By: Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—Exciting is an understatement for the Tennessee Tech volleyball (4-13, 2-2 OVC) match against Southeast Missouri (SEMO, 5-12, 1-3 OVC). The Golden Eagles took down the Redhawks in a three set thriller taking winning set scores of 25-23, 26-24, and 27-25.
"I'm really proud of us," Golden Eagle Cody Dodd said. "We worked hard together and finally finished a match."
A service ace from Shealene Little gave Tech the go-ahead 7-5 lead in the first set. SEMO got on a 5-2 run to pull ahead at 10-7. The Golden Eagles battled and tied the set at 11-11 off of a kill by Kellie Williams followed by a Redhawk attack error. From there, SEMO kept a slight edge over Tech, leading 19-16. The Golden Eagles were determined and pulled within one at 21-20 off of a kill by Williams, and then continued on a 5-2 run to close out the first set 25-23.
"We started slow," head coach Dave Zelenock commented. "We didn't really start until point 17 on, and then we got a lot more consistent. We stole that first set."
It was a tight second set. Tech and SEMO opened with a tie of 6-6, before Tech was able to create a six-point lead, 14-8. A kill by Cody Dodd extended the Golden Eagle lead to 18-14, however, the Redhawks got on the attack and battled to tie the match at 21-21. The two teams remained neck-and-neck, holding at 22-22, 23-23, and 24-24. Finally, Tech was able to take the second set 26-24, off of a kill by Shealene Little followed by a block from Dodd and Alyssa Povey.
"We had really good energy," Dodd remarked. "We came out a little dead in the beginning, but we wanted to win really bad, and we stepped up our energy and took it."
The Redhawks came out on top at the start of the third set, opening with a 9-6 lead over the Golden Eagles. However, three kills in a row by Dodd tied the set at 9-9. SEMO responded to the Tech gain, and created a five-point lead at 16-11. The Golden Eagles would not give up easily though, and Tech tied the match at 18-18 with a service ace by Jessica Oliver. The two teams fought hard against each other with no team leading the other for the remainder of the match until a Williams kill and Povey-Williams block sealed a third set and match victory 27-25.
Dodd led the Golden Eagles with 18 kills and 19 digs, her eighth double-double of the season. Sharon Anderson contributed to a Tech victory with 41 assists and 14 digs, her ninth double-double of the season, while teammate Alyssa Povey collected 10 kills and five blocks in the match. Madalyn Werths led Southeast Missouri with 13 kills.
"Sharon did well," Zelenock continued. "I liked how she responded to coaching and made better play calls further into the match. We went off in the third set and had 19 kills with a .263 hitting percentage and you can't accomplish that without a solid setter and good leadership."
The Golden Eagles will hit the road next to Nashville to compete against conference opponent Belmont on Friday, Oct. 9 in a 6 p.m. contest.
