RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech volleyball team travels to Lynchburg, Va., to take on New Mexico State on Friday afternoon at the Conference USA Tournament at Liberty Arena.
MATCH INFORMATION
Date/Time:Â Friday, Nov. 17 | 3:00 p.m. CT
Location:Â Liberty Arena (Lynchburg, Va.)
Stream:Â ESPN+
Stats:Â LATechSports.com/Stats
Series:Â NMSU leads 19-1
Last Meeting:Â L, 3-0 | Ruston, La. (9/30/23)
QUOTABLES
Head coach Amber McCray
"We are so excited for the privilege to still be playing and do not take this opportunity lightly. However, we also aren't coming in with a "just happy to be here" mentality either. We put together our two most complete matches of the season in all facets of the game when it mattered most last weekend, and now I'm ready to see that momentum carry into our first-round matchup with a very talented New Mexico State team. Just rewatching the film, there are so many areas we have grown significantly in since we first met in September, and I'm just thankful for another chance to continue growing with this team to show what we can do when clicking on all cylinders."
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (8-20, 3-13)
Louisiana Tech is coming off their best performances of the season in the series sweep of Jacksonville State. The two victories pushed the Bulldogs into the Conference USA Tournament and the No. 7 seed.
Jailen Hurley had phenomenal matches on her way to claiming CUSA Offensive Player of the Week honors. The sophomore hitter led the league with a .589 hitting clip between the two matches. She played errorless ball on Thursday with nine kills on 17 attempts. She followed that up by connecting on her first six attacks on Friday, finishing with 11 kills and only one error for a .667 hitting percentage.
Sydney Jackwin helped pace the Bulldogs with 14 kills and 30 digs.Â
After a stellar opening campaign, Grace Krohn was recently named to the CUSA All-Freshman team. Krohn is the first true freshman with 300+ assists in a season since 2018 for the Bulldogs. She has 357 assists, 127 digs, and 27 aces this season.
Jackwin and Hurley lead the team with 183 and 159 kills, respectively. Carla Esquer (149) and Ashley Taylor (124) are the other Bulldogs with over 100 kills on the season.
Along with Krohn, Lauren Albrecht leads the team with 403 assists.
Defensively, McKenzie Johnson continues to move up the record book. The junior has 408 digs on the season, giving her three straight seasons with 400+. She currently has 1,271 for her career.
ABOUT NEW MEXICO STATE (19-9, 11-5)
New Mexico State last lost on Oct. 20 against Jacksonville State. They have since won six matches in a row.
The Aggies are led by All-CUSA First Team performer Ryleigh Whitekettle, who has 335 kills on the season. Whitekettle has 20 matches with 10+ kills, including seven straight.
Second-team selections include Mari Sharp, Kacia Brown, and the Libero of the Year Darian Markham.
Sharp has 238 kills, 198 digs, and 47 blocks on the year. Brown has 226 kills, 184 digs, and 102 blocks, while Markham has 483 digs and ranks 39th in the nation.
Mike Jordan leads the New Mexico State program in his 26th season leading the Aggie program. Jordan has amassed 563 wins during his time in Las Cruces.
THE SERIES
The Bulldogs and Aggies have met 20 times before, with NMSU holding a 19-1 advantage. The only Bulldog win came in 1996, a 3-0 sweep at the TCU Invitational.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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