Shh... do you hear it?

College football is back. Every team is undefeated and every team has the opportunity to either silence their critics or prove them right. Monday Morning Matador took a small hiatus to prepare for what promises to be a wild 2017-2018 year for Tech athletics. So join me here every Monday morning at (doesn’t matter) and see what’s been going on the past week in the world of Red Raider sports!

Woman’s volleyball tops rice 3-2

Last Saturday the woman’s volleyball team stormed back from an 0-2 hole against the Rice Owls to snag the Red Raider Classic title and advance to 3-0 on the season. Katy Keenan, who was named to the all-tournament team, led the Red Raiders with 15 kills and tallied a career-high eight blocks against the Owls . Allison White also acted as a disruptive force in the middle, tallying 10 kills and seven blocks, one short of matching her career high of eight. Senior setter Missy Owens was named tournament MVP after secured 47 assists, nine digs, six kills and three blocks. Redshirt freshman Andrea Janss recorded eight kills and five blocks against Rice, including back-to-back points for Tech in the fifth set that gave Tech a 12-8 advantage. Junior Chandler Atwood rounded out Tech’s double-digit kill performers with 14 on the day. Next up for the women’s team is a visit to ACU Tuesday, Aug. 28, before preparing for a series of road trips to California and the Rio Grande Valley throughout nonconference play.

Woman’s soccer improves to 4-0

Coach Tom Stone had stressed the importance of this year’s soccer team making it obvious that they are ready to play from the moment they step on the field. In two minutes, Jade King made that clear to the San Diego State Aztecs by netting a goal just two minutes into the match. In the 35^th minute, Kirsten Davis finished another through ball from Jayne Lydiatt to make it 2-0 in favor of Tech. San Diego State capped a goal before the half but were unable to pull out a draw and Tech moved on to 3-0 for the year. The Tech defense allowed just three shots and did not allow a corner in the second half. The lone scare in the second half came in the 68^th minute, when an Aztec cross was headed toward goal, but defending Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week Marissa Zucchetto was there to make the save.

”We knew San Diego State was a pretty gritty team, we knew they were at home and would have some fans, so we felt like we needed to start in a way that would put them on their heels,” said Stone after the win, improving his record over California teams to 16-3-1.

On Sunday they took that same game plan to the Abilene Christian Wildcats, taking 19 shots to their 1 and bagging 11 corners to their three. The Red Raiders netted a goal in the 55^th behind the power of Jordan Duke - and finished the game out 1-0, improving their record to 4-0. Red Raider soccer alum Janine Beckie continues to turn heads in her professional career as well:

Football chooses team captains for the 2018 season

With Tech’s first week of football here, Coach Kingsbury selected six captains to lead the team this Fall. Senior linebacker Dakota Allen and senior defensive back Jah’Shawn Johnson were picked for their second straight season. They will be joined by junior offensive lineman Travis Bruffy, senior wide receiver Ja’Deion High, junior offensive lineman Terence Steele and junior defensive lineman Broderick Washington Jr. Texas Tech kicks off against Ole Miss this Saturday at 11:00am on ESPN.