By: Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Tech volleyball team remains at home in the Eblen Center for another weekend to face conference opponents Tennessee State and Belmont in their last home matches of the regular season.
Tennessee State Tigers (12-12, 7-5 OVC)
The Tigers will come to the Eblen Center to compete against the Golden Eagles for the second time this season, however, now Tech has the home court advantage. The last time the two teams faced this season the the Tigers took the 3-1 win on their home court with winning set scores of 25-12, 21-25, 29-27, and 25-17. Tennessee State is currently tied for fourth in the OVC (with Eastern Kentucky) holding a solid 7-5-conference record. The Tigers have had some success in road matches, holding a 4-6 away mark thus far this year. The player to watch on the Tennessee State roster is Chloe Watson. Watson has put up 346 kills (3.72 per set), 242 digs (2.60 per set), and 64 blocks (0.69) on the season. She led the Tigers in their last match against the Golden Eagles with 17 kills and eight digs, while hitting at a .241 percentage.
Belmont Bruins (13-11, 10-2 OVC)
The Bruins rank second in OVC matchups thus far this season holding a solid 10-2-conference record right behind Murray State (11-1 OVC). When Tech and Belmont met earlier this season, the Bruins held on to the four set victory (3-1) with set scores of 17-25, 25-19, 25-16, and 28-26. On the road, Belmont has held a 3-4 record, having a much better showing on their home court holding a 9-4 record there. Arianna Person is leading the way for the Bruins this season. Person has put up 364 kills (3.96 per set), 286 digs (3.11 per set), and 30 blocks (0.33 per set) this season. When Belmont and Tech competed last time, Person led the Bruins with 18 kills and 19 digs in the match.
Golden Eagles (6-19, 4-8 OVC)
The Golden Eagles stay at home after a 1-1 performance last weekend, seeing a victory over Austin Peay, while falling to Murray State who currently sits atop the conference standings. Tech holds a 4-5 home record and is currently tied for eighth in the OVC. Senior, Cody Dodd continues to lead Tech accumulating 385 kills (4.23 per set), 257 digs (2.82 per set), 51 blocks (0.51 per set), and 42 service aces (0.46 per set) so far this season. Against Tennessee State, Dodd posted 20 kills and five kills, while putting up 13 kills and 10 digs in the last match against Belmont.
This weekend's matches get underway on Friday, when Tech takes on Tennessee State at 7 p.m. The Golden Eagles will then continue match play on Saturday for Senior Day when senior Cody Dodd and the Tech team host Belmont in a 4 p.m. contest in the Eblen Center.
Admission is free to all regular season matches. You can also follow the Golden Eagles online on Facebook and on Twitter at @TNTechVball.
