Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Louisiana Tech opens Conference USA play when they host Liberty inside the Thomas Assembly Center on September 27-28. Friday’s match begins at 6 p.m. CT, and Saturday’s first serve is at 1 p.m. CT, with both days being streamed on ESPN+.
The Bulldogs (6-7, 0-0) are coming off their best performance in two years after beating New Orleans 3-0 on the final day of the Pelican Invitational this past weekend.
“It’s our first week of conference play, and we could not be more excited to be opening at home,” said Tech head coach Amber McCray. “This week has been a great opportunity for a reset, remembering conference means a fresh start when everyone is back to 0-0. The past two weeks we have battled injury and illnesses that have sidelined multiple players, so it has been exciting to have everyone back at practice heading into such an important weekend.”
On the offensive side of the net, Tech hit a scorching .402 for the match, marking their highest hitting percentage since August 26, 2022. Jailen Hurley led the way with 14 kills on a .591 hitting clip. Megan Cooley hit .500 with eight kills, and Izabely Benjamin and Gabrielle Hairston contributed six apiece. Hairston earned all-tournament honors after coming off the bench for 13 kills in the match against UC Riverside.
Defensively, Charlize Williams led the Bulldogs in holding their third opponent to .100. Williams finished with eight blocks against the Privateers and 13 on the weekend. Her eight blocks were the most by a Bulldog since October 16, 2022. She ranks fifth in CUSA with 1.05 blocks per set.
Riley Steubing has found confidence as the starting libero. The sophomore ranks third in the conference with 4.28 digs per set and has recorded double-digit digs since taking over that role.
Liberty (6-6) is under the direction of first-year head coach Nolan Albrecht. The Lady Flames are coming off a 2-1 showing at the Ohio University Tournament, beating Oakland and Eastern Kentucky while falling to Ohio.
“Liberty is an experienced team who returns majority of their point-scorers from a year ago, but we believe winning the serving and passing battle so we can maintain a balanced offense will be a critical component to our success in this series,” said McCray.
Kamryn Bacus and Kate Gammer lead Liberty with 3.26 and 3.12 kills per set. They are the only pair of teammates in CUSA to average more than 3.00 per set. Charli Morris and Charli Crowson are the two setters that make their offense run with over 200 assists each.
On the defensive side of the net, Erica Lowery leads the team with 159 digs on the season. Madison Blane, Autumn Flowers, Morris, and Elizabeth Helmich have over 20 blocks so far this season, with Blane leading the way with 53.
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