Friday, September 15
Natchitoches, LA
10 a.m.
Louisiana Tech University
vs
Southern
Photo by: Kevin Albarez
Preview: Bulldogs at Battle for the Boot
9/14/2023 5:56:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech volleyball team travels to Natchitoches, La., to compete in the Battle for the Boot at Northwestern State on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 15-16.
MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH 1
Date/Time: Friday, Sept. 15 | 10 a.m.
Location: Prather Coliseum (Natchitoches, La.)
Stats: nsudemons.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Series: LA Tech leads 5-0
MATCH 2
Date/Time: Friday, Sept. 15 | 7 p.m.
Location: Prather Coliseum (Natchitoches, La.)
Stream: ESPN+
Stats: nsudemons.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Series: LA Tech leads 26-11
MATCH 3
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 16 | 2 p.m.
Location: Prather Coliseum (Natchitoches, La.)
Stats: nsudemons.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Series: LA Tech leads 14-7
QUOTABLES
Head coach Amber McCray
"This is year two of our Battle of the Boot tournament, and we are excited to once again be closing out our preseason with some great competition in our home state. Last weekend we felt there were more moments we truly gelled in our lineup and that we are starting to look more and more comfortable together out there. We now have three more opportunities to continue to work on being more consistent in our point scoring ability in all facets of the game, and we plan to make the most out of all of them starting with Southern tomorrow morning."
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (4-5)
LA Tech completed a 2-1 weekend hosting the LA Tech Invitational. The Bulldogs fell to Little Rock 3-1 on Thursday before defeating Grambling and Lamar 3-1.
Libero McKenzie Johnson broke the 1,000 career digs mark with 27 against Grambling on Friday. The junior became one of the fastest Bulldogs to achieve the feat at 221 sets.
Johnson and Ashley Taylor earned All-Tournament selections. Johnson finished the weekend with 77 digs, 10 assists, and nine aces.
LA Tech has jumped into the top 40 in the country in six categories: aces per set (32nd, 2.06), digs per set (10th, 17.37), opponent hitting percentage (30th, 0.149), total digs (6th, 608), total aces (20th, 72), and total attacks (38th, 1,284).
The Bulldogs are in the top 3 in CUSA in seven categories: aces per set (1st), digs per set (1st), opponent hitting percentage (1st), attacks per set (1st, 36.69), total digs (2nd), total aces (1st) and total attacks (2nd).
ABOUT SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY (1-4)
Southern enters the matchup after picking up their first win against the University of New Orleans on Sunday during the New Orleans Invitational.
Jordan Felix leads the Lady Jaguars with 83 assists, 31 kills, 40 digs, and six aces. Felix is coming off a triple-double against UNO with 41 assists, 15 digs, and 13 kills. Elise Doomes missed all last season with an injury but has returned to lead Southern with 42 kills.
Kailee Deffebaugh leads Southern with nine blocks, followed by Akilah Smith with eight.
ABOUT NORTHWESTERN STATE (2-7)
Northwestern has won two straight after defeating Texas Southern University 3-1 and Grambling 3-0.
Teresa Garza and Tessa Gerwig lead the Lady Demons with 63 and 55 kills, respectively. Piper Boydstunn has 127 assists to go along with 12 aces.
Garza adds 85 digs and 21 blocks on the defensive side. Ashlyn Svoboda has 124 digs, while Reaghan Thompson has 46 blocks, ranking 17th in the country in total blocks and 7th with 1.59 blocks per set.
ABOUT SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (6-3)
Southeastern is 4-1 in their previous five matches, including wins against LSU, 3-1, and Texas State, 3-2.
The Lady Lions are led by Kailin Newsome and Cicily Hidalgo, with over 100 kills apiece. Newsome ranks 24thg nationally with 136, and Hidalgo has 102. Gracie Duplechein has 184 assists with eight aces on the season.
Hidalgo and Newsome also lead Southeastern, along with Ansley Tullis, on the defensive side. Tullis leads the team with 111 digs, followed by Hidalgo with 109 and Newsome with 107. Jacqueline Arrington has 32 blocks on the season.
THE SERIES
Tech is 25-18 combined against the field. The Bulldogs are 5-0 against Southern, 26-11 against Northwestern and 14-7 against Southeastern.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For all the latest in LA Tech Volleyball, follow them on Twitter (@LATechVB), Instagram (@LATechVB), and Facebook (LATechVolleyball).
MATCH INFORMATION
MATCH 1
Date/Time: Friday, Sept. 15 | 10 a.m.
Location: Prather Coliseum (Natchitoches, La.)
Stats: nsudemons.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Series: LA Tech leads 5-0
MATCH 2
Date/Time: Friday, Sept. 15 | 7 p.m.
Location: Prather Coliseum (Natchitoches, La.)
Stream: ESPN+
Stats: nsudemons.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Series: LA Tech leads 26-11
MATCH 3
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 16 | 2 p.m.
Location: Prather Coliseum (Natchitoches, La.)
Stats: nsudemons.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Series: LA Tech leads 14-7
QUOTABLES
Head coach Amber McCray
"This is year two of our Battle of the Boot tournament, and we are excited to once again be closing out our preseason with some great competition in our home state. Last weekend we felt there were more moments we truly gelled in our lineup and that we are starting to look more and more comfortable together out there. We now have three more opportunities to continue to work on being more consistent in our point scoring ability in all facets of the game, and we plan to make the most out of all of them starting with Southern tomorrow morning."
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (4-5)
LA Tech completed a 2-1 weekend hosting the LA Tech Invitational. The Bulldogs fell to Little Rock 3-1 on Thursday before defeating Grambling and Lamar 3-1.
Libero McKenzie Johnson broke the 1,000 career digs mark with 27 against Grambling on Friday. The junior became one of the fastest Bulldogs to achieve the feat at 221 sets.
Johnson and Ashley Taylor earned All-Tournament selections. Johnson finished the weekend with 77 digs, 10 assists, and nine aces.
LA Tech has jumped into the top 40 in the country in six categories: aces per set (32nd, 2.06), digs per set (10th, 17.37), opponent hitting percentage (30th, 0.149), total digs (6th, 608), total aces (20th, 72), and total attacks (38th, 1,284).
The Bulldogs are in the top 3 in CUSA in seven categories: aces per set (1st), digs per set (1st), opponent hitting percentage (1st), attacks per set (1st, 36.69), total digs (2nd), total aces (1st) and total attacks (2nd).
ABOUT SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY (1-4)
Southern enters the matchup after picking up their first win against the University of New Orleans on Sunday during the New Orleans Invitational.
Jordan Felix leads the Lady Jaguars with 83 assists, 31 kills, 40 digs, and six aces. Felix is coming off a triple-double against UNO with 41 assists, 15 digs, and 13 kills. Elise Doomes missed all last season with an injury but has returned to lead Southern with 42 kills.
Kailee Deffebaugh leads Southern with nine blocks, followed by Akilah Smith with eight.
ABOUT NORTHWESTERN STATE (2-7)
Northwestern has won two straight after defeating Texas Southern University 3-1 and Grambling 3-0.
Teresa Garza and Tessa Gerwig lead the Lady Demons with 63 and 55 kills, respectively. Piper Boydstunn has 127 assists to go along with 12 aces.
Garza adds 85 digs and 21 blocks on the defensive side. Ashlyn Svoboda has 124 digs, while Reaghan Thompson has 46 blocks, ranking 17th in the country in total blocks and 7th with 1.59 blocks per set.
ABOUT SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (6-3)
Southeastern is 4-1 in their previous five matches, including wins against LSU, 3-1, and Texas State, 3-2.
The Lady Lions are led by Kailin Newsome and Cicily Hidalgo, with over 100 kills apiece. Newsome ranks 24thg nationally with 136, and Hidalgo has 102. Gracie Duplechein has 184 assists with eight aces on the season.
Hidalgo and Newsome also lead Southeastern, along with Ansley Tullis, on the defensive side. Tullis leads the team with 111 digs, followed by Hidalgo with 109 and Newsome with 107. Jacqueline Arrington has 32 blocks on the season.
THE SERIES
Tech is 25-18 combined against the field. The Bulldogs are 5-0 against Southern, 26-11 against Northwestern and 14-7 against Southeastern.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For all the latest in LA Tech Volleyball, follow them on Twitter (@LATechVB), Instagram (@LATechVB), and Facebook (LATechVolleyball).
Players Mentioned
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballThursday, November 13
Wednesday, November 12
Saturday, October 11
Friday, October 10
