by Malcolm Butler
Louisiana Tech spent the first month of the season preparing for this weekend.
Now, according to Bulldogs coach Scott Mattera, it is “go time.”
Tech opens its first season of Sun Belt Conference play when the Bulldogs host Southern Miss for a two-match series at the Thomas Assembly Center. The teams meet Friday at 6 p.m. and again Saturday at 1 p.m., with both matches available on ESPN+.
The Bulldogs enter conference play 7-7 after wrapping up their nonconference schedule last weekend at the Wildcat Classic.
Tech closed nonconference play with one of its best offensive performances in years, hitting .424 in a 3-0 sweep of Prairie View A&M. The Bulldogs recorded 41 kills with only five errors on 85 attacks, producing their highest team hitting percentage in 14 years.
Freshman middle blocker Tyra McKinnie finished with a career-high 12 kills on 17 attacks with only one error in the win. She totaled 35 kills while hitting .544 during the tournament and enters Sun Belt play ranked ninth among qualified league hitters with a .346 hitting percentage.
Libero Riley Steubing leads the Sun Belt with 4.96 digs per set, tied for sixth nationally, while setter Sydnee Carter has recorded double-digit assists in every match this season.
Tech will be tested immediately by a Southern Miss team that comes to Ruston with a 9-2 record, the best nonconference winning percentage in the Sun Belt.
“They’re good,” Mattera said. “I think a lot of people think they’re kind of a sleeper in the conference.”
Mattera is familiar with several of the Golden Eagles from his time coaching at Alamo Volleyball Club in San Antonio, including Tarah Yunes and Lillie Johnson. He also knew Southern Miss standout Sadie McAda from clinics in the area.
McAda averages 4.03 kills per set, second in the Sun Belt, and enters the weekend with 990 career kills.
Southern Miss setter Allie Hazelwood leads the league with 10.54 assists per set and ranks 19th nationally, while Johnson gives the Golden Eagles another weapon in the middle.
“She’s super crafty,” Mattera said of Johnson. “She’s a really intelligent volleyball player.”
Southern Miss leads the Sun Belt in service aces per set at 2.03 and digs per set at 15.77. Tech ranks fourth in the league and 38th nationally with 1.91 aces per set.
Mattera said Tech’s ability to serve effectively and keep Southern Miss from operating comfortably in system will be important.
“We’ve got to serve well,” Mattera said. “We’ve got to spread our offense and attack the areas they give us.”
The weekend also introduces Tech to the Sun Belt’s Friday-Saturday conference format as the Bulldogs begin navigating their new league.
And it begins against one of the league’s hottest teams.
“I think it’s going to be a heck of a match,” Mattera said. “It’s going to be an exciting weekend.”
