By Nate Perry, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech volleyball will entertain a couple of familiar foes on Friday and Saturday, as Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky come to Cookeville for a pair of pivotal matches in the Golden Eagles' quest to qualify for the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
Following a loss to Murray State last Friday, Tech (9-15, 3-7 OVC) regained its composure for Saturday's match at Austin Peay, and gave the conference-leading Governors much more than they bargained for with victories in the first two sets. While the Govs eventually prevailed in five, the upset was nearly pulled off in the fourth, where the Golden Eagles fell in a tight one, 25-22.
The last time Tech was home, two weeks ago, it came away with an impressive three-set victory over SIUE, then outlasted Eastern Illinois in five to boost its record inside the Hooper Eblen Center to 6-3, and move to 3-5 in OVC play.
This time, TTU returns to its comfort zone with two added benefits: having already played both Morehead and EKU once this season, and the fuel of vengeance from coming out on the wrong end of those initial matchups.
Tech will host Morehead State first, on Friday night at 7 p.m.
The Eagles (16-7, 7-3 OVC) currently sit in second place in the standings and have gone 5-3 in eight league matches since defeating Tech, 3-0, on the opening weekend of the conference season. Morehead has defeated Eastern Kentucky, Belmont and Tennessee State in straight sets during that stretch, beat UT Martin and Southeast Missouri, 3-1, suffered a three-set loss to Austin Peay, and then fell at the hands of SIUE and Eastern Illinois last weekend on the road.
As one can infer from MSU's lofty residence in the league ledger, they are highly ranked on many of the conference's team statistical lists. In addition to pacing the OVC in blocks (2.23 per set) and opponent hitting percentage (.156), they're also second for their own hitting percentage (.215), and third in both kills per set (13.06) and assists per set (12.24).
Sophomore outside hitter Olivia Lohmeier is most responsible for the Eagles' elite offensive conference marks, as she averages 3.47 kills per set for the season – the fourth-best individual mark in the OVC – and has been even more dominant in league matches with 3.83 KPS. Lohmeier also occupies the No. 7 spot on the OVC list for hitting percentage at .267.
However, Lohmeier's attack rate isn't the best on the team. That title belongs to redshirt senior middle blocker Jessie Wachtman, whose .307 percentage for the season is second-best among OVC attackers.
Wachtman is also MSU's third leading scoring with 2.49 kills per set, and is second in blocks per set with 0.85.
Lauren Rokey, the other pin in the Morehead offense, has played a strong supporting role to Lohmeier all season long, putting up 2.90 kills per set during the 2018 campaign.
Middle blocker Maddie Fella has upheld her status as one of the premier front line defenders in the nation, averaging 1.39 blocks per set over 57 periods played. That mark leads the conference by a wide margin, as Eastern Illinois's Maggie Runge is second at 1.01.
Eastern Kentucky, Morehead's conference travel partner, comes to the Upper Cumberland on Saturday afternoon for a 2 p.m. date with TTU.
The Colonels have endured a challenging season to this point with a 3-19 overall record and a 2-8 mark in the OVC. After a sweep of Tech and Jacksonville State to open the league slate, EKU has lost eight matches in a row, with five coming in straight sets. Coach Lori Duncan's team is still searching for its first road win this season as well, having been unsuccessful in 11 tries.
Cassie Knutson has been the lone bright spot for the Colonels, ranking eighth in the conference with 3.18 kills per set. She also holds a 2.13 digs per set average for the year, which is the best mark on the team behind libero Chloe Rojas.
Rojas has done everything she can to defend the backcourt for EKU, ranking fifth in the league with 4.44 digs per set. She is also one of two Colonels in double digits for service aces, having accumulated 10 this season.
Live statistics links for both of the weekend's matches can be found below, along with another for the OVC Digital Network live stream:
TTU vs. Morehead State - Stats
TTU vs. Eastern Kentucky - Stats
OVC Digital Network Stream
Photo by Thomas Corhern
