By Jocelyn VerVelde, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech volleyball team will face some familiar foes this weekend as they return to Cookeville to host Eastern Kentucky Friday night at 7 p.m. CT and Morehead State on Saturday at 4 p.m.
The pair of opponents this weekend happens to be the exact same opponents that the Golden Eagles played just prior, facing both the Colonels and the Eagles within seven and eight days of the last time they shared the floor.
"The only advantage is I've already watched five matches while preparing for them last week," head coach Dave Zelenock said of preparing for the same exact teams as last week. "This week I only had to watch the two newest. It's very hard to beat a team twice in a row; statistically it just doesn't happen often when two teams are fairly evenly matched. So this weekend is a much bigger challenge for us than last weekend. I think EKU may have taken us a bit lightly last time, and there is no chance of that this time."
"So far this year we've done a fairly good job performing at home, with the exception of the Belmont match. If we do a good job preparing and show up ready to play, it should be a fun weekend."
What's In Store This Weekend
Versus Eastern Kentucky (16-9,6-2)
The Colonels will look to come out of the gates swinging on Friday night as they are on a two-game slide following losses to both Tech and Dayton within the last seven days. Against Dayton, Easterns' Alexis Plagens led the team with 11 kills and senior Dena Ott had 19 digs. Overall, Eastern is third in the OVC with 15.88 digs per set. In the match against Tech last Saturday, Alexis Plagens led the Colonels with a match-high 24 kills, adding eight digs. Rachel Vick added 11 kills and seven digs. Setter Abbey Cvelber dished out 52 assists, tallied 13 digs, and added five kills for EKU.
Versus Morehead State (0-22, 0-8)
Morehead State is off to its first 0-22 start in school history. The Eagles started their varsity volleyball program in 1972, and the Ohio Valley Conference began sponsoring the sport in 1981. Junior Hannah Sigala leads Morehead State with 3.35 points, 2.65 kills and 0.95 blocks per set. The middle blocker is also hitting a team-best .282 in 72 sets played. She collected a team-best 119 blocks and 198 kills in 2013. Morehead State lost home matches to Jacksonville State and Tennessee Tech last weekend. The Eagles had previously won eight straight over TTU and eight in a row over JSU.
Things You Should Know
Last Time Out
The Golden Eagles bested the Colonels in a marathon match, taking the match 3-2; 21-25, 26-24, 16-25, 25-20, 15-6 in Richmond, Ky. Freshman Kellie Williams led the way for the Golden Eagles, putting away a team-high 22 kills while only committing four errors for an impressive clip of .316. Junior Cody Dodd recorded her eighth double-double of the season as she put away 12 kills and scooped up 17 digs. Dodd also added four blocks and three service aces.
Sophomore setter Sharon Anderson piloted the offense as she dished out 44 assists and recorded 12 digs for her 10th double-double of the season. Senior libero Courtney Smith rallied the backcourt as she recorded a match-high 28 digs. Joining her in backcourt dominance were sophomore Kennedy Wade and freshman Allison Morrett. Wade tallied 10 digs, her third double-digit game of the season. Morrett gathered up six digs, but proved her authority from the service line as she recorded a season-high five service aces, three of which game in the pivotal set four.
Leader Honored
Senior Ellen Conti has been held off the court for most of the 2014 season due to a shoulder injury, however that has not held her back from leading the team. She won the inaugural Unsung Leader Award presented by the TTU Athletics Department for the month of September.
Honor Corps
The Golden Eagle have taken home a three weekly awards from the Ohio Valley Conference so far this season. Cody Dodd earned her first adidas® Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week honor on Sept. 19 following an impressive performance at the Cowgirl Classic at McNeese State. Courtney Smith has earned back-to-back adidas® Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors (9/21 & 9/29) for averaging over six digs a set.
Where We Rank
OVC Overall Rankings
Team:
Hitting Percentage: 12th - .159
Opponents Hitting Pct.: 5th- .199
Assists: 12th – 10.47
Kills: 12th – 10.97
Blocks: 2nd – 2.03
Service Aces: 5th – 1.34
Digs: 5th – 15.43
OVC Overall Individuals:
Kills: 4th - Cody Dodd, 3.27
Assists: 8th – Sharon Anderson, 9.38
Service Aces: 2nd – Cody Dodd, 0.37
Blocks: 1st – Jordan Wachowiak, 1.19
Digs: 2nd – Courtney Smith, 4.95
Points: 2nd – Cody Dodd, 4.05
OVC Only Team:
Hitting Percentage: 12th - .149
Opponents Hitting Pct.: 5th - .188
Assists: 12th – 10.84
Kills: 12th – 11.56
Blocks: 8th – 1.84
Service Aces: 7th – 1.19
Digs: 4th– 16.84
OVC Only Individuals:
Kills: 8th - Cody Dodd, 3.48, 9th - Kellie Williams, 3.41
Assists: 8th – Sharon Anderson, 9.88
Service Aces: 3rd – Cody Dodd, 0.38
Blocks: 4th – Jordan Wachowiak, 1.12
Digs: 2nd – Courtney Smith, 5.47
Points: 4th – Cody Dodd, 4.22
National Rankings
Team
Total Aces: 39th
Total Digs: 34th
Total Blocks: 80th
Individual
Digs Per Set: 31st - Courtney Smith
Blocks Per Set: 75th – Jordan Wachowiak
Total Digs: 14th - Courtney Smith
Total Service Aces: 31st – Cody Dodd
Total Assists: 55th – Sharon Anderson
Total Kills: 93rd – Cody Dodd
Total Blocks: 66th – Jordan Wachowiak
