RUSTON, La. – Louisiana Tech's volleyball team opens Conference USA play this Sunday with its first of two matches on the road against the Rice Owls. Sunday and Monday afternoon's matchups will both begin at 1 p.m. in the Tudor Fieldhouse.
 
Both matches will stream live on CUSA.tv.
 
About the Lady Techsters
LA Tech dropped a pair of matches at Memphis this past weekend. The Lady Techsters put together their best set of the weekend in the second stanza of Match 2, earning two set points before falling 29-27 to the Tigers. LA Tech jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the second set with points from seniors Marie-Helene Verlinden, Carter Mirich and Emily Boylan.
 
After Memphis and Tech battled back and forth to a 25-25 tie, the Lady Techsters earned their first set point at 26-25 with a service ace from Faith Menary. LA Tech earned another chance at set point just two points later at 27-26 following a Memphis service error, but the Tigers managed to rally and take the second set.
 
Boylan led LA Tech with 10 kills in closing match this past weekend while hitting .286. Freshman Samantha Hicks provided a spark for the Techsters in the second match, tallying nine digs and three kills in her first start in a LA Tech uniform.
 
Redshirt sophomore Elizabeth Sandoval and Mirich rank first and second, respectively, in kills and kills per set. Sandoval's 33 total kills and 2.36 kills per set pace the Lady Techsters this season.
 
After missing the first two matches of the season due to injury, junior setter Abigail Hildenbrand has retaken the team lead in assists with 60. Redshirt freshman Mallory Meers (59) and junior Mia Prostran (52) round out the top three in terms of assists through seven matches this season.
 
On defense, senior libero Alyssa Zucco paces the Techsters with 63 digs and 2.86 digs per set. Sophomore Laura Ehieze and senior Elena Takova tie for first on the LA Tech roster with 10 total blocks. Freshman Morgan Smith, who leads Tech in hitting percentage, falls shortly behind in total blocks with nine stuffs this season.
 
Scouting Rice
Coming off its' first-ever NCAA Tournament victory in 2019, the Owls have opened the 2020-21 season 1-3 after splitting two matches with Houston and being swept by SMU in Dallas. The Owls recorded a historic season in 2019, finishing the year 27-4 with wins over Ole Miss, UCF, No. 3 Texas and Oklahoma. Rice's victory over Texas was its first victory over the Longhorns in program history. The Owls finished second behind Western Kentucky in the C-USA a season ago, dropping its only losses in conference to the Lady Toppers.
 
In 2020-21, the Owls have to replace their top setter in terms of assists and defensive specialist in terms of digs from the 2019 season. Junior Carly Graham leads Rice with 169 assists and is the only Owl with more than 10 assists on the season. Freshman Nia McCardell paces the Owls with 70 digs, outnumbering the next closer student-athlete by 30. Senior Nicole Lennon tops the Rice roster with 80 kills on the season.
 
Rice opened the season with a five-set victory over Houston at home in the Tudor Fieldhouse. The Owls traveled across town to face the Cougars on the road the next day, dropping the weekend finale in straight sets.
 
Rice's past two contests at SMU were decided in a similar fashion, but the Owls were unable to pull out the first match of the weekend, falling to the Mustangs 15-5 in the fifth and final set. SMU sweep the Owls in straight sets the next day.
 
Head coach Genny Volpe entered her 17^th season with the Owls in 2020. The Owls have made five NCAA Tournament appearances during her time with the program.
 
Series History
LA Tech is 4-17 all-time against the Rice Owls, including 1-6 since joining Conference USA in 2013. The Lady Techsters' most recent victory over the Owls came in a thrilling five-set match in the Thomas Assembly Center in 2015. After winning the first set 25-21, Tech dropped the next two sets to fall behind 2-1 in the match. The Techsters forced a fifth set after edging Rice 28-26 in a back-and-forth fourth set. LA Tech clinched the match with a 15-13 victory in the fifth set. Tech's most recent matchup against Rice was a 3-0 home defeat to the No. 19 Owls in the TAC on Oct. 20, 2019.
 
What's Next
The Lady Techsters will travel to Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 11 for an in-state midweek matchup. The matchup in Hammond, Louisiana, will begin at 6:30 p.m.