MOREHEAD, Ky. – Tennessee Tech volleyball took the opening set, but the Morehead State Eagles rallied to earn a four-set victory, 3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 23-25, 23-25), over the Golden Eagles on Friday at Johnson Arena.

"We made some great strides tonight. We are playing more like a united force than we have in recent past," expressed head coach Jeannette Waldo. "Everyone stepped up and was ready to compete confidently and tonight was some fun volleyball."

A trio of Golden Eagles scored double-digits in the match with Taylor Dorsey leading the way at 17 kills. Ali Verzani and Dallas Oatis joined Dorsey in double-digits with 14 kills and 12 kills, respectively. As a team, the Golden Eagles outhit the Morehead State, .236 to .228. Ashley Hand was the key to the Golden Eagles offensive success against Morehead as she dished out a team-high 46 assists. Defensively, Carly Skrabak turned in the best performance of her career thus far as she recorded a career-high 34 digs in the four-set affair. Rachel Thomas tallied a team-leading four, blocks while Hand and Dorsey tallied three apiece.

Following a 2-2 tie to open the first set, Morehead State went on a 6-1 run to take an 8-3 lead early in the contest. However, the Golden Eagles rallied to score five unanswered points to quickly bring things back even at eight. Things remained that way through a 13-13 tie, until the Golden Eagles took a two-point advantage on a Verzani kill and a Morehead State error. The two squads traded leads before things would eventually come back even at 19. The Golden Eagles locked down through the remainder of the set as Verzani, Oatis, and Dorsey, in addition to three Morehead State attack errors close out the set with a 6-1 Tech run to give the Golden Eagles the 1-0 lead, 25-20.

Much like the first frame, the Eagles took a 7-3 lead to open the second. Tech closed the deficit to two on a 3-1 run, but Morehead State responded with an 8-3 run to extend things back out to seven, 16-9. The Golden Eagles attempted to rally, eventually bringing the set back within three, 24-21, but Morehead State secured the set on the third set-point to even the match at one, 25-21.

The third opened to a 3-3 tie, before the Eagles took an 8-4 lead. The Golden Eagles battled back to eventually even the set at 12 on a kill from Verzani. Both squads battled and switched leads until things would sit even at 23, but a pair of Morehead State kills closed the set and gave the Eagles the 2-1 match lead, 25-23.

Tech came out hot in the fourth set on a 7-4 run to take the early lead, but Morehead State answered with four of their own to retake the lead, 8-7. The set would remain even through a 17-17 tie. A 5-1 Morehead State run would put the Eagles up 22-18, but the Golden Eagles rallied to outscore the Eagles 6-3, but it was too little too late as Morehead State would eventually take the 3-1 victory, 25-23.

Up Next

The Golden Eagles will look to bounce back as they head to Richmond, Kentucky tomorrow to take on the Eastern Kentucky Colonels at 1 p.m.