Louisiana Tech University
Middle Tennessee
Preview: LA Tech Host Middle Tennessee
10/12/2023 3:45:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech volleyball returns to the Thomas Assembly Center to take on Middle Tennessee on Friday and Saturday.
MATCH INFORMATION
Date/Time: Friday-Saturday, Oct. 13-14 | 6:00 p.m. CT, 2:00 p.m. CT
Location: Thomas Assembly Center (Ruston, La.)
Stream: ESPN+
Stats: LATechSports.com/Stats
Series: Middle Tennessee leads 10-2
Last Meeting: L, 3-0 | Murfreesboro, Tenn. (10/28/22)
QUOTABLES
Head coach Amber McCray
"It's great to be back at home after a bye weekend to regroup then come back rejuvenated and ready to go. MTSU is having a solid year that includes wins against ranked teams, and they will bring an abundance of experience and a balanced attack into the gym this weekend. It's going to be critical that we stay aggressive in all aspects of the game to try to disrupt their offense, and that we display a sense of urgency when it comes to scoring points by taking both rips and risks offensively. We need to get back to following the game plane, just as we did last Tuesday night, to give us the best chance to compete."
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (6-12, 1-5)
LA Tech is coming off a split with Sam Houston during the week before their bye over the weekend.
Sydney Jackwin continues to lead LA Tech with 137 kills. Carla Esquer is coming off back-to-back double-digit kills at Sam Houston, putting her at 114 on the season. Lauren Albrecht and Grace Krohn each have over 200 assists on the season. Albrecht has 297 while Krohn is at 244.
Defensively, junior libero McKenzie Johnson has 303 digs on the season, 4.73 digs per set, which ranks 39th nationally and second in CUSA. Ashley Taylor leads the Bulldogs at the net with 569 blocks on the season. Luisa Araujo is second on the team with 369, and Jailen Hurley is right behind at 36.
LA Tech has been one of the top teams in the country in several categories. The Bulldogs rank in the top 40 in three categories: 31st in digs per set at 16.17, 38th in aces per set at 1.83, and 38th in attacks per set with 36.52. Tech also ranks inside the top 100 in total aces (54th, 117), total digs (71st, 1,035), opponent hitting percentage (91st, 0.184), and total attacks (98th, 2,337).
The Bulldogs are in the top-3 in CUSA in six categories: digs per set (1st), attacks per set (2nd), total digs (2nd), opponent hitting percentage (3rd), aces per set (3rd), and total attacks (3rd).
ABOUT MIDDLE TENNESSEE (13-6, 5-3)
Middle Tennessee enters the matchup on a three-game winning streak after beating FIU on Oct. 4 and sweeping Sam Houston over the weekend.
Kayla Henley and Adri Rhoda lead the Blue Raiders offensively with over 200 kills. Henley leads with 225, and Rhoda is right behind at 207. MTSU has three others with over 125 kills on the season. Taylor Eisert is first in the nation with 787 assists, an 11.08 assists per set pace, which is seventh nationally.
Erin Eisenhart leads Middle Tennessee with 235 digs, while Laure Jansen, Eisert, and Henley have over 100 each. Kaylee Oscarson has 70 blocks at the net to lead the Blue Raiders.
THE SERIES
The Bulldogs are a 2-10 all-time against Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders have won the last two meetings between the schools. Tech is 2-4 all-time in Ruston and has won the previous two in the TAC.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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