By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information
vs. Tennessee State and Belmont Match Notes
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Tech volleyball team (7-18, 3-9 OVC) returns home to host their final regular season matches of the 2016 season. The Golden Eagles will play host to Tennessee State (14-14, 5-7 OVC) in a 7 p.m. matchup on Friday. Tech will then close out their home contests versus Belmont at 4 p.m. on Saturday for a special Senior Day match, where Golden Eagle seniors Alyssa Povey, Sharon Anderson, and Kennedy Wade will be honored before the contest begins.
Freshman Rachel Thomas currently leads the Golden Eagles with 216 points on the year. Thomas has tallied the second most kills on the squad with 193 on the year. She maintains a .169 hitting percentage, while also posting the team's second most blocks with 41.
Shealene Little leads Tech in kills with 196 on the year. Little hits .135 on the season, while also posting 177 digs, 11 service aces, and six blocks.
Senior middle Alyssa Povey serves as a dual threat on the court. Povey is a solid player both offensive and defensively for the Purple and Gold squad, totaling 165 kills (third most on the team), 65 blocks (most on the team), and 52 digs. Povey maintains a .194 hitting percentage on the season.
Senior setter Sharon Anderson continues to serve as a consistent leader for the Golden Eagles. Anderson leads Tech in assists with 797 (9.27 per set) on the year. Anderson also posts the second most digs on the squad with 262 (3.05 per set) thus far.
As a team, the Golden Eagles currently hit .137 on the year. Tech has totaled 1,043 kills, 984 assists, 1,586 digs, and 121.0 blocks.
The Golden Eagles currently rank first in the OVC in digs with 17.43 per set. Tech also ranks ninth in assists (10.81 per set); 10th in service aces (0.96 per set); 11th in kills (11.46 per set) and opponent hitting percentage (.225); and 12th in blocks (1.33 per set) and hitting percentage (.137).
The Golden Eagles lead the series over the Tigers 42-13.
When Tech and TSU first met this season, the Tigers defeated the Golden Eagles in five sets (3-2). Tennessee State saw winning set scores of 25-23, 21-25, 25-20, 23-25, and 15-12.
Three Golden Eagles posted double-digit kills in the contest. K'Vonna Johnson led with 17 kills, while Shaneice James and Alyssa Povey each tallied 11. Sharon Anderson posted a double-double in the contest with 50 assists and 21 digs; leading the Golden Eagles in each category.
Two Tigers also posted double-doubles in the match. Chloe Watson tallied 26 kills and 13 digs, while teammate Puamana Danielson totaled 55 assists and 11 digs.
As a team, TSU hit .214 to Tech's .210. The Tigers also tallied 67 kills, 62 assists, and 7.0 blocks to the Golden Eagle's 61 kills, 57 assists, and 4.0 blocks. However, Tech totaled 79 digs to TSU's 77.
Chloe Watson leads Tennessee State with 330 kills on the year. Watson hits .160, while also tallying 265 digs (second most on team) and 51 blocks.
Another key player on the Tiger lineup is Cherlie Adorno-DeJesus. DeJesus leads TSU with 437 digs on the year. She has also tallied 83 assists and 13 service aces thus far this season.
As a team, the Tigers hit .199 on the year. Tennessee State has totaled 1,227 kills, 1,130 assists, 123 service aces, 1,411 digs, and 175.5 blocks thus far this season.
Amongst OVC opponents, the Tigers rank fourth in hitting percentage (.199); fifth in service aces (1.19 per set); eighth in assists (10.97 per set), kills (11.91 per set), and blocks (1.70 per set); ninth in opponent hitting percentage (.218); and 10th in digs (13.70 per set).
The Bruins lead the series over the Golden Eagles 14-11.
When Tech and Belmont first met this season, the Bruins defeated the Golden Eagles 3-1, with set scores of 25-14, 19-25, 25-13, and 25-15.
James led Tech with seven kills and a .455 hitting percentage, while teammate Johnson also totaled seven kills in the contest. Anderson put up 25 assists and six digs for the Golden Eagles, while Kennedy Wade notched 10 digs.
Two Bruins totaled double-doubles in the contest. Arianna Person tallied 18 kills and 10 digs in the match, while Emma Price posted 46 assists and 14 digs. Two other Belmont players put up double-digit kills in the contest: Maggie Mullins had 13, while Brie Lewis tallied 12.
As a team, Belmont hit .353 to Tech's .140. The Bruins posted 59 kills, 58 assists, 51 digs, and 5.0 blocks in the contest to the Golden Eagle's 30 kills, 28 assists, 40 digs, and 3.0 blocks.
Arianna Person leads Belmont with 342 kills (3.80 per set). Person has also tallied 237 digs (second most on team), 30 service aces, and 52 blocks on the year while maintaining a .187 hitting percentage.
Two other key players on the Bruins lineup are Brie Lewis and Emma Price.
Lewis has the second most kills on the team with 231 on the season. She also posts 136 digs and 44 blocks, while hitting .196 on the year.
Price leads Belmont in assists with 900 (10.0 per set) on the year. Price has also notched 208 digs, 48 blocks, 27 service aces, and 83 kills for the Bruins.
As a team, Belmont hits .173 thus far this season. The Bruins have tallied 1,108 kills, 1,048 assists, 180 service aces, 1,233 digs, and 174.5 blocks on the year.
Amongst the 12 league teams, Belmont currently ranks first in service aces (2.00 per set); third in opponent hitting percentage (.165); fifth in assists (11.64 per set) and kills (12.31 per set); sixth in blocks (1.94 per set); eighth in hitting percentage (.173); and ninth in digs (13.70 per set).
Photo by Jim Dillon
