RUSTON – Louisiana Tech blocked FIU 17 times on their way to a sweep (28-26, 25-16, 25-17) to pick up their first Conference USA win on Friday night in the Thomas Assembly Center.
 
Charlize Williams had 10 blocks to tie for the seventh most in a match in program history. Jailen Hurley and Rori added seven apiece as the Bulldogs were one off from tying the school record in the rally-scoring era.
 
LA Tech (7-21, 1-14) got the block party started early when Williams recorded her first of the match for the second point. After two points by FIU (6-23, 4-11), Williams and Hurley combined to turn away the Panther's second-leading attacker, Courtney O'Brien. The teams traded points until the Tech defense forced FIU into an error, which started a four-point run and ended in another block by Williams and Hurley.
 
The Panthers started to work their way back into the set until they got within one at 19-18. Both teams would make small runs and eventually push things into extra points. The Bulldogs would have two opportunities to close it out before the visitors would flip the script and have set points at 26-25. Giulia Bonifacio sent two balls hard at the FIU defenders that they couldn't handle to put the setback in Tech's favor. Gabrielle Hairston would clinch it with a perfectly placed ball down the line.
 
After having six blocks in the opening stanza, LA Tech would improve on both sides of the net with seven and double their hitting percentage. They would start with the first four points, with Williams and Hurley getting together once again to deny FIU. From there, the teams would be evenly matched until the Bulldogs started to pull away. Gray and Izabely Benjamin got in on the action with a couple of blocks of their own to extend the lead to six. Tech would slowly pull away to take the second set.
 
The third set started the same way as the other two, with Williams and Hurley combing to turn away the Panthers to get the Bulldogs the lead. Tech would not have to rely heavily on their defense as the offense played error ball and hit .414 to end the match in straight sets.
Bonifacio had a match-high 12 kills on a .346 hitting clip. Kaeden Robinson was finding every ball and finished with 22 digs. Meghan Scharpenberg had a double-double with 16 assists and 10 digs, while Benjamin narrowly missed hers with nine kills and 11 digs.
 
QUOTABLES
Head coach Amber McCray
 
" There is so much to be proud of about this match, but what stands out to me most is the resiliency we showed at the end of the first set when the game grew tight. We have struggled to finish so many of those close sets all year, so to see us have to battle off a set point for FIU and find a way to come back and win to take the early lead was monumental in the outcome of this match. Seventeen blocks as a team in a sweep is incredible, so hats off to Coach Alex Holt for leading that and to Charlize Williams for executing the game plan to account for 10 herself. Kaeden Robinson was outstanding in the libero jersey to come out with 22 digs, and Giulia Bonifacio exploded offensively to lead us with 12 crucial kills. I felt our setting duo of Lauren Albrecht and Meghan Scharpenberg did an excellent job with their distribution and tempo to go along with solid defensive performances, including a double-double from Meghan who finished with 10 digs. Last but not least, we were able to terminate more balls tonight thanks to assistant Coach Ayden Bartlett and the way she prepared our passers and defense to anchor our first contact so we could consistently use all of our offensive options. Tonight was a prime example from the court to our high-energy sideline of what we can accomplish when everyone does their job and plays together. This is the complete match we will aim to play each remaining opportunity we have."
 
NOTABLES

• Charlize Williams has had a block in 24 consecutive matches.
• Williams has eight matches with six or more blocks this year.
• Tech finished with 10 or more blocks for the sixth time this season.
• Jailen Hurley tied her career high in blocks she set at Middle Tennessee on October 25.
• Rori Gray had more than six blocks for the third time this season.
• It was Meghan Scharpenberg's third double-double of the year.
• Tech improved to 8-12 all-time against FIU and won three straight at home.

 
UP NEXT
Louisiana Tech and FIU will finish the series on Sunday for Senior Day. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. with the ceremony before the match. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
 
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