Oct. 2, 2007

LUBBOCK, Texas -

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Red Raiders Looking to Rebound on the Road

Red Raiders Looking to Rebound on the Road
After coming up short in a pair of hard-fought matches last week, Texas Tech volleyball will look to rebound this week when it travels to Waco to face Baylor Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. CST. Saturday the Red Raiders will travel to Columbia, Mo. to battle the Missouri Tigers at 2 p.m.

Last Time Out
Sept. 29, 2007 Texas Tech volleyball played another hard-fought contest Saturday afternoon, but the Red Raiders came up short at the hands of Iowa State 3-1 (15-30, 25-30, 30-28 and 17-30) in the United Spirit Arena.

Alicia Ostmeyer led the Red Raiders with 11 kills on a respectable .333 hitting clip. Amy Gandy added eight kills to go with 12 digs, while Brandi Hood had eight kills and two blocks. Emily Ziegler finished with a nice line of 41 assists, eight digs, four kills and two blocks. Sophomore Jenn Harrell picked up 20 digs from her libero position.

Wrapping Up Last Week
Texas Tech volleyball stood toe-to-toe with No. 7 Texas for close to half the match before falling 3-1 (17-30, 30-26, 20-30 and 17-30) Wednesday night at the United Spirit Arena. The Red Raiders are just the third team this season to push the Longhorns to more than three games. Tech's defense held one of the Big 12's premier offensive players, Juliann Faucette, to just .088 hitting.

Texas Tech volleyball played another hard-fought contest Saturday, but the Red Raiders came up short at the hands of Iowa State 3-1 (15-30, 25-30, 30-28 and 17-30) in the United Spirit Arena. The Cyclones amassed 21 kills, compared to just four from Tech.

Alicia Ostmeyer led the team with 19 kills and four blocks over the two games. Michelle Flores had 16 kills, while Brandi Hood finished the week with 15 kills on .303 hitting to go along with five blocks and two digs. Emily Ziegler finished 75 assists in addition to eight kills, 16 digs and four blocks.

Tech vs. Baylor
Wednesday's match with Baylor will mark the 62nd meeting between the two in-state rivals. Tech leads the series 48-13, but it has dropped the last four meetings with the Bears.

Scouting the Bears
Coach Jim Barnes is in his fourth year at the helm of the Bears. Barnes has compiled a record of 45-51 in his time at the school. He returns five starters from last year's squad which finished with 18 wins.

The Bears enter Wednesday's contest with an overall record of 8-8 and a 1-5 mark in Big 12 play. Offensively, Baylor is hitting .229 on the season while holding its opponents to a .192 clip.

Defensively, the Bears are tops in the conference in digs with an average of 16.83 dpg.

Sophomore outside hitter Katie Sanders leads the team in kills and ranks fifth in the conference with 4.17 kpg (246 total). Middle blocker Anna Breyfogle leads the conference in blocks at 1.58 bpg (87 total). Taylor Barnes is second in the Big 12 in service aces (.51 per game) and seventh in assists (11.85 apg, 699 total).

Tech vs. Mizzou
The Red Raiders will meet Missouri for the 24 th time Saturday afternoon. The Tigers lead the series 12-11 and have taken the last nine contests. Tech last beat Mizzou in 2002. It has not won in Columbia since 1999.

Scouting the Tigers
Wayne Kreklow is in his ninth season at the reigns of the Tigers. He has compiled a 152-64 record coming into this this season and returns four starters from his 2006 squad that won 18 games.

Mizzou currently has an 8-6 overall record and is 1-4 going into its match with Colorado Wednesday.

The Tigers rank fourth in the Big 12 with an attack percentage of .249. Four Mizzou players have recorded triple-digit kills on the season, led by Na Yang. Yang is fourth in the conference with 4.27 kpg. Sophomore Julianna Klein has also been a big contributor with 4.44 kpg in limited time this year.

Senior libero Tatum Ailes ranks among the best liberos in the conference. She is fourth in the conference with 4.71 dpg. As a team, the Tigers rank fourth in the Big 12 in digs.