RUSTON, La. -- The Lady Techsters dominated the opening frame but fell to UAB 3-1 in Conference USA action Friday night inside the Thomas Assembly Center.
 
LA Tech falls to 9-18 on the year and 1-10 in Conference USA play, while the Blazers improve to 10-13 overall and 5-5 in C-USA with the win. Scores of the match in favor of UAB were 9-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-23.
 
The Lady Techsters were red hot in the opening frame, recording 13 kills on a .500 hitting percentage to claim a dominate 25-9 set win. Tech used kills from sophomore's Faith Menary, Morgan Smith and Mallory Meers to race out to a 12-3 lead. A trio of kills by senior Jordyn Carswell as well as a pair of kills by sophomore Carly Doros helped extend the Lady Techsters advantage out to as much as 19-6, before Smith finished off the set with another kill.
 
UAB flipped the tide in set two, surging out to an 8-2 advantage. The Lady Techsters clawed their way back to within two, twice, at 14-12 and 17-15, before a kill by junior Laura De Pra knotted things up at 22-22. The Blazers scored the next three points to claim the set 25-22 and evened the match at one set apiece.
 
UAB held a 9-8 lead in set three before an 8-1 burst pushed the Blazers out to a 17-9 lead. The Lady Techsters used a 5-0 run of their own featuring a stuff block by Meers and Smith to cut the deficit down to three at 20-17, before UAB claimed the set 25-19.
 
Tech faced a 22-16 deficit in set four, before a 7-2 surge cut the Blazers advantage down to one at 24-23 and forced a UAB timeout. Following the break, UAB finished things off with a kill to take the set 25-23 and the match 3-1.
 
NOTABLES

• Carly Doros led the Lady Techsters with 11 kills on a .524 hitting percentage. It was just the third time this season Carly has recorded double-digit kills.
• Morgan Smith hit a team-best .636 with seven kills on 11 swings and also collected three total blocks.
• Freshman libero McKenzie Johnson lead the Lady Techsters with 14 digs tonight.
• Johnson has recorded double-digit digs in 21-of-the-23 games she has played in this season.
• Mallory Meers dished out 22 assists while digging seven balls and recording three total blocks.
• The Lady Techsters out-blocked the Blazers 7-6 in the match.
• This was the third straight game the Lady Techsters have out-blocked their opponent.
   

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Amber McCray
"We blew a huge opportunity tonight after dominating the first set by waiting on UAB to lose instead of doing what it takes to win. That doesn't work against anyone in Conference USA. Despite that, we were in position to still take command largely behind the play of our middles, who tried to carry us offensively, but they needed help. Our first contact became much too tentative as UAB got comfortable behind the service line to win the serving and passing battle in the last three sets, and that made a huge difference in the match. We have one more shot to actually finish a game where we can say we truly left it all on the floor, so tomorrow we will aim to do just that."

UP NEXT
The Lady Techsters wrap up the 2021 season tomorrow afternoon in the second match against UAB. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. Tech will be recognizing our lone senior Jordyn Carswell before tomorrow's match.
 
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