By: Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information Coordinator

MURRAY, Ky.—It wouldn't be post-season play if the game didn't come down to the wire in every set. The Tennessee Tech volleyball team (10-20, 7-9 OVC) kicked off post-season play against Eastern Illinois (EIU) (16-15, 7-9 OVC) in the first round of the OVC tournament. The Golden Eagles topped the Panthers in a five-set thriller (3-2), while forcing the sets to go down to the wire every time. Tech edged out victory with set scores of 23-25, 25-23, 23-25, 26-24 and 16-14.

"It was a tough match," head coach Dave Zelenock said. "There were huge runs on both sides at times we made come backs, but we also let them in when we were ahead. We are playing very well at right time of the year, whereas EIU didn't have huge ups and downs and played solid throughout the season." 

Tech came out strong in the first set opening with a kill from senior, Cody Dodd and then went on to take a three-point lead at 6-3 with a service ace from Dodd. The Golden Eagles continued to hold a slight edge over the Panthers holding a two-point lead at 9-7 and a kill from Kellie Williams, however, EIU battle to tie the match at 9-9 with a Panther service ace from Taylor Smith. EIU then went on to take their first lead of the set at 11-10, and expanded to a three-point lead at 13-10. Back-to-back kills from Dodd and Shaneice James brought Tech back within one at 13-12, however, EIU remained dominant and took a three-point lead again at 15-12, forcing the Golden Eagles to take a timeout. Dodd came out with a kill after the break, however a service error and Tech attack error gave the Panthers the four-point lead at 17-13. EIU continued to capitalize on their lead and pushed ahead to a five-point lead at 19-14, causing Tech to take another timeout. Out of the timeout, Alyssa Povey put down a kill followed by a service ace from Allison Morrett to bring the Golden Eagles back within two at 19-17 which pushed the Panthers to take a timeout. Tech continued to fight back and tied the game at 19-19 with a big block from Sharon Anderson and Povey. EIU refused to relent and went ahead to take the 21-19 lead, however a kill from Povey kept Tech in a close chase at 21-20. The two teams continued to battle and Tech was able to retie the set at 23-23 with kills from James and Williams followed by a block from James and K'Vonna Johnson. However, Tech could not hold on and EIU took the first set 25-23.

"Overall we played great," Golden Eagle Kellie Williams said. "We had a lot of energy and stayed calm at points we needed to and pushed through to get the victory while working really well together."

The Golden Eagles and Panthers continued to battle into the second set. EIU held the advantage early on opening with a 6-3 lead over Tech. Tech pulled within one at 7-6 with ha kill by Povey and an EIU attack error. The Panthers continued to hold the slight advantage and took another three-point lead at 9-6 before the Golden Eagles came back within one against at 9-8. EIU then went on an 8-3 run to pull ahead by six at 17-11 causing Tech to then take a timeout. From there, the Golden Eagles battled to pull within two at 18-16 taking advantage of Panther attack errors and adding on a kill by Johnson and a service ace from Allison Morrett. Because of the Tech gain, EIU called for a timeout to regroup. However, the Golden Eagles continued to pursue and pulled within one point at 19-18 and again at 21-20. A kill form Dodd finally allowed Tech to tie the set at 22-22 and press on to take the 24-22 lead with a block from James followed by a kill from Johnson. A Golden Eagle attack error allowed the Panthers to pull back within one at 24-23, however Tech held on and took the second set 25-23 with a kill from Dodd.

EIU dominated at the beginning of the third set opening with a 5-0 lead over Tech, and expanded to a four-point lead at 9-5. The Golden Eagles battle back to pull within one at 10-9 with a block from Williams. Tech continued to stay strong and tie the set at 11-11 and then take their first lead at 13-11 with kills from Williams and Dodd. The Golden Eagles held the advantage until the Panthers tied the set at 16-16. From there Tech and EIU battle back-and-forth fighting for control holding ties on-and-off until 23-23. A Golden Eagle attack error followed by a Panther kill from Allie Hueston broke the chain and gave EIU the third set 25-23 to lead Tech two sets to one.

The Golden Eagles came into the third set fighting as hard as ever. Tech opened with the 6-2 lead over EIU and refused to back down. The Golden Eagles expanded their lead to six-points at 11-5 with a kill from Povey.  The Panthers tried to make up their deficit pulling within three at 11-8, with an EIU service ace from Stephanie Wallace, however Tech kept the pressure on and pulled ahead to 14-9 with a block from Williams. From there, the Golden Eagles continued to capitalize on their lead and led by four-points at 18-14 with a kill from Johnson. The Panthers stayed in pursuit and pulled within two at 18-16 of Tech and then continued on to tie the set at 18-18. The Golden Eagles refused to be shaken by the EIU gain and held on to the 21-20 edge over the Panthers and pulled ahead by three at 23-20 with a kill from Anderson. An EIU attack error gave Tech set point at 24-21, however the Panthers would not let the Golden Eagles close out easily and came back and tie the set at 24-24. Tech remained confident and a kill from Dodd again gave them set point at 25-24 and an EIU attack error helped the Golden Eagles seal a fourth set victory 26-24, forcing the match into a fifth set.

A block from Williams kicked off the fifth set for Tech, however EIU took the early lead at 3-1 with a kill from Hueston. The Golden Eagles and Panthers kept the fifth set just as close as the rest of the match with Tech forcing a tie at 4-4. After that, the Golden Eagles took their first lead at 5-4 with a kill from Johnson, pushing the Panthers to take a timeout. Out of the timeout, kills from Povey and Johnson gave Tech the three-point lead at 7-4. The pressure in the match continued to build as the two teams fell closer to deciding who would move on and who would be sent home. The Panthers held on and added tension to the match pulling within one at 9-8. The Golden Eagles refused to relent and again took control of the match taking the 12-8 lead over EIU. The Panthers called for a timeout to try and slow Tech's momentum. EIU stayed in hot pursuit of the Golden Eagles and tied the set at 14-14 keeping the tension high between the two teams. Tech took set point at 15-14 with a kill by Williams and then Williams came right back with another kill to close out a fifth set and match victory 16-14.

"I knew that we were going to win at the end," Williams continued. "We were all determined to pull it out one way or another and were stress free so that really helped us close out the match."

"Kellie got healthy at right time too," Zelenock continued. "She's only a sophomore and has really improved her ball contact and court vision. She had a bit of a slump due to injuries early on in the season, but she has come back into herself wonderfully."

Williams led the Golden Eagles with 19 kills and 7 digs, while teammates Johnson posted 17 kills and Dodd racked up 16 kills and 21 digs in the match. Hueston led the Panthers with 14 kills in the match. Tech out hit the EIU .204 to .182, while the Panther out-blocked the Golden Eagles 11-10.

"No matter who we play tomorrow, it's going to be about how we play as a team," Williams remarked. 

The Golden Eagles move on to the semifinals tomorrow and will face the winner of Belmont and Morehead State in a 4:30 p.m. matchup in Murray, Ky.

"It's nice because we have played both teams twice this year," Zelenock remarked about facing the winner of Belmont and Morehead State tomorrow. "We split with both teams during the season, so there really is no psychological advantage for either team. It's going to come down to whoever can play better tomorrow, so we really have no idea who we will face, but we are going to just focus on us and make the adjustments that we can."