By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – It was a highly successful first day of Ohio Valley Conference competition for the Tennessee Tech beach volleyball team, as the Golden Eagles picked up their first-ever league win Friday while competing in Chattanooga.
The purple and gold rolled to its first OVC victory as a squad, besting Eastern Illinois in the first of two tilts on the day, 4-1. The Golden Eagles narrowly missed starting league play 2-0, falling to Lindenwood in the second match of the day, 3-2.
Tech's No. 1 duo of Skylar Boom and Aleeya Jones opened the day with a decisive, 2-0 win over EIU's Sylvia Hasz and Kaitlyn Flynn, jumping out to a 21-13 win in the first set. The combo held off the Panther pair in the second, winning 22-20.
Setting the stage for the match was the No. 4 combo of Jazmine Yamilkoski and Katie DiRaimondo. The two bested Kate Dean and Catalina Rochaix for the first Golden Eagle point, racking up wins of 21-14 and 21-15.
Following suit, McKenna Young and Bella Powell made it a 2-0 lead, eking out a 2-1 victory in the No. 5 slot over Ella Collins and Emily Wilcox. The Golden Eagles took the opening set 21-6, but the EIU duo tied things up with a 23-21 decision in set two. Young and Powell bounced back for an easy 15-6 win in the third set.
Clinching the Tech victory was the No. 3 team of Madolyn Isringhausen and Brooke Amann. The pair bested Christina Martinez and Lillie Amettis in straight sets, 21-16 and 21-10.
"What a great moment in winning our first-ever OVC match this morning against EIU," Tech head coach Zach Weinberg expressed. "We were very opportunistic and capitalized on big moments when we had them. On the flip side, we didn't do enough of that in the duel against Lindenwood. All in all, it was another good day in the sand and now we turn the page to two really good teams in UT Martin and Chattanooga."
In the second match of the day, Young and Powell put the Golden Eagles in good position, notching the first win at the No. 4 position with a three-set thriller over Rachel Mitts and McKenna Androsky from Lindenwood. Tech's combo won the opener 21-15 before the Lions responded with a 21-12 victory to square things. Young and Powell finished things off in the third, winnings 15-12.
After Lindenwood evened things at 1-1, Isringhausen and Amann returned Tech to the top with a victory in the No. 3 slot. The Golden Eagle group won again in straight sets, topping Amer Schuade and Elise Yorens with wins of 21-14 and 21-15.
The Lions answered with victories in the Nos. 1 and 2 positions to clinch the 3-2 win.
"It was great to see both Maddie/Brooke and Bella/McKenna go 2-0 today," Weinberg said. "Maddie and Brooke have been a budding partnership and I think their ceiling is so high as a pairing, so seeing them work as well together as they did was very encouraging for [assistant coach] Haley [DeSales] and I. Bella and McKenna gutted out two, three-set wins and the grit they showed was encouraging heading into tomorrow. We got better today, and we're excited to have another chance to do the same tomorrow."
Up Next
The Golden Eagles wrap up the first OVC weekend of competition with two more matches Saturday in Chattanooga. Tech squares off with in-state foe and league favorite UT Martin at 9:00 a.m. CT before taking on in-state rival and host Chattanooga in a 5:00 p.m. tilt.
File photo by Jim Dillon
