RUSTON, La. - On Friday night, Louisiana Tech (8-7, 0-1 C-USA) will take the court for their first home Conference USA matchup of the 2016 slate, taking on national powerhouse Western Kentucky (14-2, 2-0 C-USA) at 7 p.m. in the Thomas Assembly Center.

Western Kentucky enters the match as the first team out looking in of the national rankings, the highest team receiving votes not in the top-25, but have put together an impressive schedule to this point. The Lady Toppers two losses have come against nationally-ranked Michigan State and Cal Poly. Cal Poly only losses this season as a team have come against top-25 opponents.

Eight of WKU's 14 victories have come in straight sets, but the Lady Techsters will look to curb that trend on Friday night. LA Tech opened Conference USA play last Sunday on the road against Rice falling to the Owls, but enthusiasm remains high for the Lady Techsters who are led by upperclassmen, Angie Papach, Marta Monne and Alejandra Aviles ("Lala").

Aviles is just 30 digs shy of breaking the program record for digs in a career with 1,477. The senior currently sits at 1,447. Three Lady Techsters have already hit the century mark for kills this season, led by Papach's 188. Marta Monne has registered 146, followed by Alexa Lister's 101. Those numbers wouldn't be possible without a phenomenal season to this point by Brooke Short who has recorded 519 assists through 15 games.

Western Kentucky is led by Conference USA preseason Player of the Year Jessica Lucas who was registered nearly 600 assists to go along with 74 kills and a .368 attacking percentage. Alyssa Cavanaugh who was all named preseason all-Conference USA leads the Lady Toppers in kills with 257 and a .348 attacking percentage.

WKU opened Conference USA play over the weekend defeating Florida Atlantic 3-1 on Friday and Charlotte 3-0 on Sunday.

Admission to the contest is free and following the game, fans will have an opportunity to meet the Lady Techsters on the court for an autograph session.

Friday's game will be broadcast live on CUSA.TV (Subscription Required) and live stats are available on LATechSports.com. Fans looking for updates throughout the match can follow @LATechVB on Twitter.