RUSTON, La. – Elizabeth Sandoval registered a team-high 14 kills in a 3-2 victory over Grambling State in Sunday's exhibition at the Thomas Assembly Center.
 
Louisiana Tech won all odd-numbered sets in Sunday's exhibition, clinching 25-23, 25-20 and 15-8 victories in the first, third and fifth sets, respectively. The Lady Techsters never trailed in the winner-take-all fifth set, securing five of the final six points of the match.
 
"Grambling came out with a lot of energy, and this was just the type of match that we needed for our first showing of this new reboot of our season," head coach Amber McCray said. "We got to see a lot of really good things, but one of the best things moving forward was the emergence of some of our younger players.
 
"They had some breakout matches, especially Morgan Smith in the middle. Coming out as a freshman, this was just a huge breakout match for her."
 
The Lady Techsters rallied from deficits in each of their first two set victories. A pair of service aces from Jordyn Carswell spurred a 5-0 run in the first set to trim Grambling State's 16-9 lead to just two points. Another 5-0 run turned a 23-20 deficit into a 25-23 set victory. Sandoval and Smith elevated for a block to clinch the first set.
 
After trailing 3-2 early in Set 3, Tech pulled away late with kills from Smith and freshman Marley Maurer. Four Lady Techsters registered three kills or more in the third set as Tech hit .279.
 
Sandoval hit a blistering .344 throughout the match, turning 14 of her 32 total attacks into kills for the Lady Techsters. Laura Ehieze hit .333 and recorded all six of her kills in the match's final three sets.

"Liz has a hammer," McCray said. "She can be huge factor for us, and she showed that today."
 
Smith amassed a team-high seven blocks, helping the Lady Techsters finish with 18 as a team. Smith also hit .286 with six kills and collected six digs in her first match inside the TAC.
 
On defense, three Lady Techsters tallied double-digit dig tallies. Alyssa Zucco paced LA Tech with 20 digs, while Carswell and freshman Meghan Dunnigan recorded 14 and 10 stops, respectively. LA Tech ended the five-set contest with 78 digs.
 
Abigail Hildenbrand dished out 28 assists to lead the Techsters. Mia Prostran ranked second with 17 of her own.
 
LA Tech will return to regular-season competition on Friday with a matchup against Tarleton State in Nacogdoches, Texas. First serve is set for 1 p.m.

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