HUNTSVILLE, Tex. – The Louisiana Tech volleyball team defeated Oral Roberts in five sets, giving head coach Amber McCray her first win as the Lady Techsters' head coach.
 
Tech battled back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to eventually pull out the 3-2 (24-26, 25-23, 21-25, 25-19, 18-16) victory.
 
"There are numerous aspects of the game we know we need to improve, but overall I am extremely proud of the way our team competed in an intense opening match and found a way to win," said McCray.
 
The Lady Techsters opened the match with 5-3 lead, but the Golden Eagles responded with a short run to pull even. Tech and ORU traded points for most the remainder of the set before the Golden Eagles pulled away at the end. The Lady Techsters maintained a 23-21 lead, but ORU went on to score five of the remaining six points in the set to earn the 26-24 win.
 
Tech bounced back by winning a tight second set. Neither team led by more than three points in the frame, but the Lady Techsters pulled away for a 25-23 win thanks to key kills from Madeline Davis and Jordyn Carswell.
 
ORU led for almost the entirety of the third set. Davis, Carswell, and Kaitlyn Adams pulled the Techsters even at 19, but the Golden Eagles won 6 of the final 8 points to take the set 25-21 and go up 2-1.
 
Though their backs were against the wall, Tech put together an impressive fourth set to stay in the game. Carswell picked up three kills early in the frame to build a 16-13 Lady Techster lead. Then, Davis combined with Marie-Helene Verlinden and Emily Boylan for key blocks that kept Tech in front en route to a 25-19 victory.

"Jordyn Carswell was huge for us. She was the difference in the match, along with our switch to a single setter and Abigail Hildenbrand handling that role well," said McCray.
 
The fifth set was a frame full of runs. Tied 4-4, the Techsters went on a 4-0 run that included kills from Verlinden and Davis to go up 8-4. Tech maintained the four-point lead for much of the set, but ORU went on their own four-point spurt to knot it at 13. The two teams battled to a draw over the next six points, but back-to-back kills from Davis and Boylan gave McCray her first win.
 
"I know they say you learn more from a loss than a win, but this is a win we can still take so much from," McCray said. "We didn't start well and left far too many plays out there that cost us in the first set, allowing ORU to play with a ton of confidence the rest of the match. They made some incredible hustle plays and had a couple of hitters who really took over for them."
 
Keep up with the Lady Techsters throughout the season by following @LATechVB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.