By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
CHARLESTON, Ill. – It was a five-set heartbreaker for the Tennessee Tech volleyball team Monday evening, as the No. 3-seeded Lindenwood Lions bested the No. 6-seeded Golden Eagles in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, 3-2, at Lantz arena in Charleston, Ill.
It seemed only fitting that Tech's final match of the 2023 campaign, particularly one against a league foe, would end in five sets. Of the team's 19 tilts with OVC competition on the season, a whopping nine reached a fifth set.
The purple and gold seemed to set the tone early in the opening set of the night, hitting a smooth .364 with 17 kills on the way to a 25-20 win. The Cookeville crew held the Lions to just 10 kills in the set as well. A close battle for much of the game, Tech broke an 18-18 tie with a 5-0 run and never looked back.
Lindenwood controlled things for most of the second set, taking over after an early 3-0 lead by the Golden Eagles. The squad from St. Charles, Mo. pushed out front by six midway through and kept that advantage at the end, evening the match with a 25-19 win.
Tech looked to take a 2-1 lead, building a as much as five-point lead at 18-13. Lindenwood flipped the script with a 6-0 run, taking the lead and never allowing the Golden Eagles to move back on top in the set again. The Lions claimed a nail-biter, 26-24.
In set four, it appeared that the Lions were well on their way to another victory, topping Tech by four at 18-14. The purple and gold scratched and clawed its way back into contention tying things at 20-20. After the Lions took a 23-21 advantage, the Golden Eagles answered with four straight points, picking up the 25-23 victory to force another fifth set for the year.
The Lions jumped out the gates and immediately crafted a 4-0 lead, one that would hold up until the very end. Tech closed to within a point, but could never quite reach the top, eventually falling to Lindenwood 15-10 in the finale.
Junior outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen led Tech with 15 kills on the night, hitting .220 with three blocks. She also added 10 digs to post her 15th double-double of the season. Fellow junior outside Bella Powell added 13 kills and 11 digs to the mix for another Golden Eagle double-double.
Competing in her final match in the purple and gold, graduate middle blocker Skylar Boom chalked up 11 kills on an impressive .455 attack with three more blocks. The Louisville native ended her Tech career ranked sixth on the program's all-time charts for both block assists and total blocks, as well as 10th in solo rejections.
Sophomore setter Jordan Karlen totaled 49 assists to lead the match while also contributing five digs and two blocks. Rookie right side Ava Schubert tallied 10 kills and four digs while junior middle Emma Pabon tacked on seven terminations and five blocks.
Photo by Dominic Baima
