ARLINGTON, Texas – Jailen Hurley had a career-high in every category to lead the Louisiana Tech Volleyball team to a five-set victory over Presbyterian to open the UTA Classic on Friday afternoon.
LA Tech (2-2) brushed off a slow start to take a 15-14 advantage halfway through the first set. Presbyterian (0-5) used two 5-0 runs to take the first set.
Courtney Carter started the second set and gave the Bulldogs a spark. Carter would get the first point of the set and followed that up with an emphatic spike, causing Presbyterian to call a timeout. The Blue Hose would battle back to tie things at six apiece, but Ashley Taylor would step up with two straight blocks and a kill to give the Bulldogs a 10-6 lead. LA Tech would get five of the last six points to take the set.
The third set would be a battle through with 12 ties and six lead changes. Nine errors by LA Tech would be too much to overcome, as Presbyterian would take a 2-1 advantage.
Presbyterian took an early 5-3 lead in the third set, but Hurley would have three kills and a block in a span of five rallies to jump-start an 8-0 Bulldog run. LA Tech would finish the set with two five-point runs to take the set and force a decisive fifth set.
Hurley would finish with two more kills in the final set, giving her a career-high of 17 on the night. The Bulldogs would jump out early and not look back to take the last set and a 3-2 victory (20-25, 25-15, 22-25, 25-12, 15-6).
QUOTABLES
Head coach Amber McCray
"Any time you pull out the W in a fifth set that's huge, because at that point momentum can swing either way. It was evident the sets we stayed true to our aggressive serving game and the sets we did not. Jailen continues to step up big time for us offensively and be a go-to player in all situations, while Ashley Taylor having her best offensive match of the year today also provided a critical boost for us. Four matches in and I'm impressed by how this team continues to have various players come in and rise to the occasion as we shuffle line-ups to find our groove."
NOTABLES
- LA Tech now holds a 2-0 series lead over Presbyterian.
- Taylor hit .579 on 19 attempts and no errors.
- Hurley tied career highs with five blocks and four digs.
- Lauren Albrecht finished with 25 assists and 10 digs, giving her a second double-double of the season.
UP NEXT
The UTA Classic continues Saturday, Sept. 2 when LA Tech takes on the University of Incarnate Word at 1 p.m. and UT Arlington at 6 p.m. The match against UIW will be streamed on WAC International and the UTA match will be streamed on ESPN+.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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