#2 Bears Claw Past Texas Tech, Taking Both Matches on the Weekend

Texas Tech keeps showing signs of growth on the 2020 season, falling just short of the second-ranked Baylor Bears 3-2 on Friday before getting swept on Saturday.

Red Raiders Take Bears to the Brink

After getting swept in both matches last season by the eventual NCAA Tournament top seed Bears, Tech made it obvious they were not going to be pushed over as easily this year. In set one, it was the Red Raiders getting off to the fast start, which they sustained throughout the entirety of the set.

After a Baylor point coming off an attacking error by Tech freshman Mackenize Morgan, who finished the match with six kills, Tech strung together a 7-0 run to push the lead to 13-4, a lead that was large enough to bring the Red Raiders to a 25-15 set one victory. 

The Bears, coming off their second-lowest scoring set of the season, went right back to what they know best and what helped guide the team to a 2019 Final Four appearance: going to reigning ESPNW National Player of the Year, Yossiana Pressley, who finished the set with nine kills.

The two teams went back and forth for the first half of the set, but it was a 6-0 run that was able to swing the momentum in the favor of the Bears, taking the lead 17-11. The two teams were tied before the run, at 11-11, and had the same number of points after it, as well, with eight a piece. However, that quick six point stretch for Baylor was the difference-maker, as the Bears would tie up the match at 1-1 with a 25-19 set 2 victory.

Tech would get two of the first three points of set three, courtesy of Alex Kirby and Cadi Boyer, the latter of whom would finish with nine kills. However, the Red Raiders would not lead again in the set. Up 18-16 in the set, Baylor would go on a 7-0 run to take the set 25-16 to grab the 2-1 advantage. The Red Raiders aided the Baylor attack in the frame with nine errors, seven attacking, one service, and one receiving.

The Red Raiders knew they needed to get off to a fast start in set four to stay alive in the match, and they did exactly that. Tech trailed for only one point the entire set, at 5-4, at which point they were able to turn the tides in their favor with a 10-3 run. After three unsuccessful set points, Brooke Kanas would send down one of her team-leading 14 kills of the night to take the set 25-21.

With their backs against the wall, the Bears went back to Pressley to avoid their second loss of the season. The Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year would send down four kills in set five to help Baylor put together an 8-2 run and a 12-6 lead. With the Red Raiders clawing back, Baylor setter Callie Williams ended the match abruptly with a quick set right over the Texas Tech net defense, which finished with 11 blocks, to take the match for the Bears. 

The 11 blocks by the Red Raiders was a big talking point from Coach Tony Graystone in the post-game press conference, stating that the defense of the Red Raiders gave them a chance to win.

Bears Make Quicker Work of Tech in Match Two

The Red Raiders would start off Saturday just as impressively but were not able to sustain it for as long. Tech let set number one slip away from them. After Tech led 23-21 and faced two different set points, it was Baylor who was able to sneak out the 27-25 victory, thanks in part to 13 errors by the Red Raiders in the set.

The next two sets did not get any easier for the Red Raiders as Pressley would once again take over the net game, accumulating 23 kills for the night, 12 more than any other player on the court (Samantha Sanders with 11 for Tech). 

The Red Raiders found themselves in a 20-20 game in set two when Lache Harper would get two of her eight blocks and one of her two kills on the night for Baylor as the second-ranked Bears would take set two 25-21.

On the verge of getting swept, Tech was able to hold with the Bears in set three until Baylor pulled off one last run for the weekend, 7-1, to take the set 25-18 and the match. 

Up Next

Texas Tech will have to trade in the number two team in the country for the number one team in the country, Texas, with first serve in Austin slated for 7 p.m. Thursday.