COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Contributions came from several players on both sides of the net as Tennessee Tech and Tennessee State battled through five close sets before the visiting Tigers emerged with a narrow, 3-2 Ohio Valley Conference volleyball victory Friday night in Eblen Center, capturing the fifth set by a 15-13 margin.
"I thought we did well," Golden Eagle Shaneice James said. "We stayed positive and cheered on every point."
The Tigers (13-12, 8-5 OVC) used the win to hold onto fourth place in the conference race, getting double-digit kills from four different players led by Haley Hampton with 16 on the strength of a .444 hitting performance. Chloe Watson added 15 kills, Zahria Graham had 14 and Ayanna Chase killed 10.
Madison Halterman paced a strong effort on the back line with 32 of her team's 78 digs, with Watson and Taylor Patterson getting 15 digs each. Watson and Chase had six blocks apiece, while Samantha Beltran had 53 assists for TSU.
Tech (6-20, 4-9 OVC), which is fighting for a post-season tournament opportunity, ended the night in eighth place in the OVC race. The Golden Eagles also got offense from a variety of hitters, led by Kellie Williams with 18 kills. Cody Dodd added 15 kills and K'Vonna Johnson had 10 kills. Freshman Shaneice James didn't have a hitting error, getting eight kills in 11 attempts for a .727 hitting mark.
Allison Morrett had 15 digs, one of three Golden Eagles to reach double digits on the way to 67 total digs. Dodd added 13 and Kennedy Wade had 11. Sharon Anderson directed the attack, counting out 42 assists.
Tech won the first and third sets, while TSU claimed the even sets before clinching the night in the fifth.
The opening set went to the Golden Eagles, who survived sloppy play on both sides of the net. Down 6-4 early in the set, the Golden Eagles mounted a 10-5 run to build a 14-11 lead, highlighted by two kills and a block from Dodd, plus emphatic kills by James and Williams. Tech took advantage of four TSU errors in the run.
A few points later, Dodd and James keyed a run of five straight points for the Golden Eagles, moving from a tight, two-point edge to a seven-point bulge, 22-15, the largest difference in the set. Tennessee State was able to scratch back to within three at 24-21, before a ball hit long by the Tigers clinched the mark for the home team, 25-21.
The Golden Eagles stayed within a couple of points throughout the second set, fell behind by six, then staged a furious late-set rally, but the Tigers closed the deal with defense down the stretch. TSU played an extremely clean second set, making far less hitting errors than in the first contest and evened the affair with a 25-21 win. Halterman dug 10 balls in the set.
Williams and Johnson led the way for Tech to take a 2-1 lead with a 25-23 win in the third set. Williams put down eight kills and Johnson had five, to counter the six kills from Graham. The set came down to a clinching kill by Johnson.
"Everyone stepped up and did their part today," head coach Dave Zelenock said. "Hopefully we can all play the way we did today tomorrow."
The Tigers raced out to a 7-1 lead in the fourth set and never relinquished control. Tennessee State was up by as many as nine points, including a 20-11 advantage, before closing it out with a 25-19 decision to force a fifth set. Halterman was a key to the win with nine digs in the set, while Watson and Hampton had five kills apiece.
The match went to the decisive fifth set, and it was tight all the way to the finish line. Up 8-7, Tennessee State won the race to double digits on a pair of Tech errors for a 10-7 margin. Tech managed the next three to knot things at 10-10. It was tied again at 12-12 on kills from Dodd and James, before Patterson earned a kill and a Tech attack was blocked for a 14-12 TSU lead.
Dodd put down one final kill to make it a one-point contest, before Graham's attack found the floor for the final point.
The Golden Eagles are back in action Saturday at 4 p.m. to host Belmont for the team's final match at home in Eblen Center. The contest is Senior Night as Cody Dodd, the team's lone senior, will be recognized in pregame ceremonies.
"Belmont is an entirely different team," Zelenock continued. "It's funny how Tennessee State and Belmont are travel partners, but have a completely different style of game."
The Tech women's basketball team will play Tennessee Wesleyan in Eblen Center at 6 p.m., and fans who are in attendance at the volleyball match will be invited to stay for the basketball exhibition at no charge. Tickets will be required for fans coming for only the basketball game.
