COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech volleyball team closes out the 2014 regular season at home Saturday night as they host UT Martin (11-18, 4-11) for a 5:30 p.m. CT showdown.
Tech (13-18, 8-7) has clinched a spot in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament, but with five teams having the ability to finish with the same record, Friday night's match will help the Golden Eagles determine its seed.
"Our goal all along was to get into the tournament, and from there anything can happen," head coach Dave Zelenock said. "As a group we have to set some new goals now, the first being to finish strong and have a winning record in OVC play, which is something this program hasn't done since 2008. The seeding scenarios for the tournament are all a bit to crazy for us. We are the last match of the season for the OVC, so by the time we start Saturday we will know what's going on."
"Right now we are focusing on UTM. They are a big physical team who is looking to come here and end on a high note. They have a good group and a very smart staff, so we are expecting a fight from them and we need to be ready."
Saturday will also be Senior Day for the Golden Eagles as they recognize the careers of Ellen Conti, Madison Keyes, Allison May, and Courtney Smith.
Conti, a 6-foot outside, from came to Tech from Grove City, Ohio after a four-year career on the Grove City High varsity volleyball team. During her freshman year, Conti fished second on the team in kills and earned a place on the OVC All-Newcomer Team. An off-season injury has sidelined Conti for most of her senior season, but she will finish her career with 641 kills, 436 digs, and 96 blocks. As a leader both on and off the court, this senior has accumulated a 3.77 GPA in communications and has been named to the TTU Athletic Directors honor roll each of her semesters at TTU as well as earning a spot on the OVC Commissioners Honor Roll each year so far, and earning a OVC Medal of Honor last year.
"Ellen has had a rough year, and I know it was disappointing for her to not be able to come back from her injuries, but you'd never know it if you were new to our gym," Zelenock said of his senior outside hitter. "She's the loudest one every day, she's upbeat, positive and always smiling. She sets a great example for our young kids who think they know what adversity is. She was the first option outside for us last year and was good, but I think she's been even more useful to the team this year by mentoring and coaching the young kids. She's our fourth coach, when she can't physically do something she's making her presence known other ways and we will really miss that fourth set of eyes next year."
Keyes, a quick and agile middle blocker from Cincinnati, Ohio, came to Tech following a successful high school career on both the volleyball court and the track, where she participated in the high jump and the 100 and 200-meter dashes. The six-foot has taken the phrase student athlete to heart, as she has been able to balance the schedule of a division one athlete and a nursing major. She has been on the TTU Athletics Director honor roll each of her semesters at Tech, as well as the OVC Commissioners honor roll each year. Heading into the final part of her senior season, Keyes has accumulated 453 kills, 238 blocks, and 97 digs.
"Madison is one of the most strong-willed players I've ever coached. She simply refuses to fail. The way she has handled being in the nursing program and being on the team has been impressive. I know at a few points in the year she was running on fumes and she just kept pushing. She is fearless, and I hope some of that rubs off on some of our younger players. The staff will miss how intense she is at everything and how she is willing to go for it on every play."
May, a 5-foot-9 fifth-year defensive specialist, brought her talents to TTU following her high school career at Assumption High in Louisville, Ky. She corralled 1041 digs in her first two seasons, earning a place on the 2010 All-Newcomer team member. She missed her third year with a season ending injury, and following her fourth spring; May tore her ACL and returned in just four months to compete in her senior year. She now has a total of 1174 digs for her career, adding 73 aces. The interdisciplinary studies major has earned herself seven semesters on the TTU Athletic Directors honor roll and two years on the OVC Commissioners honor roll.
"Allie is in her fifth year and fought very hard to be able to play this year," Zelenock said of his senior defensive specialist. "She came back from an ACL tear in 4 months and that's something a small percentage of the population can do. She is the quietest kid on the team so when she speaks it carries a lot of weight with the team. Allie sees the game like she has been playing for 30 years and has been great at using that knowledge and passing it down to the younger kids. The staff is definitely going to miss her one-liners and quick humor; she cracks us up on a daily basis."
Smith, a 5-foot-3 libero, came to TTU following her high school career at Karns High where she helped her team to state in 2009-11. Last season, Smith joined the prestigious 1,000 digs category on Oct. 19, 2013 after corralling 13 digs against Morehead State. Her impressive senior season has seen the marketing major earn three adidas® Defensive Player of the Week awards this season, as well as earning a place on the Spartanburg Courtyard Classic All-Tournament team earlier. She will enter the last weeks of her career with 1,710 digs, which places her second all-time in digs in a career. Her 573 digs in this season alone also puts her in second place in the Tech record books for digs in a single season. She currently ranks first in the conference for digs per set at 5.12 in over all play, and 5.57 in conference play. Prior to this season, Smith attended the U.S. Women's Volleyball open tryout in Colorado Springs, Colo. She has also earned three semesters on the TTU Athletics Director Honor Roll, and two years on the OVC Commissioners Honor Roll.
"Courtney has been one of, if not the best libero I've worked with in my career," Zelenock said of his star defender. "There are some kids who can dig and some that can pass, she's the total package. Her numbers were down last year as people were learning our defense, but I think now people are finally seeing just how good she is. When I got here I knew right away how special she was going to be if we pushed her and I'm glad she put up with me and allowed me to help her. After she got back from the National Team Tryout last year she just decided we were going to be better and she really is responsible for a lot of the team's success this season. We're going to miss that behind the scenes person who is not going to accept anything below our standards when coaches aren't around."
Tech will honor the seniors prior to the match versus UT Martin on Saturday.
