By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information
vs. SIUE and Eastern Illinois Match Notes
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Tech volleyball team (6-15, 2-6 OVC) returns home on Homecoming weekend to host OVC opponents SIUE (13-6, 6-2 OVC) and Eastern Illinois (4-19, 1-7 OVC). The Golden Eagles kickoff their weekend matchups on Friday with a 7 p.m. contest versus the Cougars, and then close out Homecoming action on Saturday with a 5:30 p.m. contest versus the Panthers in the Hooper Eblen Center.
Not only is this weekend Homecoming for the Golden Eagles, but it is also "Dig Pink" for the Tennessee Tech volleyball team. The Purple and Gold squad is raising funds for the "Sideout Foundation," which will be put towards clinical research for stage 4 breast cancer. The Golden Eagles hope to raise $1,500 for the "Sideout Foundation." You can help the Tech team reach their goal by donating here.
Most recently, Tech went 0-2 in last weekend's road action. The Golden Eagles fell at Murray State and Austin Peay (who are both tied for first in conference play) by a 3-0 margin.
The Golden Eagles lead the series over the Cougars 4-2.
Tech and SIUE last faced in the 2015 season when the Golden Eagles defeated the Cougars in five sets (3-2). The Purple and Gold squad saw winning set scores of 25-17, 19-25, 20-25, 25-21, and 15-7.
Former Tech standout Cody Dodd led Tech with 20 kills and 21 digs in the contest. Sharon Anderson tallied 51 assists and 12 digs, while teammates Kellie Williams added 18 kills and Shealene Little posted 11 kills.
Kristen Torre led SIUE with 16 kills and a .316 hitting percentage. Mallory Magnun totaled 47 assists and seven digs in the match, while teammates Katie Shashack added 24 digs and Ashley Witt tallied 13 kills and seven digs.
As a team, the Golden Eagles hit .263 to the Cougar's .224. Tech totaled 56 assists, 66 digs, six service aces, and 8.0 blocks in the match to SIUE's 54 assists, 61 digs, one service ace, and 7.0 blocks.
The Panthers lead the series over the Golden Eagles 25-16.
Tech and Eastern Illinois faced twice in the 2015 season, once in regular season play and once in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
The Panthers defeated the Golden Eagles in the regular season, 3-0, however, Tech saw success in the OVC Tournament; defeating No. 3 Illinois in five sets (3-2) as a six-seed to knock the Panthers out of the tournament.
In their first meeting in the regular season, Dodd led the Golden Eagles with 17 kills, while teammate Anderson totaled 26 assists.
Kayla Nesbitt led the Panthers with 11 kills, while teammate Allie Hueston posted 10 kills and a .500 hitting percentage.
As a team, EIU hit .340 to Tech's .132. The Panthers totaled 40 assists, 51 digs, and 7.0 blocks in the match to the Golden Eagle's 28 assists, 34 digs, and 3.0 blocks.
In OVC Tourney action, Williams led Tech with 19 kills, while Dodd posted 16 kills and 21 digs.
Five Eastern Illinois players posted double-digit kills in the contest including: Hueston (14), Abby Saalfrank (13), Josie Winner (12), Chelsea Lee (11), and Nesbitt (10).
As a team, the Golden Eagles hit .204 to the Panthers'.182. Both teams posted 99 digs in the match, and Eastern Illinois totaled 65 assists and 11.0 blocks to Tech's 62 assists and 10.0 blocks.
Shealene Little continues to lead the Golden Eagles this season with 181.5 points on the year. Little averages 2.67 kills per set and hits .138 on the season.
Sophomore Shaneice James is a key player on the Tech squad, leading not only the Golden Eagles, but also the conference in hitting percentage with a .325 mark on the year. James' averages 1.76 kills per set and is Tech's third leading blocker with 27 thus far this season.
Senior setter Sharon Anderson's 9.48 assists per set ranks her fourth amongst OVC opponents thus far this year. Anderson leads the Golden Eagles with 673 assists on the year, and is second in digs with 214 (3.01 per set).
Senior Kennedy Wade leads the Golden Eagles in digs with 331 on the year. Wade's 4.36 digs per set marks her fifth in the OVC.
Senior Alyssa Povey is another key player on the Tech team, serving as a threat both offensive and defensively. Povey currently stands as the Golden Eagle's leading blocker with 52 on the year, and is also Tech's fourth leading attacker with 133 total kills.
Newcomer Rachel Thomas continues to make a name for herself on the Golden Eagle squad. Thomas is Tech's second leading blocker with 33 on the year, and she also serves as the Golden Eagle's second leading attacker with 157 total kills.
As a team, the Golden Eagles currently hit .150 on the season. Tech has tallied 877 kills, 826 assists, 1,307 digs, and 96.0 blocks on the year.
Amongst Ohio Valley Conference teams, the Golden Eagles rank first in digs (17.20 per set); ninth in service aces (1.01 per set); 11th in hitting percentage (.150), assists (10.87 per set), and kills (11.54 per set); and 12th in blocks (1.26 per set).
SIUE ranks second in assists (11.99 per set) and digs (16.99 per set) in the OVC. The Cougars also rank fourth in kills (12.75 per set) and blocks (2.21 per set); fifth in hitting percentage (.192), and sixth in service aces (1.20).
Taylor Joens leads SIUE with 205 kills this season, while tying for second in blocks with 60. Mallory Magnun is another key player on the Cougar lineup with 443 assists (5.83 per set) to lead SIUE and 222 digs (2.92 per set) (second best on team) on the year.
Eastern Illinois ranks second in blocks (2.41 per set); eighth in digs (14.42 per set); 10th in service aces (0.98); and 12th in hitting percentage (.149), assists (9.16 per set), and kills (9.76 per set).
Maria Brown leads the Panthers with 186 kills (2.16 per set) on the season, while ranking second in digs with 238 (2.77 per set). Gina Furlin and Taylor Smith are two other key players on the Eastern Illinois squad this year. Furlin currently leads the Panthers with 346 assists on the year, while also tallying 133 digs. Smith has posted 327 assists (second highest on team), while also notching 205 digs (third best on team).
You can follow the Golden Eagles online on the TTU Sports and Tennessee Tech Women's Volleyball Facebook pages or on Twitter at @TTUGoldenEagles and @TNTechVball.
Photo by Jim Dillon
