Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
The Louisiana Tech dropped the opening match of the Wooo Pig Invitational to Little Rock, 25-22, 25-20, and 25-11, at Barnhill Arena on Friday morning.
“Hats off to Little Rock,” said Tech head coach Amber McCray. “We knew they’d come in playing with a ton of confidence after an undefeated opening weekend, and we failed to match that. There were numerous missed opportunities for us in the red zone of the first set that would have completely turned the tide of the match, but we let Little Rock’s offense get going and gain momentum that made it even more difficult to stop.”
The teams traded points to start the match before the Trojans (4-0) jumped out to an 8-3 lead behind a .600 hitting percentage. The Bulldogs (3-2) would gradually work their way back into the match and call a timeout down 19-17.
Tech reeled off four straight points out of the timeout to take a two-point lead, but Little Rock would take five of the final six points to take the set.
Little Rock jumped out to the lead again early in set two, forcing Tech to fight from behind again. The Bulldogs continued to battle and eventually were within two on multiple occasions. However, the fight was not enough, as the Trojans took the second set.
The score in the third set does not indicate the Bulldogs’ effort. Several long rallies did not go Tech’s way, as the Trojans took the third set.
Giulia Bonifacio would lead the team in kills for the fifth time this season with 10. Rori Gray and Jailen Hurley contributed six and five kills, respectively. Gray would finish with a .600 hitting percentage and three blocks. Riley Steubing led the Bulldogs defensively with 15 digs, and Charlize Williams added four blocks.
“While majority of our offense struggled all game, Rori Gray continued to shine for us and that’s something we can keep building on and finding ways to get her more attempts,” said McCray. “I am also very proud of Riley Steubing for stepping up in the Libero jersey when we needed her and playing lights out. This team is still a work in progress, so we will look to learn from this and turn the page quickly to a new day and new team tomorrow.”
Jeila Fullerton and Bella Cherry had double-digit kills for Little Rock with 13 and 10. Andrea Roman has 20 digs to lead the Trojans.
Louisiana Tech returns on Saturday to take on Rutgers at noon, and the host, No. 21 Arkansas at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
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