By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Another relatively efficient day at work propelled the Tennessee Tech volleyball team to its third straight win and second sweep in a row, as the Golden Eagles downed the visiting Cougars of SIUE, 3-0, at the Hooper Eblen Center Saturday afternoon.
Less than 24 hours after hitting a robust .318 as a unit in Friday's 3-0 sweep of the Cougars (10-10, 5-4), the Golden Eagles (9-12, 6-3) made their opportunities count again on Saturday. Tech hit .272 while piling up 39 kills and six blocks.
The purple and gold established its dominance early in the opening set, never allowing SIUE to take a lead of its own and breaking the final tie of the first at 3-3. From that point on, Tech methodically took care of business, expanding the advantage out to as much as 10 points on the way to a 25-17 win.
It took a little bit of everything to secure the first set win, including 11 kills, four aces, three blocks, and nine attack errors from the Cougars.
In set two, SIUE put together a significantly larger fight, even taking the lead as late as 17-15 with three straight points. A timely break called by Tech head coach Jeannette Phillips allowed the Golden Eagle to refocus and tie things back up almost immediately. Trading points to a 19-19 stalemate, the purple and gold broke away late, turning in a 25-20 victory.
The Cougars looked to force a fourth set on the day, taking their largest lead of the day in the third at 14-10. Tech simply chipped away at the deficit, tying the score multiple times before finally seizing control once more at 22-21 after an unsuccessful challenge by SIUE.
Looking for a 24-22 lead on a critical point, middle blocker Taylor Dorsey's attack was ruled out initially before being overturned on a Golden Eagle challenge. The kill allowed outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen send home the exclamation point with a monster kill of her own for the 25-22 win.
Middle blocker Skylar Boom was just about unstoppable on the attack for the purple and gold, tallying a match-high 12 kills without a single attack error. She hit an eye-popping .545 while racking up four total blocks as well. Dorsey chipped in nine terminations and a pair of rejections while hitting .368.
Isringhausen enjoyed another strong showing, hitting .310 with 11 kills and seven digs. Libero McKenna Young led the match with three service aces while collecting 13 more digs. She now sits just 22 away from 1,000 for her career.
Rookie setter Jordan Karlen was spectacular again for the Golden Eagles, distributing 36 assists for the second straight match. She also secured six digs. Outside Brooke Amann littered the box score during the day, totaling three kills, an ace, 13 digs, and three blocks.
The Golden Eagles head back out on the road for a pair of tilts in Cape Girardeau, Mo. against Southeast Missouri next weekend. The two teams will square off in a 6:00 p.m. CT match on Friday, Oct. 21 and follow with a 2:00 p.m. affair Saturday, Oct. 22.
Photo by Jim Dillon