By Layne Weitzel, TTU Sports Information
CHARLESTON, Ill. – Tennessee Tech volleyball will make its way to Illinois this weekend to face a pair of northern Ohio Valley Conference teams in Eastern Illinois and SIUE.
Tech will take on Eastern Illinois at Lantz Arena on Friday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. CT and will move on to the Sam M. Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville for SIUE on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 2 p.m. CT.
The Golden Eagles defeated Eastern Illinois last season 3-2 and fell to SIUE in three sets, with both matches being held in Cookeville.
Tech and SIUE have only met seven times since the Cougars joined the OVC. The Golden Eagles hold a 4-3 series advantage. Eastern Illinois leads Tech 22-17 all-time.
Tennessee Tech is coming off a weekend in which libero Kirsten Brugere was named Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week after collecting 49 digs in two matches. Her average of 5.03 digs per set in conference play ranks third of all OVC players. Against Murray State, Brugere totaled a career-high 29 digs.
- 2016 overall record: 5-26
- 2016 OVC record: 2-14
- Predicted 2017 OVC finish: 11th/12 teams
- Notables: Junior OH/S Taylor Smith leads NCAA Division I with five triple-doubles, recording her fifth last week (10 kills, 31 assists and 16 digs) against Eastern Kentucky. She currently ranks fifth in hitting percentage (.306) and eighth in assists per set (6.07) out of all OVC players in conference action.
- 2016 overall record: 22-8
- 2016 OVC record: 13-3 (fell to No. 1 seed Murray State 3-2 in the OVC Tournament championship)
- Predicted 2017 OVC finish: 3rd/12 teams
- Notables: SIUE is currently riding a six-match winning streak (the longest in the conference) and has also won seven-straight matches at home. The Cougars match up well statistically with the top teams in NCAA Division I, ranking 18th nationally in opponent hitting percentage (.159) and 20th in digs per set (17.42).
