By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
MURRAY, Ky. – The Tennessee Tech volleyball team lost its first Ohio Valley Conference road match of the season Friday evening, falling to longtime rival Murray State 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-21) at Racer Arena.
The Racers came out firing in the match, hitting .308 and making it tough for the Golden Eagles to keep pace throughout the night. Tech did record 9.5 blocks as a team, but the Murray State offense proved just too hot in the match.
The purple and gold got off to a fast start in the first set, jumping out by as much as seven points at 14-7. The home team answered back, however, settling in and squaring things at 19-19. Murray State went on to post a 6-2 run to take the opening set, 25-21.
The two sides fought back-and-forth in the second set, tying things at 10-10. The Racers entered another gear from that point, producing a 6-0 run to gather the distance from Tech necessary to take a 2-0 lead in the match. Murray won the game, 25-18.
The Golden Eagles nearly erased a late, four-point deficit in the third set, pulling to within one point at 19-18. Murray State held off the charge, however, taking the set 25-21 to win the match 3-0.
Leading the offense for the Tech squad in the match was outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen, posting 11 kills on a .286 attack percentage. She added four digs and three blocks to the mix, finishing with a team-high 13.5 points.
On the defensive side of the ball, middle blocker Skylar Boom paced the Golden Eagles with six block assists, chipping in four kills on offense. Libero McKenna Young totaled a team-high 11 digs while adding one of Tech's five service aces.
Tech will square off with the Racers one more time Saturday afternoon in a 2:00 p.m. tilt in Murray, Ky.
File photo by Jim Dillon