By Nate Perry, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – From a wins and losses standpoint, it's been a challenging conference season so far for Tennessee Tech volleyball, but plenty of encouragement lies in the examples of growth and maturity the team has showcased throughout.
Perhaps the most notable instance took place last Saturday at Southeast Missouri. After spotting the Redhawks a 2-0 lead to start the match, Tech picked itself up and battled back to take sets three and four. It outplayed SEMO for much of the hard-fought fifth set, and held a late lead, but could not hang on.
Individual milestones keyed the nearly-completed comeback, as Ali Verzani and Rachel Thomas both registered new career highs with 21 kills each, and setter Susie Jeziorowski distributed 58 assists, the best single-match mark in her four seasons in Cookeville.
The Hooper Eblen Center will be the setting for this week's action as TTU aims to take another step in its development. A pair of opponents from the Land of Lincoln will be in town, as Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) pays a visit Friday night at 7 p.m., and Eastern Illinois comes in at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
The Golden Eagles have proved themselves to be a more difficult team to beat inside the Hoop, having posted a 4-3 record in seven matches. For coach Jeannette Waldo and her team, the opportunity to play within the friendly confines and entertain the home fans is as welcomed as any.
"We're glad to be back at home this weekend after a good bit of road travel last week," she said. "We are definitely learning what it takes to win when the pressure is on, and we're trusting ourselves more. We're making fewer errors out of hesitation and mistrust. Now, our errors are stemming from a much more aggressive place, which is more conducive to the feeling we want out on the court."
SIUE has had one of the most peculiar starts to 2018 of any team in the country. The Cougars lost their first 11 matches of the season before topping Oral Roberts, 3-2, on September 15.
However, it appears the opponents in those 11 losses – with a combined record of 109-98 – have prepared coach Kendall Paulus's team quite well for conference play, as SIUE is 3-3 heading into the midway point weekend in the OVC schedule.
Following a loss to EIU, the Cougars strung together three straight league victories, defeating Belmont, UT Martin and Southeast Missouri by a combined score of 9-2.
Their most recent weekend was unsuccessful, as they went up against two of the better outfits in the Ohio Valley in Murray State and Austin Peay, and took 3-0 and 3-1 losses, respectively.
The production of sophomore outside hitter Rachel McDonald has been the biggest factor in the Cougars' turnaround, as she leads the team in kills per set both for the season at 2.86, and, more impressively, in OVC matches with 4.14.
McDonald has been efficient, posting a .277 hitting percentage in conference matches and committing only 23 errors on 231 attacks. She might also be the league's most dangerous weapon from the service line right now, as she's averaging 1.40 aces per set in OVC play. She is No. 9 in the OVC with 0.30 aces per set for the season.
Outside Ellen LeMasters and middle blocker Annie Ellis have also upped their game to start the league schedule, recording 2.95 and 2.81 kills per set, respectively.
Setter Mallory Nicholson is the only Cougar to play in all 64 sets on the season, and averages 5.92 assists per set. She is also SIUE's cleanest attacker with a .318 hitting percentage, managing 37 kills on 88 attacks with just nine errors.
Hope Everett averages just under one block per set, totaling 51 blocks in 53 periods.
"SIUE had a slow start to their preseason, but they have been very competitive within the conference," Waldo said. "With (Rachel McDonald's) stat line during conference play, she is obviously someone they lean on offensively. We need to be ready to defend and convert plays quickly to beat their defense. Our passing game was inconsistent against SEMO, so we have been making that a focus this week, and we should be very comfortable passing within our home environment."
Eastern Illinois currently holds a record of 6-15 for the season and 1-5 in the OVC, and will add a win or a loss to those counts pending the result of their Friday night matchup at Jacksonville State.
EIU won two of four matches in their own EIU Panther Invitational to open the season, but struggled mightily throughout the remainder of tournament play, prevailing in just two of seven contests.
The Panthers won their first league match of the season over SIUE in straight sets, but have now lost five in a row to Tennessee State, Southeast Missouri, UT Martin, Austin Peay and Murray State, and have won just three sets over that stretch.
Sophomore Laurel Bailey is a do-it-all outside hitter for EIU, ranking ninth in the OVC with 3.04 kills per set for the season, and turning in 3.29 digs per set, the best mark on the squad save for libero Anne Hughes's 5.29.
Middle blocker Maggie Runge averages 1.70 kills per set, but is second on the team in points with 161.5, due in large part to her 1.03 blocks per set, which is second-best in the conference. Runge and Morehead State's Maddie Fella are the only two middles in the league to average one block per set or better.
Hughes is currently the league's best libero, collecting 5.29 digs per set, a mark that is good for 26th nationally. Hughes has been busy all year for EIU, recording seven matches with at least 23 digs.
"Eastern Illinois is coming off of a rough weekend, so there is no doubt that they will be coming ready for redemption," Waldo said. "We have been workshopping our offense this week, and if we can really turn it on offensively, we will put ourselves in a good position to win. We have also been thriving in longer rallies and our defense has been really strong, so we are confident in how we match up if this becomes a defensive battle."
Live Stats/Broadcast Information
TTU vs. SIUE Live Stats
TTU vs. Eastern Illinois Live Stats
OVC Digital Network Stream (both matches)
Photo by Thomas Corhern
