RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech volleyball team gutted out close win after close win in a come-from-behind 3-1 (19-25, 27-25, 25-23, 26-24) Friday-night victory over FIU in the Thomas Assembly Center.
 
With the win, the Lady Techsters (12-9, 2-5 C-USA) snapped a five-match losing streak. Madeline Davis posted a team-high 14 kills. Carter Mirich contributed 11 more. Morgan Currie led the defensive effort with 20 digs.
 
Fiorella Murillo posted a match-high 16 kills for FIU (9-11, 2-6), which dropped its fifth straight match. Four Panthers posted double-digit kills.
 
"I'm so proud of the fight this team showed tonight to come from behind and grit out three really close sets against a solid team," said LA Tech head coach Amber McCray "The play of our outside hitters in particular really stood out because they carried us offensively and still found success even when everyone knew they were getting the ball."
 
"Morgan Currie also came up with some big-time digs in critical moments that helped us pick up close wins. I was very pleased with Mia Prostran coming in from a reserve role to make really good setting choices and lead key runs for our team," McCray continued.
 
FIU took the day's first set thanks in large part to a string of mistakes from the Lady Techsters. Though they stayed close for the majority of the stanza, Tech's 11 errors proved to be the difference in a 25-19 loss.
 
The Lady Techsters cleaned up enough of their mistakes in the second set to pull out a gritty 27-25 win. Neither team led by more than three in a set that featured 13 ties and 4 lead changes. The Panthers maintained a 24-22 lead late in the frame before Madeline Davis picked up kills on four of the final seven points to give Tech the win.
 
The third set provided much of the same with 16 ties and 5 lead changes, but this time Carter Mirich was the Lady Techster who decided the frame. The junior outside hitter posted six kills and added a service ace to lead Tech to the 25-23 win. Davis added two more kills, including the deciding swing of the set.
 
Tech appeared to be pulling away with the win after going up 2-1 when back-to-back-to-back blocks from Marie-Helene Verlinden put the Lady Techsters up 17-12 in the fourth set. FIU rebounded, however, to knot the match at 21. After battling to another tie at 24, a Mirich kill and Panther error combined to give Tech the win.
 
The Lady Techsters' win included ten blocks, their best performance of the C-USA season at the net. Verlinden led the team with five stuffs (two solo, three assists), while Laura Ehieze and Kaitlyn Adams combined for three more.

Tech will be back on the court Sunday in Denton, Tex. The Lady Techsters take on North Texas at 1 p.m.
 
Keep up with the Lady Techsters throughout the 2019 season by following @LATechVB on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.