By: Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information Coordinator 

COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Tech volleyball team (3-13, 1-2 OVC) put up a battle in their first OVC home opener against Jacksonville State (JSU) (8-11, 1-2 OVC). The Gamecocks defeated the Golden Eagles, 3-1, while taking winning set scores of 25-17, 25-21, 12-25, and 25-22.

"We played as a team tonight," Golden Eagle Shaneice James said. "We had our ups and downs, but we stayed positive throughout." 

Tech and JSU started off in tight quarters opening the first set with a tie of 11-11. The Gamecocks then went on a 8-1 run to pull ahead 19-12. A kill by K'Vonna Johnson and a Shealene Little service ace brought the Golden Eagles within five, 19-14, however, JSU held strong going on a 6-3 run to close the first set 25-17. 

A tie of 8-8 opened second set play for the two teams. Tech took a slight advantage at 11-8 after going on a three-point run off of a kill by Cody Dodd and two from James. The Gamecocks quickly responded to the Golden Eagle lead to tie the set at 11-11. From there, Tech and JSU kept a close match, maintaining ties of 15-15 and 17-17. The Gamecocks created a two-point buffer at 20-18 and was then able to fend off the Golden Eagles at 21-20, until finally going on a 4-1 run to take the second set 25-21. 

Tech came out for vengeance in the third set. The Golden Eagles immediately got on the attack and opened with a 10-4 lead over the Gamecocks. From there, kills and a service ace by Alyssa Povey helped push the Tech lead to 10 points, 16-6. The Golden Eagles remained dominant throughout the rest of the set and a kill by Kellie Williams sealed a third set victory for Tech 25-12.

The Golden Eagles and Gamecocks continued to battle into the fourth set. Tech took the advantage at 9-6 with a kill by Williams, however, JSU battled to pull within two at 15-13. From there, the Gamecocks went on a 5-3 run to tie the set at 18-18. Two kills by Williams and one from James once again gave Tech the lead at 21-18. JSU persisted and tied the set back at 21-21. The Gamecocks then held on to a strong defense to edge the fourth set and the match from the Golden Eagles, 25-22. 

"Shaneice was the bright spot tonight," Head Coach Dave Zelenock commented. "She performed very well for a freshman-middle and she had good, clean kills."

Dodd led the Golden Eagles with 14 kills and 18 digs, making that her seventh double-double on the season, while Williams contributed with 14 kills, three blocks and a .250 hitting percentage. Shaneice James hit a career-high 12 kills while also posting three blocks, and teammate Povey posted six blocks, seven kills and 11.5 points. Emily Rutherford led the Gamecocks with 18 kills.

"We have to work on finishing," James continued. "But we are going to go hard in our next match and keep fighting."

Next up, Tech hosts Southeast Missouri on Saturday in a 2 p.m. contest at the Eblen Center.