RUSTON, La. – Freshman
Meghan Dunnigan earned the starting spot at libero on Thursday evening and didn't disappoint, tallying a career-high 26 digs in just three sets in an all-around 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-18) victory over Grambling State in the Thomas Assembly Center.
The Lady Techsters put forward a balanced attack in Thursday's sweep with five players tallying five or more kills while posting a hitting percentage over .300. Redshirt sophomore
Elizabeth Sandoval registered a team-high nine kills on 26 attempts to hit a blistering .308 for the match. Senior
Emily Boylan topped Tech's attackers with a .462 hitting percentage, recording seven kills of her own from her middle blocker position.
"Tonight was a huge step in the right direction," head coach
Amber McCray said. "One thing that worked well for us is that for the first time this year, we were able to be balanced in our offense with five players recording five kills or more.
"We were also very impressed with the play of our freshman libero
Meghan Dunnigan. They attacked to her quite a bit, but she did a great job on our first contact to give our hitters more options."
After being deadlocked at 5-5 in the first set, LA Tech reeled off five straight points to take the lead for good in the opening stanza. Kills from Boylan and Sandoval powered the 5-0 LA Tech run, helping the Lady Techsters jump out to a 10-5 advantage.
Grambling State (4-4) cut Tech's lead to just two points at 19-17 late in the set, but kills from Boylan and sophomore
Laura Ehieze again helped the Lady Techsters pull away from the Lady Tigers. LA Tech limited Grambling State to just a .098 hitting percentage in the first set.
LA Tech built off its early momentum in the second set, building a quick 4-1 lead to force an early Grambling State timeout. Senior
Elena Takova hammered home one of her eight kills on the night to open the second set. Tech hitters notched a match-best .372 hitting percentage in the second set, blasting 19 kills while committing just three errors.
The Lady Techsters extended their lead to as many as nine points in a dominant second set for the home team. Kills from Sandoval, Boylan and freshman
Morgan Smith extended Tech's advantage to 21-12 late in the second stanza before closing out the set with a 25-18 triumph.
The third set started with another impressive LA Tech run, scoring nine of the first 10 points to pull ahead 9-1 early in the final set. Junior setter
Abigail Hildenbrand dished out assists on four straight points to push the lead from 5-1 to 9-1 in the final stanza, providing helpers to Sandoval, Smith, Takova and junior
Jordyn Carswell.
An attack error from the Lady Tigers helped bolster Tech's advantage in the final stanza to a set-high 12 points at 16-4. Freshmen
Marley Maurer and
Mackenzie Murray recorded kills of their own late in the set to nail down the Lady Techster sweep.
Dunnigan recorded 12 of her match-high 26 digs in the final set, constantly snuffing out Lady Tiger attacks to limit Grambling State to a .075 hitting percentage.
LA Tech hit .272 during Thursday night's match while limiting the Lady Tigers to just a .128 clip. The Lady Techsters amassed 49 kills in just three sets of action.
On the front row, Ehieze, Takova, Smith, Sandoval and freshman
Faith Menary combined to tally eight total blocks. Ehieze's team-high three blocks went along with eight kills and a .385 hitting percentage.
Hildenbrand and redshirt freshman
Mallory Meers each recorded double-digit assist totals on Thursday, dishing out 44 combined helpers between the setter duo. Hildenbrand led LA Tech with 26 assists, while Meers followed shortly behind at 18. Meers also paced LA Tech with two service aces on the night.
The Lady Techsters will return to action Sunday when they open a two-match series against UTSA in the Thomas Assembly Center. Sunday's match is set for 1 p.m., while Monday's first serve is slated for noon.
Keep up with the Lady Techsters by following @LATechVB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
