RUSTON — The Louisiana Tech volleyball team will take a trip out west to take on New Mexico State on October 4-5 in the Pan American Center. The first serve is set for 7 p.m. CT on Friday and 1 p.m. CT on Saturday, with both matches being streamed on ESPN+.
 
DATE/TIME: Friday-Saturday, October 4-5, 7 p.m. CT | 1 p.m. CT
LOCATION: Las Cruces, N.M. (Pan American Center)
STATS: LATechSports.com/Stats
SERIES RECORD: NM State, 20-1
LAST MEETING: L, 0-3 (11/17/23, Lynchburg)
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (6-9, 0-2)
Louisiana Tech dropped both matches against Liberty on the first weekend of Conference USA action.
 
Meghan Scharpenberg had her first career double-double against the Lady Flames. In the first match, Scharpenberg tied a career-high with 23 assists while setting a new best with 11 digs. Scharpenberg is one of three Bulldog setters with over 95 assists on the season.
 
Jailen Hurley has come on strong over the past three matches. The junior has 32 kills on a .324 hitting clip over that span. Over the past seven matches, Hurley has 59 kills and a .303 hitting percentage.
 
Not only is Charlize Williams a threat on the offensive side of the net with 69 kills as a middle blocker, but she is also one of the best defensive players in the league. Williams has 52 blocks for 1.08 per set average, ranking fifth in CUSA. The senior is 10 blocks away from reaching 250 for her career.
 
ABOUT NEW MEXICO STATE (7-7, 1-1)
New Mexico State is coming off a split with Kennesaw State on the opening weekend of CUSA play. The Aggies fell 3-2 in the first match before sweeping the Owls on Saturday.
 
Preseason All-CUSA selections Yasso Amin and Mari Sharp, along with Starr Williams, are critical components of NM State's offense. All three have over 120 kills on the season, with Williams leading at 179 on a .311 hitting clip.
 
Defensively, Darian Markhan, another All-CUSA preseason selection, and Nicole Briggs lead the Aggies in digs and blocks. Markhan is fourth in the conference with 219 digs on the season. Briggs has 50 blocks so far this season after transferring from Arizona.

QUOTABLES
Head Coach Amber McCray

" New Mexico State is a very talented and well coached team known for their firepower in all positions. However, with them returning all of their attackers from a year ago when we played them three times last season, they are a team we are more familiar with and have actual experience defending. Our serving and passing game is once again going to be critical in trying to slow down their offense, and needing to be in system to generate some of our own. This is another opportunity to learn and compete for our team who still has so much more room to grow, and after a solid reset week of practice we are looking to do just that."

THE SERIES
New Mexico State has a 20-1 advantage all-time in the series with the Bulldogs lone win came in the first meeting in 1996.

SUPPORT LA TECH ATHLETICS
Championships require championship resources.  Fans can make a direct impact on the success of LA Tech Athletics through LTAC, Aillet Society, T-Club, and Young Alumni program as well as the Bulldog Community Outreach which is the NIL collective that supports Bulldog and Lady Techster student-athletes.  Visit BuildTheLegacy.com today.  

BARK LOUDER
Our mission is to engage, develop, and advance the Louisiana Tech Athletics brand.  You can do that by spending time consuming our content and by investing your talents.  By barking louder with your time and talent, you can affect progress and brand advancement in a meaningful way.  Visit LATechSports.com/BarkLouder today.  You bark.  We bark.  Louder together.

SOCIAL MEDIA
For all the latest in Bulldog Volleyball, follow us on X (@LATechVB), Instagram (@LATechVB), and Facebook (LATechVolleyball).