By: Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—It was a battle in Nashville as the Tennessee Tech volleyball team (4-14, 2-3 OVC) fell to Belmont (7-9, 4-1 OVC) 3-1. The Bruins took winning sets over the Golden Eagles of 17-25, 25-19, 25-16, and 28-26.
"I thought we played well." Golden Eagle Sharon Anderson said. "We played with high intensity and energy, we just need to work on putting all the pieces together at the end."
The first set started off close between Tech and Belmont. A tie of 6-6 opened match play, however, the Golden Eagles pulled ahead by two, 8-6, off of kills from K'Vonna Johnson and Alyssa Povey. From there, the set remained tight between the two teams, Tech holding the slight edge at 12-10. The Bruins battled back and tied the game at 15-15, causing the Golden Eagles to take a timeout. Bruins errors and kills from Johnson and Povey allowed Tech to take the lead again at 20-16. The Golden Eagles continued to hold strong and sailed to a first set victory 25-17.
"They took us lightly the first set," head coach Dave Zelenock said. "Their sercing was not as good as it normally is and we took advantage of it."
It was a tight second set. Cody Dodd got her 1,000th career kill to open the set with a tie at 2-2. The two teams persisted as each team battled to maintain control. Tech went on a 3-0 run to pull ahead 10-7, pushing Belmont to break for a timeout. The Golden Eagles continued to expand their lead to 13-10 off of a Dodd kill, however, the Bruins pursued and came within one at 14-13, and then tie the set at 16-16. After a Tech timeout, Belmont came out battling and took their first lead of the seat at 17-16. The Bruins continued pull ahead and went on a 4-2 run to bring the score to 21-18, and then close out the second set with a 25-19 victory.
Belmont took the early 6-3 lead in the third set. Tech came back to tie the set at 6-6, however, the Bruins remained unaffected and pulled ahead of the Golden Eagles 10-7. Belmont remained dominant and took a four-point leads at 14-10 and 16-12. From there, the Bruins went on a 9-4 run to close out the third 25-16.
A 6-4 Tech lead opened the fourth set. Belmont then came back to tie the set at 7-7. The Golden Eagles held a slight edge in control at 11-9, however, the Bruins kept close and tied the game again at 11-11 and then created their own lead at 15-12. Belmont held strong and extended their lead to 17-15 over Tech. The Golden Eagles did not give up easily and tied the game at 18-18 to then take a lead at 20-19. Belmont and Tech battled for control and held ties at 20-20 and 21-21. After a Golden Eagle timeout, the Bruins got on the attack and pulled ahead 23-21. Tech quickly responded and tied the set at 24-24, forcing Belmont to take a timeout. However, the Bruins held on and edged a 28-26 set win over the Golden Eagles, closing out the match 3-1.
"Cody and Sharon are good players," Zelenock continued. "It's really impressive the numbers they put up in such a short amount of time because they were really only starters for the last two years."
Dodd led the Tech with 13 kills, 10 digs and three blocks. Anderson collected 32 assists and 13 digs, while also capturing her 2,000th career assist in the match. Arianna Person led Belmont with 18 kills, 19 digs and 3 service aces.
"Tennessee State is one of the most emotional teams in the OVC," Zelenock remarked. "Their highs are really high and they are a really athletic team. We just have to weather the storm and we will be fine."
The Golden Eagles continue match play Saturday when they take on the Tennessee State Tigers in a 2 p.m. contest in Nashville.
