By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
MARTIN, Tenn. – An remarkable run at the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament and incredible inaugural campaign officially came to a close for the Tennessee Tech beach volleyball team Friday in Martin, Tenn.
After picking up their second win of the league's postseason event earlier in the morning, a 3-1 victory over No. 6 seed Eastern Illinois (2-12), the No. 4 seeded Golden Eagles (8-12) fell in a hard-fought dual with No. 2 seed Chattanooga (19-14).
Completing a 3-0, season sweep of the Panthers, the purple and gold got off to a red-hot start thanks to a pair of brilliant performances out of the Nos. 4 and 5 positions to open the morning. Much like in the win over Lindenwood on Thursday, the No. 4 combo of McKenna Young and Morgan Gish set the tone early by picking up the first point of the dual.
Young and Gish rolled in straight sets over their EIU counterparts, producing wins of 21-12 and 21-14 to give Tech the 1-0 lead. Jazmine Yamilkoski and Katie DiRaimondo answered the bell in the No. 5 spot, eking out a huge, three-set win to double the advantage.
The Golden Eagle duo downed Eastern Illinois 21-14 in dominant fashion in the opening set, but couldn't quite finish things off the second, falling by a narrow, 22-20 margin. Yamilkoski and DiRaimondo dug deep in the deciding set, securing a 15-13 victory for a massive second point.
The Panthers were able to salvage a point at the No. 3 position, besting Tech's combo of Brooke Amann and Madolyn Isringhausen by scores of 21-15 and 21-10. After falling in their first set to EIU, the No. 2 TTU team of Aleeya Jones and Bella Powell answered back to give the team time to lock down its win, sprinting to a 21-11 decision to even the match-up. The pair would close the match tied at 4-4 in the third set.
Jones and Powell extended play to take pressure off the No. 1 Golden Eagle duo of Jordan Karlen and Skylar Boom, who looked spectacular on their way to a straight-sets victory to secure the Tech win. The two fought hard for a 21-18 triumph in the opener before flat-out executing like a well-oiled machined in the second set to the tune of a 21-14 victory.
The purple and gold battled to its last breath in its second dual of the day, taking in-state rival Chattanooga down to the wire in most of the match-ups. Yamilkoski and DiRaimondo rallied back from a 21-16 defeat in the opening set at the No. 5 position to force a third set behind a gutsy, 23-21 win in the second. The Mocs just edged out the pair for the point with a 15-13 decision.
Gish and Young also fell in a heart-wrenching, three-set war in the No. 4 slot, narrowly dropping its opener with UTC by a 23-21 score. The Golden Eagle combo battled back with a 21-16 win in the second set, but couldn't quite repeat the performance in the deciding meeting as Chattanooga claimed the point with a 15-9 win.
Karlen and Boom split their opening two sets at the top position, securing a 21-19 win before the Mocs squared the No. 1 match-up with a 21-16 dub. Amann and Isringhausen also finished at 1-1 prior to the end of the tilt, fighting back after a 21-19 loss in the first set to the tune of a 21-14 victory in the second. The No. 3 combo boasted a 6-3 lead before the final horn sounded.
"How could a coach be anything but proud of the effort today," Tech head coach Zach Weinberg expressed. "To be playing late into the second day of our first-ever conference tournament, in year one as a program, and to push a team as good as UTC is to the brink…what more can you say? The growth of this team all year long has been immense and there is no question in my mind we left everything we had on the sand tonight."
Chattanooga finished things off at the No. 2 position, producing wins of 21-14 and 21-15 to advance to Saturday's action.
"There is no shame in losing to a more-established team who was better than us today," Weinberg said. "I'm so proud of this team for everything it accomplished all season. What a spectacular springboard this inaugural year has been for what is to come for TTU beach volleyball. Wings Up!"
Photo courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information
