RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech volleyball team will face its toughest challenge of the season to date when it hosts 19^th-ranked Rice on Sunday in the Thomas Assembly Center.
 
The Lady Techsters battle the Owls at 1 p.m. in their only match this weekend. The team will also be celebrating Alumni Weekend with those who attend being recognized at intermission.
 
"We are also thrilled to have a chance to meet and honor some of our former Lady Techsters all weekend. The alumni of this program are so important to our team's foundation and the culture we are seeking to build. While we strive to take this program to new heights, it's invaluable to acknowledge those who took the first steps," said LA Tech head coach Amber McCray.
 
The Lady Techsters (11-8, 1-4 C-USA) return to Ruston looking to regain their early season form after dropping both of last weekend's matches. Tech fell to UTSA (3-1) and UTEP (3-0) in a pair of road matches where the hosts hit over .300 as a team.
 
The road trip, while disappointing, also contained its share of bright spots for Louisiana Tech. The Lady Techsters tied their season-low with just one reception error against the Miners and posted their highest C-USA block total (8.0) against UTSA. Senior libero Morgan Currie also crossed the 300-dig barrier against UTEP, keeping her on pace to post one of the best defensive seasons in Tech history.
 
"We can't change the past. And coming off a couple of disappointing weekends, our main priority is to look forward and find a way to keep attacking each day and each practice eager to learn, eager to progress and most of all eager to compete no matter how difficult the task may be," McCray said. "As the defending C-USA Champions, Rice is obviously a very talented team with multiple signature wins over Power-5 programs this year. If our team is going to be serious about the goals we have set for this program in the near future, we have to learn how to compete with the best of the best and the high-level players like those we will see this Sunday."
 
The Owls (15-1, 5-0 C-USA) will come to Ruston tied for the lead in Conference-USA after sweeping all five of its conference matches to begin the season. Rice boasts a top-10 national mark in kills per set and ranks 11^th in the country in assists per set thanks in large part to Preseason C-USA Player of the Year Nicole Lennon. The junior ranks 7th nationally with 4.98 kills per set and earned C-USA Offensive Player of the Week honors in all of the first five weeks of the season.
 
Louisiana Tech fell 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-21) to the eventual conference champions in Houston last season. Kaitlyn Adams led the Lady Techsters with 6 kills and Alyssa Zucco posted 14 digs in the loss.
 
Fans can follow Sunday's match with live statistics, which are available through latechsports.com, and a CUSA.tv ($) live stream. The Lady Techsters' Twitter account (@LATechVB) will also be sharing highlights and score updates throughout the match.
 
Keep up with the Lady Techsters throughout Alumni Weekend and the rest of the season by following @LATechVB on all three major social media platforms.