RICHMOND, Ky. – It was a must-win situation for the
Eastern Kentucky volleyball team Saturday. For Tennessee Tech, it
was pretty much a can’t lose proposition.
So, even though the Golden Eagles dropped the season finale, 3-1,
to the red-hot Lady Colonels, coach John Blair’s team has
begun making plans for next week’s Ohio Valley Conference
tournament.
By winning one set over EKU, the Golden Eagles clinched the No. 5
seed in the six-team conference tournament, which will begin
Thursday at Jacksonville State.
After Friday’s contest, the Golden Eagles had secured their
spot in the tournament and wouldn’t have moved any higher
with a victory.
That didn’t mean Blair’s squad didn’t put up a
fight before bowing out. Tech made things interesting with a couple
of rallies in the fourth set before heading home on the short side
of the scoreboard. It also allowed Blair to feature a couple of his
freshmen and both Kelsey Gray and Katrina Dvorken responded with
solid performances.
The Lady Colonels, who upset regular season champion Jacksonville
State on Friday night, had to win Staurday against Tech to keep its
hopes alive for a berth in the OVC tournament. Now, EKU must make
it three wins in three days by beating Eastern Illinois on Sunday
in order to earn a postseason trip. The match, which was
rescheduled from two weeks ago, will be played at 3 p.m. CST on a
neutral floor at the University of Evansville.
EKU handed Jacksonville State its first conference loss of the
season on Friday and then avenged a 3-0 loss earlier this season to
the Golden Eagles.
After EKU won the first set, 25-17, Tech battled back to tie the
match with a 25-23 win in the second set. The Lady Colonels
regained momentum with a 25-17 win in the third set, then outlasted
Tech for a 27-25 victory in the fourth set to capture the
match.
Junior Leah Meffert led the Golden Eagles (10-17, 9-9 OVC) with 12
kills while senior Amanda Lindgren and Gray each recorded eight
kills. Gray led Tech at the net by adding four blocks. Dvorken
(left) put down seven kills in 11 attempts without and error for a
.636 hitting percentage. She also had two blocks. Melanie Culp had
28 assists and nine digs, while senior Katie Kenline paced the back
row with 16 digs.
Lauren Snyder led EKU (9-18, 8-9 OVC) with 19 kills. She also had
14 digs. Lindsey Loescher finished with 16 kills, a .333 attack
percentage and nine digs, while Kate Hendle registered a match-best
52 assists and Abby O’Connor led all players with 27
digs.
The fourth set was tied 12 times and saw six lead changes. An ace
by Loescher and an Eastern Kentucky attack error gave the Colonels
an 18-12 lead, but the Golden Eagles fought back. Four unanswered
points by Tech tied the score at 21-21. Meffert’s ace capped
the run. The set was tied four more times.
A kill by Loescher gave Eastern match-point at 24-23. Then TTU
scored two straight, reaching set-point on a kill by Lindgren and
an EKU attack error.
The Colonels scored two straight to reach match-point again. A
kill by Loescher and a Tennessee Tech attack error put EKU in front
26-25. On the next series, a kill by Amanda Fago ended the
match.
Regardless of what happen on Sunday, the Golden Eagles will
maintain their No. 5 seeding via a tie-breaker with the Lady
Colonels. If EKU defeats EIU, then Tech and the Lady Colonels would
end up tied in the standings at 9-9. In head-to-head play this
season, the teams split their two matches with Tech winning 3-0 in
Cookeville and EKU claiming a 3-1 victory in Richmond. By winning
one set Saturday, Tech owns a 4-3 record in sets against EKU and
gets the higher spot.
Complete OVC Tournament pairings and schedule will be announced by
the OVC office Sunday evening, following the EIU-EKU match. Most
likely Tech will play Murray State in the first round Thursday at
Jacksonville State.