HONOLULU — For the third-straight year, the University of Utah volleyball team has defeated its first-round opponent and moved on to the second round. The Utes defeated the Texas Tech Red Raiders 6-15, 15-8, 2-15, 15-10, 15-12 in the first round of the NCAA tournament Thursday.
Utah will be a decisive underdog tonight when it plays host to Hawaii in the second round.
Utah was led by senior Jen Snow-Richards. She racked up her fourth double-double of the season with 14 kills for a .276 hitting percentage and 10 digs. Junior Alisa Geddes tied a season-high 13 kills for a .345 hitting percentage and eight digs.
Mountain West freshman-of-the-year Kim Turner tallied 10 kills and posted a career-high 10 total blocks. Turner tied a Utah school record for block assists in a five-game match. Middle blocker McKelle Stilson and junior outside hitter Lenka Urbanova added 10 kills each. Setter Lucie Turkova notched 53 assists, seven kills and eight digs. As a team Utah hit for .224 and added 14.5 total team blocks.
Texas Tech was led by Colleen Smith, who recorded 27 kills for a .346 hitting percentage and seven digs. Melissa McGehee racked up 18 kills for a .361 hitting percentage and 10 digs. Teammate Ann Romjue led the team with 14 kills, while setter Skydra Orzen posted 59 assists and 11 digs. Texas Tech hit for .285 in the match and added 12 total team blocks.
"I think that match was reflective of the way we've played all season," said head coach Beth Launiere. "That match also reflected the fact that we always find a way to win volleyball matches."
Launiere was especially pleased that the Utes were outhit by about 70 percentage but managed to win.
"We still found a way to win that match," she said. "What I really think was key tonight was that we had five players in double-figure kills and I thought that was going to be really important tonight.
"We couldn't rely on just one player, we had to mix it up," she added. "I am really proud of this team to come back and pull this one out."