By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
MURRAY, Ky. – A first-set victory just wasn't enough for the Tennessee Tech volleyball team Saturday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles (10-10, 5-4) fell on the road to Ohio Valley Conference rival Murray State (10-9, 4-5) by a final score of 3-1 (24-26, 25-16, 25-22, 25-16).
The purple and gold fought back-and-forth with the Racers in the opener, with both sides holding their own lead. The home squad looked at set point with a 24-23 advantage, but the Golden Eagles used their defense to flip the script. Tech turned in three straight blocks, with Skylar Boom and Morgan Gish teaming up for the final two to earn a 26-24 win.
Murray State answered in the second set, breaking away from a 9-8 lead and turning it into 15-9 advantage. The Racers kept the distance the remainder of the way pulling away for a 25-16 victory to even the match at 1-1.
The Racers edged out front slowly in the third set, taking as much as a 23-17 lead and looking well on their way to another win. Tech clawed back, however, taking the next two points before Murray made it a 24-19 advantage.
The Golden Eagles scored three straight, forcing a timeout by the home squad, but the Racers came out of the break and collected the final kill to take the set 25-22. In set four, it was Murray State breaking a tie towards the middle of action, a 9-9 stalemate, and pulling away. The Racers capped 3-1 victory by winning the set, 25-16.
Gish delivered her top showing in the purple and gold, racking up a career-high 14 kills with zero errors for a mind-blowing .636 attack percentage. She also tied her career-best mark of six block assists.
Boom also put forth a career effort, tying her personal and season-best total of eight total blocks as part of the team's 12 rejections. Adding 10 kills to the mix for the purple and gold was redshirt sophomore Madeline Furtado, collecting her first double-double with a career-high-tying 12 digs.
Libero McKenna Young led the Golden Eagles with 13 digs while Ashley Hand quarterbacked the offense with 36 assists and a pair of blocks. Middle blocker Taylor Dorsey recorded seven kills and four block assists.
Tech will return to Cookeville for a pair of OVC matches against Southeast Missouri on Friday, Oct. 22 and Saturday, Oct. 23. Friday's match will kick off at 6:00 p.m. while the Saturday tilt will feature a 7:00 p.m. start following the Golden Eagle football game against Virginia-Lynchburg.
File photo by Jim Dillon