RUSTON, La. – The Louisiana Tech volleyball team staked an early 2-0 lead only to see the visiting Southern Miss Golden Eagles storm back and take a 3-2 (19-25, 19-25, 25-16, 25-23, 15-11) triumph on Thursday evening from the Thomas Assembly Center.
 
Through the first two frames, the Lady Techsters (6-22, 1-12 C-USA) held Southern Miss (16-13, 7-6 C-USA) at bay, limiting the Golden Eagle offense to just a .111 hitting percentage.
 
In the first set, Tech quickly fell behind 6-0. However, little by little, the Techsters chipped away at the deficit, eventually taking their first lead at 15-14 after an emphatic kill from junior Jayde Penn. A couple points later, Penn once again took control and rose up for a solo block, pushing the Tech lead to 17-15 and forcing a Southern Miss timeout. The Golden Eagles would cut the Tech lead to as little as one, but the Techsters ended the frame on a 7-2 run, taking a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
The second set saw a quick start from the Lady Techsters, fueled by three kills from junior Madeline Davis, resulting in a 10-4 Tech lead. Southern Miss would draw to within one at 16-15, but Tech, just as in the first, controlled the second half of the frame, ending on a 9-3 push, and taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
 
However, the visiting Golden Eagles would not lay down quietly, staking a 25-16 win in set three, and a narrow 25-23 win in set four, sending the match to a do-or-die fifth and final set.
 
In the best-to-15, the Golden Eagles churned out six of the first nine points en-route to a 6-3 early edge. The Techsters would rally back, drawing to within two points on a couple separate occasions, but the Golden Eagles managed to take three of the final five points, clinching the 15-11 victory and sealing the match.
 
Tech outhit Southern Miss, .200 to .191 on the evening, but the Golden Eagles did not trail once in each of the final three frames.
 
Davis once again led the Tech offensive output with 13 kills, while hitting an extremely efficient .423 from the field. Penn added one of her best all-around efforts of the year, finishing with nine kills and three total blocks. Freshman Abigail Hildenbrand recorded her seventh double-double of the season, racking up 28 assists and 11 digs.
 
Sophomore Alyssa Zucco and junior Morgan Currie held down the back line with 19 and 15 digs, respectively. Sophomore Marie-Helene Verlinden added seven kills on .538 attacking, along with a trio of block assists.
 
The Golden Eagles were paced by 19 kills each from Kylie Grandy and Catherine Repsher, while setter Sarah Bell contributed a match-best 53 helpers.
 
The Lady Techsters will return to action this Saturday at noon, closing out the 2018 regular season at home versus WKU. Admission to all Tech volleyball home matches is free.