RUSTON- The Louisiana Tech volleyball team fell 3-1 (25-20, 25-19, 12-25, 25-19) against UTSA on Saturday afternoon to close out on the 2022 season.
 
LA Tech came up short in a heartbreaking battle to earn a spot in the C-USA tournament. UTSA began their run in the first set with an early 3-0 scoring run to give them a four-point advantage over Tech. The Lady Techsters rallied to through the set to try to gain a lead, but couldn't find the leverage to make up for the Roadrunners' early lead. Chard'e Vanzandt and Sydney Jackwin led offensively in the first with four kills each. Andrea started her journey to double-digit digs with eight. 
 
UTSA carried their momentum over into the second set with a 5-0 scoring run off of four kills and a LA Tech error. Up by three, the Road Runner punched out another 5-0 scoring run to give them an eight-point lead. The Lady Techsters didn't settle and produced a 4-0 run from a kill by Morgan Smith and Jailen Hurley, an ace from Ashely Jones a UTSA error. UTSA then produced three more kills and collected an error from Tech to widen their lead to nine. The Lady Techsters battled, but weren't able to come out on top. Morgan Smith added three kills along with Kalee Cadwell and McKenzie Johnson producing four digs each.
 
The Lady Techsters began the third match with a kill and an ace from Spasojevic. Only up by one, LA Tech produced a 5-0 scoring run off of back-to-back kills from Ashley Taylor, Spasojevic, and Hurley along with two UTSA errors. Tech gave up an error to end the run but came back with a 4-0 scoring run with a kill from Taylor and Spasojevic and two more UTSA errors. Up 14-6, the Lady Techsters upped their lead with an 8-0 scoring run to give them a 15-point lead. That's exactly what LA Tech needed to give them the lead to finish the set on top and force a fourth. Spasojevic added four kills along with Johnson's six digs.
 
LA Tech fell behind early in the fourth set when UTSA added a 3-0 scoring run from a kill and two Lady Techsters errors. The Lady Techsters were only down by one when the Roadrunner Produced another 3-0 scoring run to give them a five-point lead. LA Tech fought back and the two teams went back and forth until UTSA finalized the match with three back-to-back kills. Carla Esquer and Spasojevic both produced three kills to pair with four digs from Johnson. 
 
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Amber McCray
 
"This is of course a heartbreaking way to end the season. We came into today's match with a chance to make history, and I have no doubt our players wanted it so badly that it just did not allow us an opportunity to relax and have fun enjoying the moment.  UTSA came out playing relaxed and with nothing to lose and that showed, Especially in the performance of one of their seniors who played lights out in her last game. While this certainly stings and it will for a while knowing how close we were, There are so many ways this 2022 team and these seniors have "left it better". They dared to dream and dared to believe we could do something that has never been done before in arguably the most talented and balanced the league has been in terms of parity. I am extremely appreciative to them for buying into that, and we will do all we can to build on this momentum and let that fuel us heading into the offseason."
 
NOTABLES
• Andrea Spasojevic finished the season with 10 double-doubles after Saturday's match-up with UTSA, producing 12 kills and 11 digs.
• McKenzie Johnson collected 22 digs, respectively.
• Sydney Jackwin added 13 digs along with five kills.
• The Lady Techsters led over the Roadrunners 11-9 in blocks.
 
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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