HOUSTON – The Louisiana Tech volleyball squad dropped a 3-0 (14-25, 15-25, 24-26) decision to the host Houston Baptist Huskies in front of a raucous crowd on Friday evening from Sharp Gym.
 
After falling behind two sets to none with their collective backs to the wall, the Lady Techsters (0-2) came out with some resolve in the third set. Both teams went back and forth for the first half of the frame, before Tech stretched its lead to its largest of the match at 13-8 after an Abigail Hildenbrand service ace.
 
Tech maintained its lead in front of the rowdy crowd of 731, notching key points and pushing its lead to 19-16, forcing the first Huskies' timeout of the match. The Techsters maintained their composure and extended the lead to 22-19, however, HBU had a response with a 4-0 run, surging the hosts back out in front at 23-22.
 
An HBU service error paired with a bad set swung Tech back out in front staring at set point, leading 24-23. However, the Huskies once again came up with a response, notching a couple of kills and ending the match on a Tech attack error.
 
Sophomore Carter Mirich led the offense with six kills, while Lara Hendricks (4 kills), Madeline Davis (4 kills), Jayde Penn (3 kills), Hildenbrand (2 kills) Marie-Helene Verlinden (2 kills) and Kaitlyn Adams (2 kills) added to the offensive output with multiple-kill efforts.
 
Hildenbrand's kills came via a pair of nifty dump-overs in the third set, and the freshman setter added a team-high 12 assists and a pair of block assists in the all-around effort.
 
Tech will return to the court on Saturday at noon, taking on Prairie View A&M (0-2) to close out the weekend tournament.