Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Louisiana Tech volleyball will continue its homestand this week as the Bulldogs host the Bulldog Bash at the Thomas Assembly Center.
LA Tech (4-3) will play three matches in three days, beginning Thursday at 6:30 p.m. against Grambling State. The Bulldogs will face Mississippi Valley State at 6:30 p.m. Friday before closing out the weekend against McNeese at 1 p.m. Saturday.
All three LA Tech matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
The Bulldogs enter the tournament with some momentum after sweeping Alcorn State on Tuesday night at the TAC to improve to 3-1 at home this season.
Tyra McKinnie and Taylor Woods led the Bulldogs with nine kills apiece in the victory, with McKinnie hitting .750 without an attack error. It marked the first time this season an LA Tech player hit at least .700 with a minimum of 10 attempts.
Woods, a freshman, leads LA Tech with 2.63 kills per set and has led the Bulldogs in kills five times through their first seven matches. McKinnie is averaging 2.17 kills per set and leads the team with 17 blocks.
Defensively, libero Riley Steubing continues to rank among the nation’s leaders.
Steubing leads the Sun Belt Conference and ranks seventh nationally with 5.25 digs per set. She enters the Bulldog Bash with 960 career digs, leaving her 40 away from becoming only the third LA Tech player in the past 20 years to reach 1,000.
Setters Sydnee Carter and Emerson Traylor have shared the responsibility of directing the Bulldogs’ offense. Carter has recorded double-digit assists in all seven matches, while Traylor has reached double figures in six.
Grambling State (2-3) will make the short trip to Ruston after falling 3-0 at Alabama on Monday. Lyric Jordan leads the Tigers with 2.55 kills per set.
LA Tech has dominated the series against Grambling, holding a 35-1 advantage. The Bulldogs have won 35 consecutive meetings since dropping the first matchup between the programs in 1987, including a 3-0 victory in Grambling last season.
Mississippi Valley State enters the tournament at 1-4 after splitting two matches last weekend, defeating Wiley before falling to Nicholls. Taylor Wooten leads the Delta Devils with 2.00 kills per set.
LA Tech is 2-0 all-time against Mississippi Valley State, with the teams last meeting in 2021.
McNeese enters the weekend at 0-6 after losses to Rice and Illinois at the Rice Invitational. Ava Henry leads the Cowgirls with 2.61 kills per set.
McNeese holds a 7-6 advantage in its series with LA Tech. The programs have not met since 2014, when the Cowgirls earned a 3-1 victory.
The Bulldog Bash also includes Northwestern State and ULM, with five matches scheduled at the TAC during the three-day event.
