RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech volleyball team used a total team effort to pick up two wins on the final day of the Battle for the Boot inside the Thomas Assembly Center.
 
In the morning, the Bulldogs (5-5) got kills from eight players, including four with five or more, in the 4-1 win over Northwestern State (5-4). They returned an hour and a half later to defeat Southern (1-9) 4-1, with six players reaching five or more kills and four with at least eight.
 
Four quick points to start the first match forced Northwestern State to call a timeout soon after the match began. The lead would eventually grow to eight, and the Bulldogs would close out the set on a 5-0 run to take the set 25-13.
 
Tech would find themselves in a hole early in the second set, but back-to-back aces by Giulia Bonifacio tied it up at six. The Demons would take back the lead and hold it until a six-point run, highlighted by Jailen Hurley's first two aces of her career, gave the Bulldogs a 17-13 advantage. Northwestern would get the following two points, but another 6-0 run put the set out of reach, and Tech would win 25-18.
 
NSU would take the lead in the third set and wouldn't relinquish it. LA Tech would have their worst production on both sides of the net all weekend. The Bulldogs would only hit .049 while the Demons produced a .350 hitting clip to take the set 25-13.
 
Tech looked like they lost everything from the first two sets and fell behind 4-0 in the fourth. After the teams traded points a few times, the Bulldogs went to four different attackers to help orchestrate a four-point run to tie it up. Reaghan Thompson put the Demons back in front by four, but once again the Bulldogs stepped up and would take the lead for the first time at 15-14. Hurley's third ace of the match gave Tech the lead they wouldn't give up. They closed the match with three straight to take it 25-21.
 
LA Tech started strong against Southern with back-to-back aces to start the match. However, the Lady Jaguars wouldn't give up and kept the score at 8-7 in favor of the Bulldogs. From there, Tech took control of the match with the defense, forcing Southern into five errors in a six-point run. A combination of the defense and offense for the Bulldogs helped close the set with five straight to roll to a 25-12 win.
 
Southern took the lead for the first time with the first point of the second set. Tech responded quickly and grabbed the 4-1 lead right after. The Bulldogs found themselves in another tightly contested set. Down 12-11, the Tech defense stepped up and forced SU into four errors to grab a five-point lead. Southern would close it back down to two, but four more errors followed by Bonifacio with her fourth set clincher of the day would give Tech the set 25-18.
 
The Bulldogs would fall in the third set again, keeping it close. Southern's attackers worked their way around the Tech blockers and eventually got up 21-15. The Bulldogs would try to fight back but would find themselves down five set points before working their way back down to 24-23, aided by the play of middle blocker Charlize Williams with two kills. It wouldn't be enough as the Lady Jaguars took the set 25-23.
 
That loss woke the Bulldogs up as they finished the match with their best offensive set of the weekend, with 18 kills and a .390 hitting clip. Megan Cooley, Rori Gray, Bonifacio, and Hurley all had three kills, while Izabelly Benjamin added four. Bonifacio ended the match with her fifth set-clinching kill of the day to give the Bulldogs a 25-18 set win.
 
Benjamin led the way for the Bulldogs with 19 kills and 29 digs, including 20 against Northwestern for her second straight double-double. Hurley finished with 18 kills, Bonifacio had 17, Williams at 15, and Cooley had 14. Williams added seven blocks, Riley Steubing had 29 digs, and Meghan Scharpenberg had 37 assists.

QUOTABLES
Head coach Amber McCray
 
" I am so proud of the way our team responded today after the tough stretch we've had recently. We showed a ton of grit we have been talking about needing to play with, proven by how many hustle plays we won today. It was a total team effort and we had big performances from Charlize both offensively hitting a .533 and defensively with some clutch blocks in critical moments. Giulia didn't hit as high as she has in previous matches, but she had timely kills that sparked us in crunch time and handled her new 6-rotation role very well. Defensively, Riley Steubing had a great showing in her first full weekend in the libero jersey, and I know she will only get better and better with more experience there. I also have to credit Meghan Scharpenberg for being such a consistent setting presence for us all weekend and putting our hitters in solid position to score, as well as Izabely for the many ways she impacted our team all weekend with her all-around game. This was the day we needed to get back on track, and I'm excited to carry this momentum into our final preseason test next weekend in New Orleans."
 
NOTABLES

• Benjamin (20), Steubing (17), and Bonifacio (15) were the first trio with 15+ digs since September 16, 2022, against Northwestern State.
• Hurley now has five aces in her career, all came today.
• Tech improved to 27-12 all-time against Northwestern and 7-0 against Southern.

 
All-Tournament Team
Southern
Jordan Felix
Najah Harris
 
NSU
Teresa Garza
Deja Benjamin
 
LA Tech
Izabely Benjamin
Charlize Williams
 
Southeastern
Cicily Hidalgo
India Bennett
 
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will travel to New Orleans for the Pelican Invitational, hosted by New Orleans and Tulane, on September 20-21. Tech will take on Georgia State and UC Riverside on Friday and New Orleans on Saturday.
 
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