Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Texas Tech
Wildcats split matches at Lone Star Showdown
9/20/2014 2:49:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
LUBBOCK, Texas – The Wildcats found their first day of competition in Texas to be a split decision.
The Weber State University women's volleyball team opened up the Lone Star Showdown with a four set victory over Air Force, before falling in five sets to Texas Tech in back-to-back matches.
The Wildcats moved to 3-9, ending a seven-match skid with the win over the Falcons
Against Air Force, senior outside hitter Audrey Biggs had 19 kills in 55 attempts, hitting .218 to help lead Weber State to the 14-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-21 victory. It was the second the two teams had played in the past two weeks as Air Force had won their first meeting in four sets.
The Wildcats outhit the Falcons 55-42, while freshman outside hitter Amanda Varley had 11 kills. Sophomore outside hitter Ciera Borho added 9 kills and 2 blocks. Junior middle blocker Audrey Hunter had a match-high five blocks. Redshirt Freshman Taylor Christensen had 38 assists, 7 digs and 5 kills.
Senior libero McKay Tarbox had a season-high 21 digs and two service aces, while freshman defensive specialist Thamires Calvacanti had a career-high 14 digs for the Wildcats.
Against Texas Tech, Biggs again led the Wildcats with 22 kills and a .277 hitting percentage, but Weber State fell 23-25, 25-27, 25-23, 25-20, 25-13 to the streaking Red Raiders, who won their 11th straight match.
The Wildcats hit just .167 against in the match, but did block solidly, recording 10.5 team blocks.
Sophomore Megan Thompson had 7 blocks, Varley had four and Christensen and Hunter each had three.
Christensen registered a double-double with 48 assists while adding a team-high 13 digs.
After battling and winning the first two sets, the Wildcats were unable to put the Red Raiders away in the third set. The Wildcats lead for most of the set but allowed Red Raiders to gain momentum and finish on a 8-3 run.
The fourth set was controlled by the Red Raiders as the Wildcats weren't able to get into their rhythm. But in the fifth set, the Wildcats game out blazing hot taking the first five points. But the Red Raiders chipped away eventually until the match was tied at 12. Two attacking errors and a kill finished the comeback for the home team.
“Today showed that we have learned to play better for a long period of time,” WSU head coach Tom Peterson said. “We just need to continue to be that same team in those critical moments. It was a neat match to beat Air Force as we got them out of their system. Beating Texas Tech would have been neat as well but we just didn't capitalize on our chances.”
Weber State will be back in action on Saturday against Abilene Christian at 9 a.m. This will be the first meeting between those two teams. Live stats will be available at texastech.statbroadcast.com.
