MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Senior Emily Boylan paced Louisiana Tech's volleyball team with 10 kills in a 3-0 (25-13, 29-27, 25-11) setback to the Memphis Tigers on Saturday afternoon in the Larry O. Finch Center.
 
The Lady Techsters put together their best set of the weekend in the second stanza of Saturday's match, jumping out to a 7-1 lead over the Tigers. Seniors Marie-Helene Verlinden, Carter Mirich and Boylan sparked the hot start in the second set for LA Tech, combining for four points and three kills amongst the trio. Tech scored four straight points with Mirich behind the service line, including the Las Vegas, Nevada native notching one of the team's two service aces during the run.

Tech held a five-point advantage midway into the second set at 15-10. Memphis erased the five-point Lady Techster lead with a 5-0 run to knot the match at 15 apiece. Tech fought off two set points from Memphis to extend the set past 25 points apiece.
 
LA Tech earned two set points in the second set following the 25-25 tie. Freshman Faith Menary dropped in a pinpoint serve just inside the Tigers' service line to take a 26-25 lead. Menary was unable to convert her next serve as the ball just drifted beyond the home team's service line.
 
One of Memphis' 10 service errors for the match on the following point gave the Techsters their second opportunity at 27-26, but Mirich recorded a service error on Tech's second set point. Memphis closed out the second set with a kill from Gigi Crescenzo, one of five Tigers to finish the day with five or more kills.
 
"I am very proud of the fight our team showed today, especially the heart shown by freshman Sammie Hicks," head coach Amber McCray said. "We are one step closer to finding our lineup and the right mix of kids who will come to compete every single day, and that's a huge step in the right direction.
 
"We've played a challenging preseason schedule to prepare us for the level of competition we will face in the C-USA, and as long as we keep growing and learning, we still believe we can be playing our best volleyball in the most important part of our season."
 
The Tigers (3-1) pulled away from the Lady Techsters in both the first and third set after holding just an early one-point lead in each set. Memphis scored five of the next seven points to extend its lead to 15-9 in the first set before closing out the set 25-13.
 
Memphis again led 10-7 in the third set, using a 5-0 run to extend its advantage from 10-7 to 15-7 with Sabrina Bianco behind the service line.
 
The Tigers' Miaya Smith paced all hitters with 16 kills. LA Tech freshman Meghan Dunnigan recorded a team-high 14 digs after starting the match as the team's primary libero.
 
Freshman Samantha Hicks tallied nine digs and three kills in her first start as a Lady Techster.
 
LA Tech's eight-match road trip will continue on Feb. 7 with a match at Rice. Next Sunday's match will open Conference USA play for the Lady Techsters and Owls. First serve is set for 1 p.m.
 
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