By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – In a tough fight to the end, the Tennessee Tech beach volleyball team fell to Lindenwood in a 3-1 decision on the first day of the Ohio Valley Conference Championships on Thursday in Chattanooga.
Competing at the UTC Beach Volleyball Courts, the No. 4-seeded Lions (13-12) edged the No. 5 Golden Eagles (4-18) in a tightly contested bout to kickstart the league tournament. Lindenwood moved on to an afternoon bout with No. 1 Chattanooga, falling 3-1.
The purple and gold will now take on No. 6 Eastern Illinois in an elimination affair on Friday morning at 11:00 a.m. CT.
The Lions jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, claiming points at the Nos. 4 and 5 positions in straight sets. Putting on their rally caps, the Golden Eagles went to work.
Tech fired back with its lone point of the match-up at the No. 3 slot, with sophomore MK Roberts and senior Aleeya Jones topping Taylor Gentemann and Abby VanBuskirk in three sets. The Golden Eagle duo cruised to a 21-12 victory in the opener.
Gentemann and VanBuskirk squared things with a 21-15 triumph in the second set, but the Roberts-Jones tandem had the final say of the duel. In set three, the Tech duo edged its Lions counterpart, 15-13.
The Cookeville crew's No. 1 combo of redshirt sophomore Jordan Karlen and senior Bella Powell kept the team's hopes alive after falling in the first set 21-10, outpacing the Lions' Abby Jacobs and Annalie McWhorter in a 26-24 marathon in set two. The pair succumbed in the finale set, 15-10.
With fate already sealed, the No. 2 duel remained unfinished, with Tech's team of senior Brooke Amann and freshman Alayna Pierce leading 1-0. The duo captured a 22-20 victory in the first set and were just a point back at 21-20 in the second set at the time of the match's conclusion.
A Tech win over Eastern Illinois on Friday would present the Golden Eagles with a second match on the day, a 3:00 p.m. CT affair against the winner of an earlier tilt between No. 3 Morehead State and Lindenwood.
Photo by Trevor Jolley
