By Jonathan Caudle, TTU Sports Information
THE MATCHUPS
Friday, October 18 -- at Eastern Illinois, 6 p.m. | Live Video | Live Stats
Saturday, October 19 -- at SIUE, 2 p.m. | Live Video | Live Stats
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tech volleyball continues its road trip this weekend as they travel to Illinois for a pair of weekend matchups against Eastern Illinois and SIUE.
The Golden Eagles were perfect last weekend, 2-0, producing their first pair of sweeps in conference play since the 2008 season with victories over Belmont and Tennessee State.
TEAM NOTES
- Senior Rachel Thomas was the Golden Eagles offensive leader this past week, notching a team-high 14 kills against Belmont and seven kills in the match with Tennessee State.
- Sophomore Ashley Hand helped the Golden Eagles to a pair of .277 hitting performances this past week, dishing out 67 total assists in the pair of road contests.
- Hand ranks fourth in the OVC in assists per set, averaging 9.32 per contest this season.
- Freshman Carly Skrabak led the Golden Eagles in digs this week, producing a pair of 13-dig performances including a game-high against the Tigers.
- Senior Ali Verzani recorded 17 kills this week with eight against Belmont and tied for a team-high nine against Tennessee State.
- Verzani also ranks fourth in the league and 50th nationally for attacks per set, averaging 10.69 per frame.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
(2019 record: 1-17, 0-6 OVC | Series Record: 18-25)
Eastern Illinois returns home this week after spending the previous two weeks on the road. The Panthers are 1-17 overall and 0-6 in OVC play, earning their sole victory over Robert Morris in a neutral site matchup during the Youngstown State Red & White Invitational.
Kate Sommer led the Panthers this past weekend, recording 17 kills in EIU's pair of games. She had seven kills against Southeast Missouri and 10 kills against UT Martin. Bailey Chandler led the team in assists this weekend, tallying 38 assists. Against SEMO, Chandler dished out nine assists before recording 29 assists in the Panthers contest and helping the team to a .207 hitting percentage against UT Martin.
The Panthers lead the all-time series over the Golden Eagles, 18-25. However, Tech earned a victory in the last matchup between the two teams last season as the Golden Eagles claimed a five-set thriller in Cookeville.
SCOUTING THE COUGARS
(2019 record: 9-9, 4-2 OVC | Series Record: 5-4)
SIUE is 9-9 overall and 4-2 in league play so far this season. The Cougars are on a four-game winning streak as they have won every game in October, which has included a pair of sweeps over EIU and UT Martin and a pair of five-set victories over Tennessee State and Southeast Missouri.
Rachel McDonald led SIUE over their past two games as she recorded 19 kills. She produced a team-high nine kills against UT Martin and followed it up with 10 kills in their match against SEMO. She also led the Cougars in digs, notching seven against the Skyhawks and a team-high 28 digs against the Redhawks. Mallory Nicholson was the Cougars assists leader over the same two-game stretch, dishing out 14 assists against UT Martin and 24 in the game against Southeast Missouri. Annie Fields defended the net for SIUE, tallying a pair of blocks against UT Martin and a team-high six blocks against SEMO.
Tech holds the all-time lead over SIUE, 5-4. The Golden Eagles earned a straight-set victory over the Panthers last season.
Up Next
The Golden Eagles return home next week host Austin Peay on Friday, October 25 and Murray State on Saturday, October 26.
Photo by Jim Dillon
