By Nate Perry, TTU Sports Information
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – After squaring off Tuesday night with Jacksonville State, Tennessee Tech volleyball will play a single match this weekend against Southeast Missouri, scheduled for a 2 p.m. first serve from the Redhawks' Houck Field House.
Tech's (7-12) first midweek match in almost a month brought about significant alterations to its training schedule, and while transitions like these aren't easy for any team, coach Jeanette Waldo can see both the pros and the cons.
"As a staff and as a team, it's been nice preparing for one opponent at a time," she said. "I think it helps us focus on accomplishing one goal at a time, which is a huge part of our team philosophy. However, it has reduced our time in the gym, too, so while we welcome the change in schedule mentally, it has also changed the way we prepare physically."
One of the bright spots from Tuesday night was Tech's blocking performance. Susie Jeziorowski (nine total blocks) and Taylor Dorsey (eight) led a front line that was a major obstacle for JSU's offense, as the Golden Eagles recorded a season-best 17.0 team blocks. That total elevated them to just under two blocks per set (1.96), a number that ranks third in the Ohio Valley Conference.
TTU will look to build on that showing against a Southeast Missouri team currently ranking third in the conference in hitting percentage with a .211 team rate.
The Redhawks (11-7) enter the contest as winners of five of their past seven matches ever since losing all three at the UMKC Kangaroo Classic Sept. 7-8.
In all tournament play SEMO compiled a 4-5 record, and bolstered that by going 4-0 in regular midweek matches. Its 3-2 mark in the OVC includes it among the five teams above .500 in the league standings.
The Southeast Missouri offense definitively runs through outside hitter Laney Malloy. The sophomore transfer from Illinois-Chicago leads the conference in total kills with 239, is fourth in kills per set at 3.41, and fifth in points per set with 3.85. To call Malloy the star of the show offensively for SEMO is quite an understatement, as her 716 attacks on the year are almost 350 more than any one of her teammates.
Madara Bajare and Haley Bilbruck are next in the pecking order for SEMO with 2.65 and 2.23 kills per set, respectively. Bajare and Bilbruck are also two of four Redhawks with attack percentages of .245 or better for the season.
Freshman setter Claire Ochs leads that group, hitting .294, and is one of four setters in the OVC averaging at least 10 assists per set, ranking fourth overall at 10.23. Her 24 service aces (0.34 per set) also lead a SEMO team that ranks second in the league in that category.
Both Malloy and Ochs have been recognized by the OVC for their impact as first-year players in league, as Malloy took home Newcomer of the Week honors on Sept. 10, and Ochs on Sept. 17.
"They are a solid team with a winning record, but just as I would say about anyone in our league, they are beatable," Waldo said. "I love that about our conference. Anyone can beat anyone else on any given day. We believe we know what to expect from this SEMO team, and we are locked in and ready to compete."
Waldo is aware that it will take a great all-around effort from her team to get the better of the Redhawks in their own gym, but she also knows TTU's recipe for a road victory starts with better offensive execution.
"We need our offense to show up for us," implored Waldo. "Our defense has been putting us in a good place, but we have to light up the scoreboard a little more to come out on top."
"We also need to keep the pressure on them from the service line. We were more aggressive with our serves on Tuesday, which allowed us to make our opponent uncomfortable in serve-receive, and we'll need to do that again to have success this weekend."
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