COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - This upcoming weekend is important to the Tennessee Tech volleyball team for more reasons than one. Not only will the Golden Eagles be hosting Dig Pink night on Friday to raise money for breast cancer research and recognizing their three seniors for Senior Day on Saturday, but Tech is also seeking to guarantee itself a spot in the OVC tournament.
With four conference matches remaining in the regular season, including two this weekend, the Golden Eagles need two wins to punch their ticket to the OVC tournament. Tech is currently tied for fourth place in the conference with Murray State. Both teams have an 8-6 record and sit behind Jacksonville State, Austin Peay and Morehead State. The top six teams in the conference advance to the postseason.
Tech (9-14, 8-6 OVC) will face off against Tennessee State (3-22, 2-11 OVC) on Friday night at the Eblen Center having won its last four home matches. The Golden Eagles, who defeated the Tigers in five sets earlier this season, will look to add to TSU's five-match losing streak. Tennessee State is currently in ninth place in the conference.
On Saturday, Tech will honor its three seniors - Teresa Craig, Katie Kenline and Amanda Lindgren - following the match, but beforehand, the Golden Eagles will look to avenge its loss to Austin Peay (19-7, 12-2 OVC) earlier this season. The Lady Govs have lost just twice in the OVC this season and feature four-time OVC Offensive Player of the Week, Stephanie Champine.
As Tech looks to pick up two wins this weekend, several Golden Eagles are approaching milestones in their careers. Junior Leah Meffert is eight digs away from 1,000 in her career, and she can become just the ninth player in Tech history to amass 1,000 digs and 1,000 kills in a career. The Louisville, Ky., native has already surpassed 1,000 kills in her career and currently stands at 1,248.
Senior Amanda Lindgren needs just 14 kills to move into third place on the career kills list at Tech. The outside hitter recently moved into fourth place following a 13 kill performance against UT Martin. In addition, Lindgren can join Meffert in the 1,000/1,000 club with 53 more digs. The Albuquerque, N.M., native currently has 1,375 kills and 947 digs in her career.
Lindgren's fellow senior, Katie Kenline, has been moving up the OVC career digs list all season, and she is now in second place. Kenline, who won the OVC Defensive Player of the Year award last season, has tallied 2,339 digs in her three-plus seasons at Tech and needs 116 more saves to take over the top spot in OVC history. The libero leads the team this season with 454 digs.
The Golden Eagles will take on Tennessee State on Friday beginning at 7 p.m. before facing Austin Peay on Saturday at 2 p.m. Admission is free to both matches.
