By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech beach volleyball team could not hand in-state foe Carson-Newman its first loss of the season Wednesday afternoon, falling in a pair of matches in Jefferson City to a still-unbeaten Eagle squad on its home courts.
Carson-Newman (21-0) bested the purple and gold 5-0 and 5-0 on the day, defeating the Golden Eagles (3-7) for the second and third times on the season.
"You have to give Carson-Newman a ton of credit," Tech head coach Zach Weinberg said. "That is a really good team that left us with more questions than answers after the first dual. I was really pleased to see us respond for the second dual with a number of brand-new pairings. We will continue searching for pairing options that will put us in the best position to win three-out-of-five matches in each dual. We'll get back to the lab tomorrow in preparation for a good Morehead State team on Sunday."
While the purple and gold and gold did not take an official set from the home Eagles on the day, there were a number of close calls and a victory in the exhibition side of things for the Tech squad to take note of. In the first dual of the day, Katie DiRaimondo and Emma Pabon combined in the exhibition slot to split with their counterpart, picking up a 21-16 win in the second set.
At the No. 2 position, Madolyn Isringhausen and Bella Powell teamed up for the first time on the year and narrowly fell in set two, 23-21. In the No. 3 slot, a new Tech duo of Brooke Amann and Jordan Karlen dropped a tough one in the opening set, 22-20. The Golden Eagle No. 4 combo of Morgan Gish and McKenna Young also saw a difficult, 22-20 defeat in the first set.
In the second dual of the day, Skylar Boom and Karlen paired together at the No. 2 position and fell in a heartbreaker in the opening set, 27-25. At the No. 5 duo spot, Katie DiRaimondo and Jazmine Yamilkoski narrowly pulled out wins in losses of 21-19 and 21-18.
The Golden Eagles will now turn their focus back to Ohio Valley Conference play, returning to Cookeville to host their first-ever home contests with a double dip against Morehead State. Matches are slated for 12:00 p.m. CT and 2:00 p.m. at the Tech Beach Volleyball Courts.
"We couldn't be more excited to be home for the first time ever on Sunday afternoon," Weinberg expressed. "What a great opportunity for our Golden Eagle faithful to take in a new sport and cheer us on in our inaugural season. The team has been working incredibly hard at this new venture and they deserve to have that work supported in our one home event of the year. Come on out to the Golden Eagle Beach Courts, get your free pair of sunglasses, and cheer on your Golden Eagles loud and proud. Wings Up!"
File photo by Jim Dillon
