By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech beach volleyball team will get its first taste of Ohio Valley Conference action Friday and Saturday, competing in league play for the first time ever at the first of two OVC weekends.
Play will take place in Chattanooga at the UTC Sports Complex both Friday and Saturday. Tech will open its first league competition with a 9:00 a.m. CT match-up with Eastern Illinois Friday morning. The Golden Eagles will head back to the courts at 5:00 p.m. for a meeting with fellow OVC newbie Lindenwood.
"We've had a great few weeks of practice since our Berry Tournament and we couldn't be more prepared to enter our first OVC Weekend," Tech head coach Zach Weinberg expressed. "We have an exciting opportunity to test ourselves against the other two newest programs in the OVC in EIU and Lindenwood on day one, so it should be a great test for how we're progressing."
Continuing the purple and gold's first OVC test is another 9:00 a.m. affair, this time a Saturday tilt against in-state rival UT Martin. Tech will wrap up the weekend with a 5:00 p.m. contest against host and in-state foe Chattanooga.
"Day two against UTM and Chatt will be a big test for us against the preseason numbers one and two teams, but we're ready to take that challenge head-on," Weinberg explained. "We've had this weekend circled on our calendars for a long time and we're pumped we finally get to show the rest of the OVC what we're capable of."
Representing the purple and gold as the No. 1 pairing for the OVC's opening weekend are Skylar Boom and Aleeya Jones. The top Tech duo owns a 2-2 record on the year, competing in the No. 1 role in all four matches so far.
In the No. 2 range for the Golden Eagles, "Team Mojo" will look to continue its hot start to the year, as Morgan Gish and Jordan Karlen opened the inaugural tournament with a 3-1 mark. The duo worked its way up the lineup, picking up wins at the No. 4, 3, and 2 spots in that order.
The remaining four pairings for the purple and gold will feature new mixtures of the Golden Eagles competing in Chattanooga. At the No. 3 slot, Maddie Isringhausen and Brooke Amann will look to develop quick chemistry in competition.
Competing at the No. 4 position will be Jazmine Yamilkoski and Katie DiRaimondo while the No. 5 duo will consist of McKenna Young and Bella Powell. Rounding out Tech's squad for the opening OVC competition while taking part in exhibition action are Olivia Taylor and Emma Pabon.
Up Next
The Golden Eagles will head to Jefferson City for a doubleheader at in-state foe Carson-Newman on Wednesday, March. 29. The first match will kick off at 11:00 a.m. CT with the second match slated for a 1:00 p.m. start.
Photo by Jim Dillon
