BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Louisiana Tech hit .455 in the opening set but couldn't continue that momentum as Western Kentucky won in straight sets (25-20, 25-10, 25-19) on Saturday afternoon inside E.A. Diddle Arena.
 
Tech (6-17, 0-10) opened the match with an ace by Izabely Benjamin to take the early lead and the teams would trade points. WKU (17-6, 10-0) would use a four-point run to take a 6-3 lead, but the Bulldogs wouldn't give up and after back-to-back aces by Lauren Albrecht, they would tie the set. With both teams hitting over .500 halfway through the set, the two teams would exchange leads three times with 10 ties early on. The Hilltoppers secured six straight points to grab a 23-17 lead. Tech would fight off two set points but wouldn't get any closer.
 
The second set started with two points by the Bulldogs, but the Hilltoppers took the lead at 4-2 and that would be as close as Tech would be the rest of the set. After hitting .704 in the first set, WKU had a .613 in the second.
 
LA Tech wouldn't let that set hold them down as they came out giving total effort in the third. Once again, the Bulldogs would grab the lead to start, but the Hilltoppers would take over after four straight. Mariah Jones, Giulia Bonifacio, and Carla Esquer would help the Dogs come back to tie it up at eight apiece. It would look like WKU would start to pull away, but Benjamin would cap off a 6-2 run with another ace to give Tech a 14-13 lead. WKU would have another five-point run to regain the lead, and the two teams would trade points for the rest of the way.
 
Esquer and Bonifacio led the Bulldogs with six kills apiece. Benjamin finished with four, while Jailen Hurley and Rori Gray added three.
 
Alivia Skidmore had a game-high 19 kills on a .643 hitting clip for WKU. Callie Bauer had 46 assists, and Abby Schaefer had 12 digs.
 
NOTABLES

• The Bulldogs out blocked their opponent for the 10th time this season.
• Charlize Williams has had a block in 19 consecutive matches.
• Tech dropped to 7-19 all-time against WKU.

 
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will travel to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for a two-match series with Middle Tennessee starting on October 24. Thursday's match is set for 6 p.m. CT and Friday's will be at Noon with both matches being streamed on ESPN+.
 
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