By: Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information Coordinator

COOKEVILLE, Tenn.-The Tennessee Tech volleyball team (5-16, 3-5 OVC) closed weekend play by falling to Eastern Kentucky  (EKU) (5-18, 4-4 OVC) 3-1 on Satuday. The Colonels took winning set scores of 25-18, 16-25, 25-21, and 25-17.

"We needed to play harder," Golden Eagle Cody Dodd said. "We let ourselves get down."

The Golden Eagles got off to a slow start in the beginning of a match. Opening with a tie at 8-8, the Colonels went on a 7-1 run to pull ahead 15-9. Tech battled to recover their deficit and came within five, 20-15, due to kills from Cody Dodd and Kellie Williams. EKU held strong and closed out the first set with a 25-18 victory, outhitting Tech .265 to .125.

It was a different story in the second set. The Golden Eagles jumped out to an early 13-8 lead over the Colonels with a kill by Kennedy Wade. EKU then went on a 4-0 run to come within one Tech, 13-12, however, the Golden Eagles quickly responded to the Colonel gain and increased their lead by six-points at 20-14 off of a kill by K'Vonna Johnson. From there, Tech held strong and closed out the second set 25-16 off of a service ace from Morrett.

In the third, the Golden Eagles and Colonels kept a tight match, opening with ties of 8-8 and 12-12. The two teams continued to fight back-and-forth for control holding ties up until 15-15 when Eastern Kentucky broke the chain and took control by going on a 5-2 run to lead 20-17. Tech would not give up easily and retied the match at 20-20 with a block from Kellie Williams and Alyssa Povey. However, the Colonels got on the attack and closed out the match 25-21.

The Golden Eagles took lead at the beginning of the fourth set. Tech opened with leads of 7-3 and 10-8, however, EKU quickly closed in and went on a 10-3 run to create a nine-point deficit for the Golden Eagles at 20-11. From there, the Colonels continued to lengthen the gap to 24-13. Tech battled at the end putting up blocks by Williams and Shaneice James followed by Povey and Sharon Anderson to help close in at 24-17, but in the end EKU finished the set with a kill winning 25-17.

"No one can stop Cody Dodd," head coach Dave Zelenock remarked. "She's one of the best players in the league."

The Colonels out hit the Golden Eagles .187 to .176, but Tech out-dug (66-61) and blocked (17-10) EKU in the match. Leading the way for the Golden Eagles was senior, Cody Dodd who collected 19 kills and 11 digs in the match, putting up her 11th double-double of the season. Williams had 11 kills, while teammates Anderson put up 39 assists and Wade gathered 17 digs.

This weekend also featured the Golden Eagles' "Dig Pink" matches. The Tech volleyball team collected money to put up per dig. After the two days, the total raised per dig was $626.20. 100-percent of the money raised in the match goes directly to the "Sideout Foundation," who raises money for stage four breast cancer research.

"EKU has great servers," Zelenock said. "We figured out how they play and are going to be better prepared when we face them next time. This week we are going to focus a lot on our passing"

Tech return to play on Oct. 23 when they once again face Eastern Kentucky on the road. First serve for the match is slated at 6 p.m.