SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagle volleyball team split the final day of action at the Spartanburg Courtyard Classic, losing the opening game to USC Upstate, 3-1, and they closed out the tournament with a hard-fought five-set victory over Gardner-Webb.
In the final match of the day, the Golden Eagles showed great tenacity as they took down the Bulldogs in a back-and-forth battle. Tech came back from a 2-1 set-deficit after winning the opening set by dominating GW offensive in the final two sets. In the fourth set, Tech hit a blistering .414 and committed just four errors, and they closed out the match with six kills and just one error in the final set to 15. Tech took the 3-2 win; 25-13, 23-25, 19-25, 25-22, and 15-8.
Freshman Kellie Williams was dominant, leading the Golden Eagles with a career-high 21 kills, adding two blocks. Sophomore Irem Sile had a career-best day for Tech. the 5-foot-10 outside put away a career-high 10 kills on a clip of .381, while scooping up a new high of 19 digs.
"Kellie keeps learning the college game, and the more she learns, the more successful she will continue to be," head coach Dave Zelenock said of his outside. "There are times in Kellie's play that you know, as long as the ball is above the tape, no one is going to stop her; and that is a powerful weapon to have."
"Irem is playing all the way around for us right now, and she is doing very well," Zelenock said of his sophomore. "She has been passing very well and her defense continues to get better. Her attacking has been very clean, and she is just taking really good care of the ball."
Tech also got production from junior Cody Dodd, senior Madison Keyes, and freshman Jordan Wachowiak. Dodd put away 11 kills, dug up 18 digs, tallied three blocks, and added six services, which tied a career-best. Keyes tallied nine kills and three blocks. Wachowiak added seven kills while committing no errors for a team-high clip of .412. She also added a match-high six blocks.
Sophomore Sharon Anderson orchestrated the offense to a tune of 54 assists. She added 12 digs for her second double-double of the day. Senior libero Courtney Smith dug up a team-high 25 digs, adding two service aces.
The Bulldogs were led by Brianna Starr who put away 16 kills and matched that with 16 digs. Heather Feldman dished out 41 assists and snuck in six kills on seven attempts.
In a tough battle on Saturday morning, the Golden Eagles were downed 3-1 by USC Upstate, losing 17-25, 23-25, 26-24, and 23-25.
Kellie Williams carried on her strong offensive play leading TTU with a then career-high 15 kills on a clip of .262. Joining her in double-digit kills was Dodd who put away 11. Williams added three blocks.
Four different Golden Eagles showed their chops in the backcourt, all tallying double-digit digs. Courtney Smith led the way with 34 digs, while sophomore Kennedy Wade corralled a career-best 15 digs. Irem Sile and Sharon Anderson both scooped up 12. Twelve digs was a new career-best for Sile, who also added seven kills. Anderson added 45 assists to her 12 digs for her third double-double of the season.
The Spartans, now 8-4, were led by Kayla Mcavoy and Kayla Eversgerd who each had 13 kills. Eversgerd added 18 digs for a double-double. USC Upstate's offense was distributed by setter Lexi Gober, who tallied 42 assists, 16 digs, three kills, and two blocks.
The Golden Eagles return to action Tuesday with a mid-week matchup with former Ohio Valley Conference opponent, Western Kentucky. Tech will travel to Bowling Green, Ky. for a 7 p.m. CT showdown.
