By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
BOONE, N.C. – The Tennessee Tech volleyball team was quick to pick up its first victory of the 2023 campaign, racking up a 3-0 win over Bellarmine Friday morning on the opening day of the Mountaineer Classic in Boone, N.C. The Golden Eagles concluded the first day of play at the Holmes Convocation Center 1-1 overall, falling to William & Mary in a 3-2 thriller in the afternoon.
Tech got right after it in the first tilt of the day, setting the tone early with a 25-23 victory in the opening set with Madolyn Isringhausen kicking things off with a kill for the first point of the year. The purple and gold trailed just twice in the opening game and started to pull away late with a four-point lead at 21-17.
Bellarmine made things interesting, fighting back to square the contest at 22-22, but the Golden Eagles outlasted the Knights down the stretch to take the advantage. Both sides struggled offensively in the second stanza, recording negative attack percentages.
Relying on a solid showing at the net and a strong presence at the service line, the purple and gold came out on top in a 25-19 decision. Tech racked up four aces and three blocks to move up 2-0 in the match, outscoring Bellarmine 12-4 down the stretch.
The Golden Eagle offense leaped to the task in the third and final set, accounting for 17 kills in a 25-20 win. The unit was efficient, hitting .364 with just five errors to provide the team's first season-opening victory since 2019.
Isringhausen put together a spectacular showing in the first action of her junior campaign, leading the match with 13 kills while hitting a robust .381 for the match. She added a pair of aces and six digs to the mix while racking up 15.5 points.
Rookie Ava Schubert dazzled across the board in her collegiate debut, ranking second on the squad with seven terminations on a .250 attack percentage. The right side also contributed a team-high three aces and totaled four blocks to finish with 12.5 points.
The reigning Ohio Valley Conference Setter and Freshman of the Year, Jordan Karlen, distributed the ball well on the day, accounting for 27 assists to go along with six digs. Graduate middle blocker Skylar Boom added four blocks and six kills to the Tech effort while junior libero McKenna Young turned in a team-high 14 digs.
The purple and gold battled valiantly with William & Mary in the second match of the day, eventually falling to The Tribe 3-2. Tech claimed the opening set, 25-18, leading by as many as nine points while piling up 11 kills, three aces, and a block.
William & Mary bounced back in set two, exploding for a 25-15 win behind an efficient attack that turned in 12 terminations. The Golden Eagles fought hard in set three, eventually turning a one-point advantage at 11-10 into a decisive 25-17 win.
Once again, The Tribe had a direct answer to the purple and gold, knotting things up at 2-2 behind a 25-10 decision in set four. Set five was an absolute war between the two sides, with both squads deadlocked at 10 points late. William & Mary closed the match on a 5-0 run to take a 15-10 win in the set and 3-2 victory in the match.
Isringhausen led Tech's offensive effort again, contributing team highs of 12 kills, four aces, and 16.0 digs. Piling up 10 digs as well, she posted her first double-double of the season.
Karlen also notched her first double-double of the year, tallying 36 assists with 13 digs. Young boasted a match-high 20 digs to lead the defense while fellow junior Aleeya Jones tacked on 12 digs of her own.
Boom hit .250 with nine terminations while adding two solo rejections. Ayanna Rodgers posted six kills on .333 efficiency, assisting on a pair of blocks. Schubert recorded seven kills and two more blocks to continue her solid first day of action as a Golden Eagle.
The Golden Eagles will wrap up action at the Mountaineer Classic Saturday afternoon, matching up against tournament host App State in a 12:30 p.m. CT contest.
File photo by Jim Dillon
