By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Yet another match-up between the Tennessee Tech beach volleyball team and Morehead State saw all five scoring duals reach a third set, as the No. 4 seeded Eagles topped the No. 5 Golden Eagles in the first tilt of the Ohio Valley Conference Championships Thursday morning at Giovanni's Breadstick Beach in Morehead, Ky.
The two programs split their regular-season series on the year, with both meetings occurring in Cookeville. Tech took the first by a 3-2 score while Morehead answered back to take the second match 3-2.
Earning another contest against each other to open the league's postseason event, it was a war from the very beginning. Morehead picked up first-set wins at both the No. 4 and No. 5 slots, but the purple and gold answered back.
At No. 5, Ava Schubert and McKenna Young avenged a 21-16 loss in the first set to eke out a 21-19 decision in the second to force a decisive third. The Eagles' Amelia Nott and Courtney Fitzgerald earned the first point of the match, besting Schubert and Young 15-9.
Fighting back after a 21-15 defeat in their opening bout with Brenna Bommer and Lily-Kate Carver at the No. 4 position, Jazmine Yamilkoski and Katie DiRaimondo produced an awesome 23-21 victory in the second set to even things up. The two fell in a heart-breaking third game, 17-15.
Morehead State took the first set at the No. 3 spot while the Golden Eagles picked up wins at both No. 1 and No. 2 in the first game. Brooke Amann and Aleeya Jones responded from a 21-14 loss to Peighton Isley and M.E. Hargan at the 3s, firing off a 21-18 triumph to force a third tilt.
Skylar Boom and MK Roberts claimed a 23-21 opening-set win at the No. 2 pairing over Irene Wogenstahl and Shea Hefner, but were upended in the second, 21-19. The All-OVC Second Team pair of Bella Powell and Madolyn Isringhausen topped Sydney Wyman and Bella Marita in their first dual, 21-19, but were narrowly edged in the second by a score of 27-25.
Amann and Jones appeared ready to earn Tech its first point in the third set at the No. 3 slot, but a late rally by the Eagles resulted in a 16-14 decision and a 3-0 win for Morehead State. The duals at both No. 1 and No. 2 were officially recorded as unfinished.
"Today was exactly what we thought it would be," Tech head coach Zach Weinberg said, "an absolute battle filled with three-setters. We had opportunities to close out matches that we let slide, and you don't get second chances from good teams. Thankfully, we have another opportunity in the morning to advance in this tournament and I hope that we come out ready to embrace that challenge."
Tech will look to keep its 2024 season alive Friday morning, squaring off with the loser between Chattanooga and Lindenwood (the two play at 3:00 p.m. CT Friday afternoon) in an elimination match-up at 11:00 a.m. CT.
Photo by Brad Laux, Morehead State
