RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech volleyball team dropped the opening match of the series against Middle Tennessee 3-0 on Friday night inside the Thomas Assembly Center.
Middle Tennessee (14-6, 6-3) got on the board with the first two points of the match, but LA Tech (6-13, 1-6) tied this up at two. MTSU would go on a 12-2 run that forced the Bulldogs to use their two timeouts to try and slow down the attack. The Blue Raiders attack would be too much as they hit .500 in the first set on their way to the set win.
The second frame was different as the Bulldog defense forced the Blue Raiders into eight errors. MTSU jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead, but Tech would reel off four of the next five to gain their first lead of the match. MTSU would use a three-point run to regain the lead, and the teams battled back and forth until the media timeout, with MTSU up 15-12. The Bulldogs used a 5-1 run to tie the set up at 20, but MTSU would finish the set with five straight points.
The third set continued to be a battle with the teams trading runs. Tech would have the lead for most of the first half of the set before MTSU would use their first timeout of the match down 11-10. The Blue Raiders would go on a 10-4 run, forcing the Bulldogs to use their final timeout. Tech would try to fight back into the match but would fall in the third set, and MTSU would take the 3-0 win (25-9, 25-20, 25-19).
QUOTABLES
Head coach
Amber McCray
"I take full responsibility for the first set because we tried a new lineup that I felt had us out of sync the whole start of the match. We had chances in both sets two and three, but we let one run in each dictate the outcome. We knew MTSU would come in with a lot of firepower and it took us too long to figure out how to get the stops we needed on them. Ultimately, we have to get more kills, especially out of our MB and RS positions so we can stop depending on our outsides to have to carry such a heavy load. Our Libero,
McKenzie Johnson, was outstanding tonight once we got out of the passing rut of the first set. I truly believe this was a match we improved as the game went on, which is exciting knowing we have another opportunity against them tomorrow."
NOTABLES
- McKenzie Johnson finished with 13 digs on the night, the 17th time this season she has finished with 10+ digs.
- Sydney Jackwin had a team high eight kills.
- Anaya Hairston finished with four blocks, the third time this season.
UP NEXT
LA Tech and Middle Tennessee return on Saturday for the series finale starting at 2 p.m. CT.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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