By LUKE DEROUEN

Sports Writer

The Western Athletic Conference road schedule got the best of the Tech's volleyball team last week as the Techsters dropped matches to San Jose State and Hawaii.

Head coach Heather Mazeitis was glad to get her team back to Ruston following the two conference losses.

"It feels like we flew for five straight days, and that took a lot out of us," Mazeitis said. "I feel like if we had gone to San Jose State first, the road trip would have been more productive."

Contrary to Mazeitis' wishes, the Techsters (13-9, 2-4 WAC) traveled to Hawaii (18-1, 6-0 WAC) on Oct. 16 to take on the No. 2-ranked Rainbow Wahine, only to be turned away by All-American Kim Willoughby and her teammates in their 71st consecutive WAC victory.

Hawaii demonstrated its hitting power in game one by going on an 8-0 run led by Willoughby, who recorded 17 kills in the match. Tech pulled within four points late in the match but could not hold of the Wahine, losing 30-21.

The Tech offense was in sync during game two, but was no match for the .528 hitting percentage posted by Hawaii, who won the game 30-21.

The Techsters, physically and emotionally drained from the first two losses, dropped the third game 30-17, giving Hawaii the match.

Joy Okpa led Tech with 11 kills, while Cristine Sant'Anna added 11 digs, and Lia Mora recorded 24 assists.

"We played them a lot better than we did last year," Mazeitis said. "We wanted to come out here and play hard, and we did that. You have to be realistic when you play a national championship contender, but I feel good about how we played."

The Techsters wrapped up their road trip on the West Coast against San Jose (6-12, 4-3 WAC) in an important conference showdown.

The long flight from Hawaii drained the Techsters as they lost to the Spartans in three close games.

"We just did not show up for the game," Mazeitis said. "Ambra Hayes played terrifically, but for the most part we were flat all game."

Hayes, a freshman, led Tech with a career-high 13 kills in the match.

The Techsters lost game one 31-29 after hitting errors wasted their 24-20 lead, and the Spartans recorded 49 digs in the game.

Again Tech rallied to a three-point lead late in game two, only to drop the game 30-28 to give the Spartans a two-game lead in the match.

Game three was a different story as the Spartans jumped out to an early 11-5 lead and never looked back, defeating the Techsters 30-23.

The two losses leave the Techsters tied for seventh in the WAC, a place Mazeitis and her team are anxious to rise from.

"This is not where I thought we would be at this point of the season, but with eight matches left, we can boost our ranking overnight," Mazeitis said.

The Techsters get a chance to alter their fate in a conference match against Fresno State tonight at 7 p.m. and again at 2 p.m. on Saturday as they welcome Nevada to the Thomas Assembly Center.

Both Fresno and Nevada are experiencing down years after successful 2002 campaigns.

"Having these key matches in Ruston in front of our own crowd is huge," Mazeitis said. "This will give us an opportunity to turn things around and reach our goals for the season."