By: Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information Coordinator

COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Tech volleyball team (6-18, 4-7) opened Halloween weekend play with a strong victory over Austin Peay (6-20, 1-10 OVC) in a three-set shut down. The Golden Eagles took winning set scores of 25-20, 25-17, and 25-21 over the Governors.

"It's always great to get the win anytime," head coach Dave Zelenock said. "But it's even better when it's at home. The girls get really pumped up and like to put on a show for their fans and friends."

A kill by Shaneice James opened up match play between Tech and Austin Peay (1-0). The Golden Eagles then took the go-ahead 6-5 lead with a kill by senior, Cody Dodd. Tech got down a bit after that as Austin Peay took a three-point lead at 13-10, however, the Golden Eagles sprang right back into action and went on a 6-0 run to pull ahead 16-13. The Governors fought hard to recover their deficit and pulled within two points with a kill from Austin Peay's Kelly Ferguson at 18-16, and then cut the lead to one at 21-20 with a Tech attack error. The Golden Eagles remained strong, going on a four-point run to close out the first set 25-20.

"It feels really good to get the win," Golden Eagle Cody Dodd said. "We really capitalized on Austin Peay and played really well and really focused on playing together."

Into the second, the Tech team continued to prosper opening with an 8-3 lead to start. A kill from Dodd expanded the Golden Eagle lead to 12-7. Tech then took advantage of an Austin Peay lull and extended their lead to eight-points (17-9) with a kill from Shealene Little. After that, the Golden Eagles continued to capitalize and took a 20-12 lead before cruising to a second set victory 25-17 over the Governors.

"We've had a lot of injuries," Zelenock remarked. "We are rotating between three outsides, so now it's just the matter of who can go now. We aren't too deep in players, but we have some room to work with."

Tech continued to come out fighting into the third taking a commanding 11-4 lead to open the set. The Golden Eagles then extended their lead to 18-12 with a kill from Dodd. The Governors would not give up easily and went on a four-point run to then pull within two of Tech at 18-16, causing the Golden Eagles to take a timeout. After the break, Tech came out and went on a 3-1 run to pull ahead 21-17, forcing Austin Peay to call for a timeout as well. The Governors then continued to put up a battle, however, the Golden Eagles pushed on and took the third set and the match 25-21 out hitting Austin Peay in the set .268 to .086.

"Cody is getting into the swing of things again," Zelenock continued. "She got a little down for a few matches, but she is back to her old self and is really playing as a great teammate and leader in matches and practices."

Dodd led the Golden Eagles with 14 kills and 10 digs for her 13th double-double on the season. James contributed to a Tech victory with seven kills and four digs, while teammate Sharon Anderson had 35 assists and nine digs in the match leading the team to an overall .225 hitting percentage. Ferguson led Austin Peay with nine kills and two digs.

"Murray is a very physical team," Zelenock went on. "They are a very aggressive team, but that is also the kind of team we prefer to play. We don't really enjoy teams that just tip and roll the ball so we are going to come out strong tomorrow and see what happens."

The Golden Eagles return to action tomorrow when they host conference-opponent Murray State at 4 p.m. at the Eblen Center.