In August, we wrote about how down two sets to none in the season opener, Texas Tech volleyball found a way to reverse sweep Houston Christian and then win the next three games to finish the Under Armour Challenge undefeated.
But Friday, they found themselves in an even more precarious position: down two sets to none not just to any team, but the No. 17 Kansas Jayhawks. Including the first two sets, Kansas had won 16 sets in a row.
The second set wasn’t just tough for the Red Raiders; they were up 11-10 before Kansas went on a 15-3 run to take the set, so what happened afterward felt improbable in more ways than one.
A 12-1 run to start the third set, a hyped United Supermarkets Arena, and resilience like no other lifted Texas Tech (8-5, 1-0 Big 12) to a reverse sweep victory 22-25, 14-25, 25-17, 25-22, 15-12 over Kansas (9-2, 0-1 Big 12) on Friday to get their first ranked win since 2021 and their first ranked win at home in almost 11 years.
Texas Tech’s last ranked win was over then-No. 9 Baylor on Oct. 1, 2021, when coincidentally, they came back from two sets to none down and won it 18-16 in the fifth set.
But to find the last time they beat one at the United Supermarkets Arena? One has to go back to Nov. 17, 2012, when they took down then-No. 20 Kansas State in four sets.
Junior libero Maddie Correa almost got a 30-dig game Friday, finishing with 29 in a big performance for her as she passed the career 700-dig mark.
She said she didn’t even know about being close to 700, and it was a big, overall team win.
“I can’t help but want to just continue to recognize all my teammates and think of what they did today ‘cause not one person won this whole thing,” Correa said. “We all contributed in a way, and it’s just really exciting and fun to see it all kind of come together.”
She also said this win shows they can have confidence in themselves no matter the situation, and they needed the confidence boost.
So many players contributed when Tech needed it most. Freshman middle blocker Kate Hansen had four blocks and three kills in the third set alone, and that was just to get Texas Tech up 17-6.
Super-senior pin Caitlin Dugan might not have wanted 10 errors, but she had 18 kills and eight digs to lead the way. Sophomore outside hitter Brynn Williams was quiet at first, but then she had seven kills and three aces in the fourth set to push Tech to force the fifth and final set.
That doesn’t include freshman Reagan Engler and super-senior Emily Merrick, who both stepped up in big moments and had efficient games, plus senior setter Reese Rhodes, who played most of the game and had 47 assists and the game-winning kill.
Super-senior Reagan Cooper was second in kills for Kansas with 13 and led everyone with her .444 hitting percentage, including big kills in the fifth set despite the Jayhawks’ loss. Cooper played three years at Texas Tech, where she was second on the team in kills in 2022 and helped Tech make the NCAA Tournament in 2021.
Up, down, everywhere in between, but Tech rose to the occasion
Texas Tech was hanging with Kansas most of the first set but couldn’t get a lead until they got up 22-20 off a 5-0 run that forced a Kansas timeout.
Then, Kansas finished it with a 5-0 run of their own to take the first set led by three kills from junior outside hitter Ayah Elnady. She continued to lead Kansas in the second set, and junior middle blocker Toyosi Onabanjo racked up the blocks and kills as Kansas pulled away to take the set 25-14.
Tech head coach Tony Graystone said he thought the score of the second set really didn’t illustrate how it felt, and there wasn’t really a change in the message to his team at any point Friday.
“We just got stuck in a couple of rotations, so the second set, the score was ugly, but I don’t think that told the whole story about how we were really playing, and we really were able to just stick with it,” Graystone said. “I felt like everybody stayed engaged. Nobody was checked out or going to that worst-case scenario.
“We stayed right in the moment, and then once we got off to that third set, the crowd started going, the team started to feel it, and then we felt like we were playing downhill.”
The 12-1 run was highlighted by part of Hansen’s red-hot start, an ace each from Correa and Williams, and a couple kills from Dugan, and although Kansas fought back, Tech held on to take it 25-17.
The fourth set looked like more of the same when Tech went on a 7-0 run, but Kansas ended up having a 4-0 run of their own that cut Tech’s lead to 11-9.
Then, Williams had two kills and two aces to make a 4-1 Tech run, found her way in the kill department, and ended the set 25-21 with what was called a service error, but the challenge from Graystone was successful, and it ended up being an ace right on the baseline.
In the deciding set, Tech started up 6-2, but Cooper didn’t want to lose at what used to be her home venue as she and right-side London Davis pushed the Jayhawks to 10-10 and later 12-12.
The Red Raiders didn’t get that far just to lay down at the end, however, and reeled off the last three points, ending with a left-handed shot from Rhodes as the crowd erupted and the team celebrated a historic victory to open Big 12 play.
Running it back Saturday
Texas Tech volleyball is young with seven freshmen, and even some of the older players are new like Merrick. They went 1-4 away from the United Supermarkets Arena, and even a couple games at home were a bit shaky at times.
On Friday, the team showed a high they hadn’t quite shown before, taking down Kansas for a ranked win after not playing a single ranked opponent all season and being 7-5.
As much as they probably want to celebrate like Tech soccer, they’ll have to regroup quickly and play Kansas against the United Supermarkets Arena at 2 p.m. on Saturday, continuing their tough Big 12 schedule.
“The first half of the Big 12 for us is just exceptionally brutal,” Graystone said. “It’s really tough, so any win is a great win in this conference, doesn’t matter where or who. And so, that’s all you’re trying to do is just chase for the win, and we got one tonight.”
Box Score, Schedule, Saturday Stream Link (Apple Music), Saturday Stream Link (TuneIn), Saturday Stream Link (KTXT)
Loading ...