25-23.
In the deciding set, Tech did not trail at all, going on to win 15-13.
NOTABLES:
– Mia Wesley finished with 29 kills over those two matches and recorded a double-double against the Islanders with 10 digs.
– Cochran finished the day with 74 assists and 22 digs.
– Reagan Engler saw more action today, totaling 12 kills and 4.0 blocks while hitting .357 against the Islanders.
– Simone Overbeck had eight kills against both teams and had a career-high three serving aces against HCU.
– Brynn Williams finished with nine kills and seven digs against the Huskies.
– Abby Dickinson notched a season-high 17 digs and three serving aces against TAMU – CC.
– Maddie Correa again recorded double-digit digs, going for 16 in match one and 18 in match two.
