By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Tech volleyball team (6-13, 2-4 OVC) had a strong showing Saturday evening as they defeated Ohio Valley Conference opponent UT Martin (5-16, 1-5 OVC) in four sets (3-1). The Golden Eagles took winning set scores of 25-21, 25-14, 23-25, and 25-11.
"We played well and played smart," head coach Dave Zelenock remarked. "UT Martin is a very athletic team and they move well, but we showed an ability to think out there that we haven't showed in a few weeks."
Paced by middles Shaneice James and Alyssa Povey, the Purple and Gold squad tallied 55 kills to the Skyhawk's 43 in the match. James led the Golden Eagles with 13 kills, a .542, and two blocks, while Povey totaled 12 kills, a .455 hitting percentage, and two blocks.
"When your middles hit .455 and .542 if you don't win, it's kind of amazing," Zelenock continued. "Shaneice played really clean and had no errors, and Povey's only errors were when she was late and we had a lead and were trying some things. But when they play like that with the hitters that we have, we are going to be a tough team to beat."
Kennedy Wade grabbed 25 digs fir Tech, while teammate and fellow senior Sharon Anderson notched her tenth double-double on the year with 46 assists and 10 digs. Jemima Idemudia led UT Martin with 13 kills and a .267 hitting percentage, while Kelly lean totaled 37 assists and 13 digs in the contest.
"It feels amazing especially after having a rough couple of losses, but we all played a really great game and had a lot of energy on the court," Golden Eagle Shaneice James remarked. "You know, I think it was the lemon cakes that Kellie's mom made that helped us get the win, but we told each other to play for the person next to you and I think that's exactly what we did. I really wanted the win and knew I had to step up for the team, but going into next week we are going to make sure we carry over our aggressiveness and keep passing well."
As a team, the Golden Eagles tallied 55 assists and 83 digs to the Skyhawk's 41 assists and 79 digs, however UT Martin put up 7.0 blocks to Tech's 4.0.
In the first set, the Skyhawks and Golden Eagles opened the match with a 10-10 tie. Tech took a slight two-point lead at 16-14 with a kill by freshman Rachel Thomas. The Golden Eagles went on to extend their lead to 20-16 with a kill by Povey; however, the Skyhawks then went on a three-point run to pull within one point of the Golden Eagles at 20-19. There, Tech called for a timeout and returned from the break to go on a 5-2 run, sealing a first set victory 25-21 with a kill by James.
Once again, the Skyhawks and Golden Eagles opened up the second set in a tie, tangled up at 9-9. Tech created a five-point lead at 18-13 with a kill from James, and then continued to dominate in the set to take a second set victory 25-17, stamped with a kill by Thomas.
The Golden Eagles opened third set play with an 11-8 lead over the Skyhawks. Tech went on to pull ahead by four points at 14-10 with a kill from Thomas. However, UT Martin battled back to tie the set up at 15-15 with a kill by Madison Wessling. From there, the two teams got into a seesaw affair wavering back and forth for control until the Skyhawks created a three-point lead at 20-17 with a block by Idemudia and Hayley Gray. UT Martin kept the pressure on and extended their lead to 23-20, and then snuck out a first set victory at 25-23 with an Alisha Erves kill.
Tech came out ready to fight in the fourth set as the Golden Eagles took no time to create a six-point lead at 14-8 with a kill by Thomas. From there, Tech extended their lead to ten-points at 18-8, before taking a fourth set and match victory at 25-11.
"Our second ball setting was not where we wanted it tonight, Zelenock said. "Our liberos and defensive specialists, when Sharon dug and they had to set, we didn't get a good attack off. It is something we really have to focus on. Other than that, we played really clean."
The Golden Eagles return to action on Friday, October 14, when they travel to Murray State to take on the Racers in a 7 p.m. contest in Murray, Ky.
Photo by Jim Dillon
