COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Tech volleyball team will play matches at Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky this weekend - the final weekend of the regular season. Tech will take on the MSU Eagles on Friday at 7 p.m. before the regular season finale against the EKU on Saturday at 2 p.m.
The Golden Eagles enter the weekend needing one win to clinch a spot in the six-team OVC Tournament. Jacksonville State has already claimed the OVC regular season title and will play host to the tournament, while Austin Peay will be the second seed. Morehead State has clinched a spot in the tournament but could be seeded in either the third or fourth seed. The remaining seeds are still up for grabs.
Currently, Murray State (9-6 OVC) would be the fourth seed, Tennessee Tech (9-7 OVC) the fifth and Southeast Missouri (8-8 OVC) the sixth. However, Eastern Kentucky (6-9 OVC) is in seventh place in the OVC and still has a chance to make it to the tournament.
Both of the Golden Eagle opponents this weekend have a lot to play for, which should make for some highly competitive matches.
Morehead State has lost four of its last six OVC matches after starting its OVC schedule with an 8-1 mark. The Eagles lost back-to-back matches against Jacksonville State and Tennessee Tech and also fell to Austin Peay and Southeast Missouri State.
The Eagles are offensively by setter Kristie Brangers who is averaging more than 10 assists per set. Freshman middle blocker Anne Gruenschlaeger leads the OVC in blocks with 139. The Golden Eagles defeated Morehead State, 3-1, at Eblen Center when the two teams played in mid-October.
Eastern Kentucky had a rough start to its 2009 season, losing its first 12 contests before picking up its first win of the season against Southeast Missouri. The Colonels have won three of their last five matches and are 6-2 at home this season.
Eastern Kentucky is led by libero Abby O'Connor who is among the leaders in the OVC with 446 digs. Lauren Snyder leads the team offensively, averaging 3.21 kills per set during conference play. Tech defeated EKU in a three-set sweep the first time the two teams met at Eblen Center.
