Louisiana Tech University
New Mexico State
Preview: LA Tech Host New Mexico State
9/28/2023 2:01:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech volleyball team returns to the friendly confines of the Thomas Assembly Center for the Conference USA home opener against New Mexico State on Friday and Saturday.
MATCH INFORMATION
Date/Time: Friday-Saturday, Sept. 29-30 | 6 p.m. CT, 2 p.m. CT
Location: Thomas Assembly Center (Ruston, La.)
Stream: ESPN+
Stats: LATechSports.com/Stats
Series: NMSU leads 17-1
QUOTABLES
Head coach Amber McCray
"This is another week and another opportunity to grow competing against a New Mexico State team having a solid year with a number of offensive weapons. However, we have been making strides each outing in various phases of the game that we need to improve, and that's exciting to build on. We know when we put them all together in the same match to be able to convert just 2-3 more points, we will win all of these close sets we are dropping down the stretch. With our new CUSA travel schedule, these home series games are even more cherished. We are thankful for another opportunity to be off the road and back in front of our home crowd."
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (5-9, 0-2)
LA Tech is looking to bounce back after suffering losses in two tough matches to FIU to open Conference USA play.
Ashley Taylor continues to come up big to the Bulldogs. The senior middle blocker finished with eight blocks and 10 kills in the series against the Panthers. She currently ranks 90th in the country and fourth in Conference USA with 54 total blocks.
Sydney Jackwin leads LA Tech with 104 kills in just 33 sets. She has three straight games with 10+ kills. Lauren Albrecht and Grace Krohn each have over 200 assists on the season. Albrecht has 246 while Krohn is at 200.
Junior libero McKenzie Johnson has 239 digs on the season, 4.69 digs per set, which ranks 48th nationally and second in CUSA.
Tech has been one of the top teams in the country in several categories. The Bulldogs rank in the top 25 in three distinct categories: 23rd in digs per set at 16.49, 18th in aces per set at 2.02, and 24th in total aces with 103. Tech also ranks inside the top 100 in attacks per set (38th, 36.57), total digs (44th, 841), opponent hitting percentage (71st, 0.174), and total attacks (73rd, 1,865)
The Bulldogs are in the top-2 in CUSA in seven categories: aces per set (1st), digs per set (1st), opponent hitting percentage (1st), total aces (2nd), attacks per set (2nd), total digs (2nd), and total attacks (3rd).
ABOUT NEW MEXICO STATE (9-4, 2-0)
New Mexico State enters the weekend series after defeating Middle Tennessee 3-0 and 3-2 to open conference play. The Aggies are ranked 83rd in the RPI rankings.
New Mexico State has four players with over 100 kills on the season. Ryleigh Whitekettle leads the way with 162, followed by Starr Williams with 140. Mari Sharp (108) and Kacia Brown (103) are the other Aggies in triple digits. Bianca Perez leads the way to NMSU with 309 assists on the season.
Darian Markham currently ranks 54th in the country in digs per set at 4.6 and 72nd in total digs with 221 to lead New Mexico State on the defensive side. Brown has been a force at the net with 41 blocks on the season.
THE SERIES
The Bulldogs and Aggies have met 18 times on the court, with NMSU holding a 17-1 advantage. The only Bulldog win came in 1996, a 3-0 sweep at the TCU Invitational.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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