No. 2 Huskers too much for Texas Tech

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BY TODD HENRICHS / Lincoln Journal Star

Were it not for Nebraska’s 27 errors — 18 hitting and nine serving — Texas Tech would have really struggled to dent the scoreboard on Wednesday night.

As it was, the Red Raiders managed the fewest kills by a Husker opponent in Big 12 play since 2004, winning just 20 rallies on attacks in a 25-13, 25-23, 25-13 loss to second-ranked Nebraska in front of 656 fans in Lubbock, Texas.

Texas Tech had just four kills in the first set and five in the third, but in the second, the Red Raiders threatened to pull out a stunning win. Tied 23-23, Nebraska needed back-to-back kills from Jordan Larson and Tara Mueller to avoid dropping a set in a fifth straight conference match.

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“We’ve had that happen before. Dominate early and then let down,” Nebraska coach John Cook said following the win. “The second (set), we just made so many errors serving and we looked at some balls.

“But we won two sets 25-13, and that’s very impressive, especially on the road.”

Mueller combined with Amanda Gates to outdo what Texas Tech was able to produce offensively. Mueller had 13 kills and served a pair of aces, while Gates, who had a career-high 11 kills on Saturday at Iowa State, followed that up with 10 kills on 14 attempts against the Red Raiders.

A .261 hitter through Nebraska’s first 11 matches, Gates has raised her hitting percentage to .303 on the Huskers’ two-stop road trip.

“If Amanda can score like that — double-digit kills in three sets — that’s huge for us,” Cook said.

Nebraska (13-0, 5-0 Big 12) hit .337, the team’s third-highest mark this season. Lindsey Licht broke from her two-match offensive slump by killing nine of 12 attempts.

“I’m still trying to find that consistency, and it’s the same for the team,” Licht said. “We’re still learning how to be consistent all the way through a match.”

Nebraska never trailed in an opening set that saw the Huskers twice string together five-point runs. The Red Raiders, on the other hand, went 21 rallies in one stretch with only a lone kill from Becca Baldwin.

Baldwin, a sophomore, and freshman Amanda Dowdy were the only bright spots for Texas Tech offensively. They combined for 10 kills. The rest of Tech’s lineup combined for 10 kills on .019 hitting.

It was the 24th consecutive conference loss for the Red Raiders (5-11, 0-5).

Nebraska returns home to face Colorado at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Huskers travel to Creighton on Sunday.