RUSTON, La. – The Louisiana Tech volleyball team dominated the first four sets of Saturday's exhibition contest to pick up a win over McNeese.  
 
Though the Lady Techsters won the match by taking each of the first three sets (25-20, 25-19, 25-18), the two teams decided to play the remaining two sets as well. LA Tech took the first 25-15 before McNeese won 15-11 in the final set of the day.
 
"Overall, I'm really pleased with our Lady Techsters today," Louisiana Tech head coach Amber McCray said. "We were really balanced offensively, and I thought our middle blockers, especially, capitalized on their opportunities. That was the difference in the match."
 
LA Tech maintained a lead for almost all of the first set and appeared to be pulling away when kills from Carter Mirich and Emily Boylan gave them a 10-5 advantage. Though the Cowgirls pulled even at 15, the Lady Techsters steadied themselves to grab a 25-20 victory. Louisiana Tech hit .250 in the first set, led by Boylan's .571.
 
After their offense keyed a win in the first set, LA Tech's defense proved to be the difference in the second. The Lady Techsters limited McNeese to a -.061 hitting percentage in the set, led by 3 block assists from Molly Watkins and 9 digs from Morgan Currie.
 
"Morgan's libero play was big-time," McCray said. "She kept a lot of balls alive today and gave us a chance to rally."
 
Tech finished out the straight-set victory thanks to five kills from Kaitlyn Adams and five service aces from four Lady Techsters. Adams hit .667 in the set and finished the day hitting a team-high .500.  
 
Though they had already secured the win, the Lady Techsters unleashed their most dominant performance of the day in the fourth set where LA Tech hit a match-high .333 en route to a 25-15 victory. Madeline Davis led the Lady Techsters with 4 of her team-high 14 kills coming in the fourth set.
 
"I think Maddy stepped up and was really effective on the outside. She was someone we could really depend on today." said McCray.
 
After dropping the first four sets of the day, McNeese rebounded to win 15-11 in the fifth. The Cowgirls hit a match-high .368 in the set to edge the Lady Techsters.
 
On the whole, LA Tech hit .226 on the day with 9 different players recording a kill. Sophomore setters Abigail Hildenbrand and Mia Prostran distributed the offense efficiently and combined for 49 assists. Currie led the defensive effort with 22 digs, and Jordyn Carswell contributed 12.
 
Up next, the Lady Techsters travel to the Sam Houston State Invitational, where they officially open the season on Friday, August 30 against Oral Roberts.
 
Keep up with the Lady Techsters by following @LATechVB on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.