RUSTON – Louisiana Tech closed out its season Thursday night with a hard-fought 3-1 loss (30-28, 22-25, 25-23, 25-18) to Jacksonville State inside the Thomas Assembly Center.
 
It was a match that featured a lot of errors.  LA Tech (9-21, 2-14 CUSA) still managed to outhit Jax State (14-14, 8-8 CUSA), but the Gamecocks made some key plays in the tight frames to help pull out the win in match two.
 
Both teams traded long runs and momentum swings in a tightly contested opener that featured 11 ties and five lead changes.  The Bulldogs led by as many as 20–14 following a surge sparked by kills from Giulia Bonifacio and Gabrielle Hairston.  The Gamecocks, however, rallied late, erasing a 24–22 deficit and capitalizing on a pair of timely kills from Kayla Williams to edge out the extended frame, 30–28.
 
LA Tech answered with its strongest stretch of the night, steadying its serve-receive and hitting .389 in the second set.  Bonifacio delivered back-to-back aces early as the Bulldogs built an 11–8 lead.
 
Behind Zari Gillispie and Megan Cooley, the 'Dogs continued to side out efficiently and maintained control throughout the frame.  Williams kept Jax State close late, but a Gamecock service error on set point secured the 25–22 LA Tech victory and evened the match.

The third set mirrored the intensity of the opener, with neither side leading by more than up until LA Tech used a 5-0 run to take a 19-15 advantage.  Jax State would mount a comeback, winning eight of the next 10 points.  Back-to-back kills by Bonifacio and Cooley evened the frame up at 23-23, but Williams notched consecutive kills to help Jax State go up 2-1 in the match.  

Jax State seized control in the fourth frame thanks to a pair of 6-0 runs.  The Gamecocks hit .391 in closing the set out at 25-18.
 
QUOTABLES
Head coach Scott Mattera
 
On the match…
"It was a weird match.  It was a match with a ton of errors in it.  But we had our chances.  We had a big lead in game one, we had a lead in game three.  We just did not execute the way we needed to, and they made some plays.  We put some good swings on some balls that they dug.  We did not catch breaks at all.  It was just a weird one overall."
 
On the tight sets…
"They came down to offensive execution.  We have been on a pretty good run here where the offense has been clicking well.  Our hitting percentage has steadily grown.  We got a little vanilla with what we called.  Again, Jax State also made plays."
 
On the seniors and the season…
"These seniors have shown so much loyalty to this program and to Louisiana Tech.  For them to accept all the newness because we changed everything.  They never once fought it.  They bought in and set a foundation.  As a coach and a competitor, we could have gotten a few more wins out of this season.  But you must take the big picture.  We had a team that bought in, worked hard, and had a blast together.  They all grew on and off the court.  The momentum is building."
 
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