Nov. 4, 2010

Box Score

RUSTON, La. - Kassia Pinto and Clara Vido both picked up double-doubles while Kara Jones recorded a season-high seven blocks as the Louisiana Tech volleyball team knocked off San Jose State in four sets (25-22, 23-25, 25-20, 25-23) Thursday night at the Thomas Assembly Center.

"We've been working hard all season and we finally broke through tonight," said Vido.

The Lady Techsters hit at a season-high .209 clip against conference opponents while setter Bianca Bin turned in her second 40-plus dig performance of the season as she directed an explosive Tech attack. Clara Vido had a career-high 15 kills while picking up 11 digs and Kassia Pinto established a new career-high with 20 digs in addition to her 12 kills.

With her 13 kills and a season-high seven blocks, senior Kara Jones becomes only the seventh active WAC student-athlete with 1,000-plus career points.

"There was a lot of excitement tonight," said Jones. "We have been waiting for this part of the season for a long time and as long as we can keep starting fast, we can finish strong."

With some adjustments made in the starting rotation, Tech raced out to a 9-2 lead in the first set behind kills from Jones and Bin. However, the Spartans cut the deficit to three points courtesy of three consecutive attack errors on Tech. Leading 9-7, Tech responded by taking four of the next five points.

Riddled by unforced errors, San Jose State climbed back into the set tying the score at 16 points apiece before Tech answered with kills from Jennifer Goodwin and Vido forcing a Spartan timeout. Out of the timeout Tech was able to maintain their lead as Pinto closed out the first set, 25-22, with her second kill of the night.

"Everyone brought the energy tonight," said Pinto after picking up her fifth double-double of the season. "We played with confidence tonight and that is what we really needed."

Tech started out quickly in the second set with a 6-2 lead but San Jose State was able to force a tie at eight points apiece. After a questionable call that would have extended Tech's lead, the Techsters were able to regain their composure and build an 18-14 lead over the Spartans. However, trailing by four points, San Jose State was able to string together an 11-5 scoring run to capture the second set and even the match at one set apiece.

Out of the break San Jose State scored three of the first four points to force a Tech timeout. Refocusing after the stoppage, Jones answered in a big way with a kill and an assisted block to swing the momentum into Tech's favor. However, with an intense frame that saw four lead changes and 12 ties, the Lady Techsters were relentless down the stretch as they closed out the third set on a 7-2 scoring run.

With a high level of intensity and momentum on the Lady Techsters side after taking a 2-1 lead in the match, the fourth set was just as much of a battle as the third. San Jose State picked up an early 5-2 lead before Tech evened things at 10 apiece following a kill from Goodwin that spearheaded a scoring run that eventually put the Techsters up 17-11, forcing a Spartan timeout.

As per status quo of the match, the Spartans responded to eventually take a 20-19 lead over Tech. However, Tech refused to fold. With the score tied at 23, Kara Jones silenced the Spartans as the team leader reeled off her 13th kill of the night before teaming up with Bin to wrap up the match with an assisted block.

"The win gives us the confidence that we can make a run to close out the season," said Vido. "We did our job out there tonight."

Louisiana Tech returns to action Saturday night as the Bulldogs from Fresno State visit the Thomas Assembly Center. First serve is slated for 7:30 p.m.

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.