By Jocelyn VerVelde, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
MURRAY, Ky. – It only made sense. In a match between the fourth seed and the fifth seed, two teams who split the regular season matches, a five set nail-biter just made sense. It fit the bill.
Fifth-seed Tennessee Tech fought from down two sets to none, to take down fourth-seed Jacksonville State on Thursday night, 3-2; 17-25, 12-25, 25-19, 25-16, 17-15.
Whether it was the new experience of playing in the Ohio Valley Conference for the first time, or it was just nerves, the Golden Eagles came out flat against the Gamecocks, unable to find a rhyme or reason to the way they were playing.
In the opener, Tech took a 4-3 lead, but that was the last one they would have in that set. An eight point service run from JSU's outside, Emily Rutherford began the separation, giving the Gamecocks a 10-4 advantage. Tech had just six kills and hit .000 in the set, while JSU put down 11 kills, adding three service aces and two blocks.
The second set was controlled by the Gamecocks once again, as Tech could never get a handle on what JSU was bringing to the table. Tech managed eight kills in the set; however 12 hitting errors buried the Golden Eagles. JSU put away 11 once again, while tallying seven blocks in the second set alone.
Things looked bleak for the Golden Eagles heading into the intermission.
Senior Courtney Smith looked head coach Dave Zelenock in the eyes and said, "Don't say anything, we got this."
Then things changed.
The Golden Eagles shook of the jitters that held them captive in the first two sets, and along with some line-up changes, Tech started playing the type of volleyball that had gotten them to this point of the season in the first place.
Tech took a 3-0 lead to open the match, and never looked back. Three JSU errors in four plays forced the Gamecocks to call a time out as the Golden Eagles led 11-6. The timeout proved helpful as slowly, but surely JSU crawled back into the game, creeping within one point of Tech, 17-16. Two kills from senior Madison Keyes and a kill from All-OVC selection Cody Dodd, forced the Gamecocks to call another time out, this time at 22-19, TTU. Following the timeout, JSU was forced into three hitting errors, two of which were caused by the hands of freshman Jordan Wachowiak's block. Wachowiak, one of the key substitutions in the match, paired up with fellow freshman Kellie Williams on one, while closing out the set by pairing up with Dodd on the other.
Offense powered the Golden Eagles through set four. Wachowiak and Williams were flawless in the set, as was senior Madison Keyes. Wachowiak was set six times; putting away five, while not committing an error. Williams put down four of eight attempts, while Keyes put away three of eight. Dodd added four kills in the set as well. The Golden Eagles as a whole put away 17 kills, while committing just two errors for an impressive clip of .441 for the set. They held the Gamecocks to just 10 kills on a clip of .152.
In the fifth and deciding set, TTU and JSU went back and forth, trying to gain an advantage in the all-important set. JSU was the first to gain the lead, behind back-to-back kills from Rutherford and freshman Charis Ludtke, to lead 13-9. A kill from Keyes and a service ace from sophomore Sharon Anderson forced the Gamecocks to call a timeout at 13-11.
With the score 15-14 in JSU's favor, Anderson dished the ball to Dodd, the offensive leader all season, and she did not disappoint. Dodd scored on a deep shot that was ruled in to tie the set at 15. Dodd and Wachowiak teamed up to shut down JSU with a thunderous block, and an Gamecock hitting error closed out the set and match, 17-15, TTU.
Dodd led the Golden Eagles with 18 kills, adding 13 digs for her 12th double-double of the season. She also added a team-high four blocks. Keyes put way a career-best 13 kills on a clip of .400, adding two blocks and two digs. Williams added 11 kills and a team-high four blocks, while Wachowiak added eight kills on a team-high clip of .438. She also added four blocks.
Anderson dished out 49 assists and scooped up 11 digs for her 13th double-double, while senior libero Courtney Smith corralled 24 digs.
JSU saw Rutherford put down 16 kills, adding 17 digs and five aces. Freshmen Charis Ludtke and Allyson Zuhlke added 12 and 11, respectively. Setter Jennifer Hart dished out 42 assists, and libero Hannah Kirk scooped up a match-high 26 digs.
Tech returns to the court tomorrow to face No. 1 Murray State at 7 p.m. in Racer Arena on the campus of Murray State.
