RUSTON, La. – Louisiana Tech's volleyball team continues its eight-game road stretch with two matches at Memphis this weekend.
 
LA Tech's first match of the weekend will be Friday at 7 p.m. The Lady Techsters close out their weekend trip to the Volunteer State with a 3 p.m. contest on Saturday. Both matches will be played in the Larry O. Finch Center and will stream live on ESPN+.
 
About the Lady Techsters
LA Tech's comeback at Northwestern State fell short on Tuesday, falling 3-1 (25-17, 25-17, 16-25, 25-21) to the Lady Demons in Natchitoches. Many newcomers provided standout performances in the final two sets of Tuesday's loss, highlighted by freshman Ainsley Yanz and redshirt sophomore Elizabeth Sandoval.
 
Yanz took over as the team's primary libero in the third set, guiding Tech to the set victory behind the service line. The Lady Techsters scored seven straight points to turn an 18-16 advantage into a 25-16 win with Yanz behind the line, ending the set with the freshman's first career service ace.
 
Tech and Northwestern State traded runs in a back-and-forth fourth set before the Lady Demons pulled away for good. NSU scored four straight points to turn an 11-11 tie into a 15-11 advantage, securing the final set 25-21. LA Tech trimmed Northwestern State's lead to 15-14 with its second three-point run of the set, but the Lady Techsters were unable to get any closer in the final stanza.
 
Sandoval paces the Lady Techsters with 31 kills during the 2020-21 season, crushing 12 kills while hitting .375 in Tuesday's match. The Uruapan, Mexico native's 12 kills doubles her previous high in a LA Tech uniform of six.
 
Junior setter Abigail Hildenbrand recorded a double-double against NSU, dishing out a team-high 21 assists and tallying a team-best 12 digs. Hildenbrand is one of three Tech setters with 38 or more assists this season. Redshirt freshman Mallory Meers paces the Lady Techsters with 50 assists.
 
Three Lady Techsters have tallied nine or more blocks through the first five matches – Elena Takova (10), Laura Ehieze (nine) and Morgan Smith (nine).
 
Scouting Memphis
Memphis hosted Southern Illinois to open its 2020-21 season this past weekend, splitting a pair of competitive matches against the Salukis. The Tigers recorded a 3-1 victory in their season opener before dropping their second match in five sets on Saturday.
 
Memphis' Sam Drewry carried the load on the offensive end in Friday's win, registering a team-high 20 kills on 43 attack attempts. Four Tigers tallied double-digit dig totals, including libero Bailey Houlihan pacing her team with 25 digs. Drewry and Houlihan led the way again in kills and digs, respectively, in the five-set loss on Saturday. Houlihan made 29 digs on Saturday to best her Friday night total by four.
 
Houlihan and Drewry, both of whom are freshmen, highlight a Memphis roster full of underclassmen. Eleven of Memphis' 16 players are underclassmen – seven freshmen and four sophomores.
 
Junior setter Sabrina Bianco leads Memphis with 106 assists, averaging just under 12 assists per set. Bianco posted a career-high 61 assists in Memphis' five-set defeat to the Salukis on Saturday.
 
As a team, Memphis has averaged 1.7 service aces per set through its first two matches. The Tigers have tallied 15 service aces while committing 14 service errors so far this season. Senior Kinkaid Padgett leads the Tigers with four aces.
 
Series History
LA Tech is 3-4 all-time against the Memphis Tigers. The Lady Techsters defeated the Tigers in their most recent matchup in 2017, knocking off Memphis 3-1 in the Thomas Assembly Center. Former Lady Techster Madeline Davis paced Tech with 11 kills and a .611 hitting percentage in the home triumph. Current Lady Techsters Marie Helene-Verlinden and Carter Mirich combined for 14 total kills in the four-set victory.
 
What's Next
The Lady Techsters will open Conference USA play at Rice on Sunday, Feb. 7. LA Tech will conclude its conference road trip with a 1 p.m. match against the Owls on Feb. 8.