RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech volleyball team returns home this weekend to celebrate its three seniors and take on a pair of Conference USA foes.
The Lady Techsters open the weekend with a Friday night showdown against Charlotte at 7 p.m. Tech's Senior Day will be Sunday, when it takes on Southern Miss at 1 p.m. The ceremony will precede the match at 12:50 p.m.
"It's always great to come back home, and this weekend will be extra special as we honor our three seniors for their dedication and contributions made to Louisiana Tech Volleyball. I expect there to be some hard-fought volleyball played in the TAC this Friday and Sunday, with three teams all vying to finish their season on a high note as both Charlotte and USM have played tough all throughout conference," said LA Tech head coach
Amber McCray. "We have talked at length about building 'Brick by Brick', and every day we can step on the court with a chance to add to that culture is a day we still have something to play for."
The Lady Techsters will be looking for a bounce back performance after dropping a pair of road matches to Marshall and Middle Tennessee last weekend. On Friday, the Thundering Herd defeated the Lady Techsters despite a standout performance from
Emily Boylan. The junior hit .786, the best percentage by a Tech player since 1993, with 11 kills.
Tech rebounded on Sunday by playing its best set of the season. The Lady Techsters defeated the Blue Raiders 25-11 in the frame thanks in large part to 6 blocks. Though Middle Tennessee bounced back to win the match, Tech was able to add 9 more blocks for a season-high 15.
The Techsters will need to be on their game at the net on Friday as well. Charlotte (11-14, 2-8 C-USA) boasts the conference's third-best hitter in Sydney Rowan, who comes into the weekend averaging 4.35 kills per set against conference opponents. The 49ers also have Conference-USA's top libero. Yumi Garcia averages 6.09 digs per set in conference play.
Charlotte defeated Tech in three sets last season.
Kaitlyn Adams led the Lady Techsters with 14 kills and 3 blocks while
Natalie Honore totaled up a team-high 13 digs.
Southern Miss (2-23, 0-10 C-USA) enters this weekend with momentum after picking up a 3-1 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and taking UTEP to five sets. Gillian Hidalgo and Liana Guillemaud lead the Golden Eagles with 2.40 and 2.38 kills per set, respectively. Madison Lawler paces the back line with 5.38 digs per set in conference play.
The Golden Eagles defeated the Lady Techsters in five sets last time the two teams played.
Madeline Davis led Tech with 13 kills and 3 blocks in the team's second-to-last game of 2018.
Alyssa Zucco had a team-high 19 digs.
Both of this weekend's matches will be streamed on cusa.tv. Live statistics will be available on latechsports.com.
Be sure to follow @LATechVB on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all breaking news, in-game updates and other items of interest pertaining to the 2019 Lady Techsters.
