NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Lady Techsters fell to a talented SFA team 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-17) on the road to close out the SFA Invitational on Saturday.
 
The Ladyjacks (10-2), who earned a spot in the NCAA this past season with a 31-2 record, rallied from early deficits in each of the final two sets to record the victory. Four SFA hitters recorded eight kills apiece to pace the Ladyjacks' offense.

"This was a match where I truly don't believe the scores show the whole picture," head coach Amber McCray said. "Each set we gave up one long run that made all the difference.
 
"SFA is a talented team who has solid attackers in every position, and we struggled to defend them all."
 
Marie-Helene Verlinden and Emily Boylan helped spark multiple runs for Louisiana Tech in Saturday's match, including helping LA Tech take a 10-7 lead in the second set behind six straight Lady Techster points. A kill from Carter Mirich and a service ace from Alyssa Zucco paved the way for Verlinden to hammer home Tech's 10^th point of the second set, forcing SFA to burn a timeout.
 
The Ladyjacks responded with a run of their own to retake a 14-12 lead. SFA went on to clinch the second set 25-18 with Leah Powell recording a kill on set point.
 
Facing a 19-10 deficit in the first set, Tech battled back to cut SFA's lead to 19-14. A pair of kills from Boylan helped ignite the four-point run, making the Ladyjacks use a timeout. SFA regrouped after the timeout and closed out the set by winning six of the next seven points. The Ladyjacks used one of their eight service aces on the day to secure set point.
 
Boylan notched a perfect hitting percentage in the first set, turning all three of her attacks into kills. The senior led LA Tech with a .714 hitting percentage and tied with Verlinden for a team-high five kills for the match.
 
The Lady Techsters delivered a pair of four-point runs in the final set. Freshman Ainsley Yanz capped off one of these runs with the first service ace of her career. Fellow freshmen Morgan Smith and Marley Maurer registered kills to spark Tech's second four-point run in the final stanza.
 
Sixteen Lady Techsters saw action in today's matchup. Redshirt freshman Mallory Meers earned the start at setter for LA Tech, dishing out seven assists.
 
The Lady Techsters will continue their eight-match road swing with a midweek matchup at Northwestern State on Tuesday. The in-state contest held in Natchitoches is set to begin at 6 p.m.

"Overall, we competed harder and took some steps in the right direction today that we can build on as we look to bounce back Tuesday against Northwestern State," McCray said.
 
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