Nov. 17, 2010

Match Notes

RUSTON, La. - When the Lady Techsters host the Wolf Pack of Nevada Thursday night it will mark the final collegiate match for five seniors - Taylor Fritz, Jennifer Goodwin, Lori Hunsucker, Kara Jones and Kassia Pinto.

"This is a unique senior class because it's a combination of a couple of the student-athletes that were here when I took over the program and our first comprehensive recruiting class where we had time to put together a good recruiting effort," said Louisiana Tech head coach Matt Sonnichsen. "They are the combination of student-athletes that wanted to stay with us as we went through a transition and incoming athletes that believed in the university and the improvements that our athletic department and volleyball team is going to make."

Goodwin, Hunsucker and Pinto joined the program two seasons ago after transferring from the junior college level while Fritz and Jones are Tech's lone four-year letterwinners.

Goodwin, a native of Nederland, Texas joined the Techster program in the fall of 2009 after spending her first two years at Blinn Junior College. During her first season at Tech the six-foot outside hitter started 32 matches while ranking fifth on the team with 164 kills and third with 284 digs. This season Goodwin has seen action in all of Tech's 32 matches while getting the starting nod on 25 occasions.

The senior currently leads all Techsters with .23 service aces per set while ranking third on the team with 2.30 digs per set. She recorded a season-high 16 digs in Tech's win over San Jose State earlier this month and notched a career-high 13 kills in a five set win at Nicholls State. During Tech's first home match this season Goodwin was instrumental in Tech dropping Jackson State in three sets as she recorded her first career double-double (10 kills - 12 digs) in a Techster uniform. Jennifer is the daughter of Mark and Dayna Goodwin and is seeking a degree in animal science.

Pinto, one of three Techsters to hail from Brazil, arrived on the Tech campus during the fall of 2009 from Lake Land College. In her junior campaign she started 26 matches while ranking second on the team and fifth in the WAC with seven double-doubles. The five-foot-eight outside hitter led the Techsters with 27 service aces and established season-highs with 14 kills and 19 digs against Boise State (11/8).

As a senior Pinto has been consistent on the outside as she has started all 32 matches while picking up a team-high six double-doubles, most recently against Idaho when she tallied a career-high 18 kills. During Tech's win over San Jose State (11/4) Pinto totaled a career-high 20 digs. Currently Pinto ranks second on the team with 235 kills and second in digs with 2.35 per set. Kassia is the daughter of Sergio Ivan Castro Pinto and Ignez Justina Giorgette Pinto and is currently seeking a degree in economics.

Hunsucker, a teammate of Goodwin at Blinn Junior College, joined the Techster family in the fall of 2009. Since her arrival on campus she has been a force anchoring the Tech defense. As a junior Hunsucker played in all 33 matches as the teams' libero and was instrumental in Tech leading the WAC in total digs and ranking second digs per set. As a senior, the Katy, Texas native has etched her way into the Tech record books. With one match remaining, Hunsucker has already smashed the single-season digs record at Tech with 552 while currently leading the WAC and ranking 40th in the country with 5.02 digs per set.

Hunsucker needs just one more dig to become only the sixth active WAC student-athlete to tally 1,000-plus career digs - she would be the only student-athlete to do so in two seasons.

Her career-high 31 digs at Nicholls State marked the first time a Lady Techster has recorded 30-plus digs since Meghan Hass notched 34 during the 2005 season. The 31 total digs also marks the sixth best performance in school history and the most since the NCAA ruled that all sets be played to a total of 25 points rather than the previous 30. Named to the UT Arlington Maverick Classic all-tournament team earlier this season, Hunsucker has eclipsed the 20-plus digs plateau on seven occasions after surpassing 20 only four times in 2009. Lori is the daughter of David and Carla Hunsucker and step-daughter of Courtney Hunsucker. The senior standout is currently seeking a degree in clinical kinesiology.

Fritz, a four-year letterwinner from Spring, Texas arrived on campus during the fall of 2007 and has been named academic all-Western Athletic Conference on two occasions. As a freshman the outside hitter recorded a season-high seven kills against San Jose State. During her sophomore she started 23 matches while seeing action in 27 tallying 154 kills and 186 digs on the season en route to picking up four double-doubles. As a junior Fritz provided depth and a spark off of the bench for the Lady Techsters as she played in 22 matches and was instrumental in Tech's first ever win over Utah State as she recorded a season-high nine digs.

As a senior, Fritz reentered the starting lineup in the fourth match of the season against Texas-Pan American and recorded a career-high 16 kills en route to picking up her fifth career double-double. Her 34 kills and 27 kills in the Nicholls Challenge earned her all-tournament accolades as she tallied her sixth career double-double with 14 kills and a career-high 18 digs in a five set win in the tournament finale against Nicholls State. Currently Fritz ranks second with .22 service aces per set while ranking second on the team with 2.48 kills per set. Taylor is the daughter of Danny and Margaret Fritz and is currently pursuing a degree in industrial engineering.

Jones, a senior from Moody, Texas is a four-year starter at the middle blocker position. As a true freshman Jones saw action in 30 matches for the Lady Techsters totaling 86 blocks while registering 172 kills. The six-foot-three standout started 27 of 28 matches for the Lady Techsters during her sophomore season picking up 145 kills, 79 total blocks and 81 digs.

As a junior, Jones entered the Tech records books in a big way. Jones started 32 matches and was a force at the net for the Techsters leading the team and the WAC with 32 solo blocks. In a match against Air Force Jones established a new school record with 12 total blocks. On the season she picked up 131 total blocks which ranks second all-time in Tech history and was fourth in the WAC. With her efforts on the floor Jones was named second team all-Louisiana in addition to being named to the Southern Miss Invitational all-Tournament team.

To start the 2010 season she recorded a career-high 16 kills against Arkansas State and was named to the all-Arkansas State Invitational and all-Nicholls Challenge teams. Currently with 377 career blocks Jones ranks third all-time on the Louisiana Tech career blocks list needing six more blocks to catch K.C. Clayton for second all-time. Earlier this month Jones became only the seventh active WAC student-athlete with 1,000-plus career points. Jones currently leads the Techsters in attack percentage, kills and blocks. Kara is the daughter of Bubba Jones and Shelly Harris and is currently pursuing a kinesiology degree.

"We are probably as healthy as we have been all season over the past few weeks," said Sonnichsen. "It's nice to see that the seniors are doing well, the underclassmen are supporting and we're playing together as a team. The match against Nevada is all about finishing strong and building momentum heading into the offseason and next year."

All five seniors will be honored prior to Thursday's match with first serve slated for 7 p.m. inside the Thomas Assembly Center.

For complete coverage of Lady Techster volleyball, please visit the official home of Louisiana Tech Athletics at LATechSports.com and follow sports information contact, Austin Staton, on twitter for the latest and most current news.