By Nate Perry, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A Susie Jeziorowski career milestone was one of the few bright spots for Tennessee Tech in its match against Jacksonville State on Wednesday night, as the senior recorded career assist No. 2,000 in the Golden Eagles' loss.
Jeziorowski, a two-year starter from Green Lake, Wis., accomplished the feat in the second set, as she set up Rachel Thomas for her 11th assist of the evening. She finished with 28 helpers for the match, and added seven digs defensively.
Jeziorowski is now up over 1,100 assists for the season, and her per-set average (9.96) is nearly one whole assist better than her 2017 mark (9.03).
"Susie is such a great leader for our team," said coach Jeannette Waldo. "For all the things she does for us and what she means from that leadership standpoint, it was great to see her come out and accomplish that."
Thomas turned in the best offensive performance for the Golden Eagles, collecting nine kills with two errors for a .350 attack percentage, along with one service ace. The junior from Okemos Mich., who is currently eighth on the OVC list for percentage, has now posted a .350 mark or better in each of her past three matches.
Erica Grant led TTU with 11 kills, and contributed eight digs.
"We need to find a way to play relaxed," said Waldo. "When we are relaxed, our team is the best version of itself. Hopefully we can find a way to get back to that on Saturday."
While the loss obviously doesn't help Tech's (11-18, 5-10 OVC) chances of making the OVC Tournament, all is certainly not lost with the logjam of teams vying to qualify.
Tech will have an opportunity to down one of those contending teams head-to-head on Saturday afternoon when UT Martin pays a visit to Cookeville at 2 p.m., and the Golden Eagles possess tiebreaker advantages on Belmont and Eastern Illinois, two of the other teams in the race.
Saturday will also be Senior Day in the Hooper Eblen Center, as Tech's five seniors – Kirsten Brugere, Shaneice James, Jeziorowski, Shealene Little and Jessica Oliver – will be recognized with their families in a special postgame ceremony.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
