Louisiana Tech University
Jacksonville State
LA Tech Travels to Jacksonville State for Final Regular Season Matches
11/13/2024 1:36:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
RUSTON — The Louisiana Tech volleyball team is set to take on Jacksonville State in the final regular season matches starting on November 14 at 5 p.m. in the Pete Mathews Coliseum. The Bulldogs must win both matches to have a chance at reaching the Conference USA Tournament.
GAME INFORMATION
DATE/TIME: Thursday-Friday, November 14-15, 6 p.m. CT | 5 p.m. CT
LOCATION: Jacksonville, Ala. (Pete Mathews Coliseum)
TV: ESPN+
STATS: LATechSports.com/Stats
SERIES RECORD: LA Tech, 2-1
LAST MEETING: LA Tech, 3-0 (Ruston, La.)
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (8-21, 2-14)
Louisiana Tech kept their CUSA tournament hopes alive after beating FIU in both matches over the weekend. The Bulldog defense held the Panthers to a .062 hitting clip on Friday and a .081 mark on Sunday.
Charlize Williams played a big part in the Tech defense with 20 total blocks, earning her CUSA Defensive Player of the Week. Williams moved into seventh place on the single-season blocks list, with 122 on the year and a 1.28 per set average. During conference play, she leads the league with 1.46 per set and is second in total blocks with 79.
Rori Gray also had a phenomenal weekend against FIU. The freshman finished with 10 total blocks and 12 kills between the two matches. She recorded her fifth match with eight or more kills on Sunday in the five-set thriller.
Another player to step up for Tech was Kaeden Robinson, who had 27 digs and 10 assists in four sets over the weekend. The Lamar transfer recorded 22 digs and five assists in the first match to lead three Bulldogs in double-digit digs.
Tech had two players record double-doubles on Sunday. Izabely Benjamin completed her fourth of the season with 14 kills and 14 digs. Lauren Albrecht had 15 assists and 13 digs for her third of the year and ninth in the Bulldog uniform.
ABOUT JACKSONVILLE STATE (8-21, 1-15)
Jacksonville State has been eliminated from the CUSA tournament after dropping both matches against New Mexico State last weekend.
Kayla Williams is leading the CUSA in kills per set, averaging 4.00. Williams has totaled 428 kills on the season. She has contributed in a multitude of other areas as well, collecting 164 digs this year. She is 10th in the league in service aces per set, averaging 0.34.
Ellie Garrett has been one of the best setters in the conference. Garrett is third in the league in average assists per set with 9.09. She has added 94 kills, 27 service aces, 221 digs, and 52 blocks. Brooklyn Schiffli has been another star for the Gamecocks all season. She has 456 digs this year, and her average of 4.15 digs per set is enough to be fourth in the CUSA.
Caty Havekost has been the Gamecocks' second-best offensive option all season. She is averaging 2.29 kills per set and is second on the team with 252 total kills this year. Luci Wilkinson has been a player to watch on the back row as she is averaging 2.43 digs per set and has the second most digs of the year, with 267 total, to this point.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Amber McCray
"It's a quick turnaround, but after an exhilarating and emotional weekend sending our seniors out with two wins on our home floor, we know we need to quickly refocus and turn all of our attention to the new task in hand at Jacksonville State. It is going to take aggressive serving and executing our blocking and offensive game plan to go pick up huge road wins this weekend. While we aren't fully in control of our own destiny and still need some help from other teams in the league to extend our season and qualify for the conference tournament, we have been talking all week about just controlling what we can control and doing all we can at this point to put ourselves in position to seize the opportunity if it is there."
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