By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It was an up-and-down, back-and-forth affair in the Hooper Eblen Center Friday evening as the Tennessee Tech volleyball team fell to Ohio Valley Conference foe Little Rock in a four-set thriller.
It was a match of close calls and numerous lead changes, one that saw neither side build larger than a five-point lead the entire night. Inconsistencies on the attack and at the serving line proved too costly for the Golden Eagles (16-5, 5-4) to overcome in the tilt.
The purple and gold piled up 62 kills and seven service aces, but the surge of offense wasn't enough to make up for 34 attack errors and 13 service miscues. Little Rock (13-10, 8-2) did just enough to eke out victories in the final three sets of the match, posting 47 kills with just 18 errors to go along with 11.0 blocks.
The Trojans looked well on its way to victory in the opening set, taking a five-point lead as late as 17-12. The Cookeville crew scrapped and clawed its way back, forcing a 21-21 tie before producing a 25-23 win.
Both sides waged war across the final three sets of the night, but Little Rock was able to pull away at the end of each, edging the Golden Eagles by scores of 25-22, 25-23, and 25-22.
Despite the loss, it was a night of milestones for the purple and gold, starting with senior Madolyn Isringhausen. The outside hitter racked up a career-high 26 kills on the night, tying for the third-most in a four-set match during the rally-scoring era in program history.
The Edwardsville, Ill. native also recorded the 1,500th kill of her career during the first set of the match, becoming just the third Golden Eagle in school history to reach the milestone. Isringhausen picked up her sixth double-double of the year as well, dialing up a season-high-tying 15 digs, not to mention a pair of aces and blocks.
Setter Jordan Karlen joined her teammate in reaching a big career mark, tallying the 3,000th assist in her time in the purple and gold in the fourth set. Becoming just the sixth player in school history to accomplish the feat, the junior finished the night with 50 helpers, five kills, and a career-high 23 digs for her 11th double-double on the season.
Adding to the high total of terminations on the evening, rookie Alayna Pierce produced 16 for the effort, mixing in two aces for good measure. The outside hitter added 12 digs for her fourth double-double of the year. Senior outside Brooke Amann provided a spark off the bench, turning in five kills in just over a set of action.
Senior middle blocker Elena Wallace led the team with four total blocks to go with three kills. Senior libero McKenna Young totaled 22 digs, four assists, and ace.
Tech will take on the Trojans in a rematch on Saturday evening, with match time slated for 7:00 p.m. CT in the Hoop.
Photo by Jim Dillon