By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Another strong, team effort was more than enough for the Tennessee Tech volleyball team to secure its fourth straight victory Thursday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles delivered a 3-0 sweep over Ohio Valley Conference foe Southern Indiana in the Hooper Eblen Center.
With the win over the visiting Screaming Eagles (8-19, 3-12), the 2024 squad became the first Golden Eagle team (20-7, 9-6) to rack up 20 wins in a season since the 1998 crew that finished 22-7. Tech head coach Jeannette Phillips earned win No. 99 for her career on the day, putting her just one away from becoming the fourth leader of the program to reach triple digits.
The offense was humming during the contest, accounting for a whopping 52 kills and seven aces across the three sets, all while smashing at a .279 clip. The efficiency was particularly impressive in the opening set, with the Cookeville crew racking up 15 kills on a .364 attack and an eye-popping .900 sideout percentage on the way to a dominant, 25-10 win.
Set two saw the purple and gold explode and out-execute the Screaming Eagles, compiling 19 terminations and a .325 hitting percentage. USI managed 15 kills in the set after supplying just five in the opener, but it wasn't enough to stop Tech from taking a 2-0 lead behind a 25-21 win.
Tech closed things out in set three, overcoming nine attack errors by landing 18 kills and pulling away late. The Golden Eagles snapped a 22-22 tie to close the day with three straight points and a 25-22 win.
Fresh off of receiving her sixth OVC Offensive Player of the Week honor and becoming the first Golden Eagle in program history to capture AVCA/GameChanger Division I National Player of the Week honors, senior Madolyn Isringhausen lived up to her new, lofty expectations. The outside hitter delivered a match-high 17 kills with two service aces, seven digs, a block, and a .289 attack percentage.
The Edwardsville, Ill. native continued her climb up the OVC career charts, passing Morehead State's Missy Abbott (1993-96) for 12th on the league's all-time kills leaderboard, sporting 1,643. She also currently ranks 11th with 4,525 attempts over her five-year career.
Fellow senior McKenna Young flirted with Tech history on the night, racking up a match-high 16 digs to go along with five assists and an ace. The libero finished just two scoops shy of becoming just the second Golden Eagle in program history to reach 2,000 for a career, however, the Murfreesboro native did soar into 15th place on the OVC's career rankings for digs, passing Murray State's Kim Koehler (1987-90) with 1,998.
Young still cemented her name among the Golden Eagle record books in a different category, tying her former teammate Taylor Dorsey for the most sets played in program history with 504.
Literally setting the tone on the night for the purple and gold, junior setter Jordan Karlen dished out 41 assists with 12 digs, recording her 16th double-double of the year. The Janesville, Wis. native flirted with a triple-double for the second match in a row, delivering six kills on just eight attempts.
Joining the attack effort for the Golden Eagles, senior outside Bella Powell contributed nine kills while hitting .400 on the night, mixing in three digs and a block. Rookie outside Alayna Pierce matched the veterans total with nine terminations of her own, just missing a double-double with 11 digs.
For the final time in the 2024 campaign, the Golden Eagles will take the court in the Hoop on Friday evening with a rematch against Southern Indiana at 6:00 p.m. CT.
Photo by Jim Dillon