RUSTON – Louisiana Tech held their own in the first set, but No. 23 Western Kentucky proved too much as the Bulldogs dropped the series opener on Friday night inside Thomas Assembly Center.
 
LA Tech (6-17, 1-10) secured the first two points of the match via a kill by Sydney Jackwin and an ace by Lauren Albrecht. Western Kentucky (21-4, 11-0) would not go away and tied things up at four apiece. The teams would continue to battle and trade points throughout the first half of the set. A three-point run at the midway point gave the Hilltoppers the lead for good. Jailen Hurley would give the Bulldogs one last chance, but WKU would finish the first set with a 1-0 lead.
 
The Bulldogs would steal the first point of the second set, but five Tech errors and three kills by preseason CUSA Player of the Year Paige Briggs led to a 10-1 run by the Hilltoppers. Tech would close the gap to seven on multiple occasions, but WKU hit a blistering .480 in the set. The Hilltoppers would close the stanza with four of the final five points.
 
Western Kentucky took the lead with the first two to start the third set. Tech would tie it at two on back-to-back kills from Izabely Benjamin and Carla Esquer. WKU would continue to hit at a high pace and take the next five to take a 7-2 lead, forcing the Bulldogs to call a timeout. A block by Esquer and Sa'Myah Medford and a kill by Esquer would highlight a 3-0 run by the Bulldogs late in the set. Western Kentucky would finish the set and take the match 3-0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-15).

NOTABLES

• Jackwin finished with a match-high 11 kills, the ninth time this season she has reached double-digits.
• Grace Krohn finished with 12 assists, while Albrecht had 10. This is the 13th time this season that Krohn and Albrecht each finished with 10+ assists.
• Benjamin finished with five kills on a season-high .444 hitting percentage.
• Anaya Hairston finished with two blocks, the first time since Middle Tennessee on Oct. 13 that she had multiple blocks in a match.

 
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs and Hilltoppers close the series at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28, inside the Thomas Assembly Center.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For all the latest in LA Tech Volleyball, follow them on Twitter (@LATechVB), Instagram (@LATechVB), and Facebook (LATechVolleyball).