By Jonathan Caudle, TTU Sports Information

THE MATCHUPS
Thursday, November 21 – vs. Southeast Missouri, 12:30 p.m. | Live Video | Live Stats

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – The No. 7-seeded Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles will take on the No. 2-seeded Southeast Missouri Redhawks on Thursday, November 21 at 12:30 p.m. during the opening round of the 2019 OVC Tournament.

Tech's 2019 postseason berth marks the first time since the 2015 season that the Golden Eagles punched their ticket to the OVC Tournament. The last time the Golden Eagles played in the OVC Tournament, Tech defeated Eastern Illinois in a five-set comeback victory during the opening round, before falling in the tournament semifinals following a four-set affair against Belmont.

Closing out the regular season, the Golden Eagles won three-straight contests heading into the OVC Tournament. Tech earned a 3-0 sweep on the road over Eastern Kentucky, before finishing the regular season with a sweep of Tennessee State that clinched the Golden Eagles postseason berth and a four-set victory over Belmont on Senior Day.

TEAM NOTES

• Sophomore Taylor Dorsey had a career week for the Golden Eagles as she set a new single-game career record with 11 blocks in a match and earning her first-ever OVC weekly honor as Co-Defensive Player of the Week. She opened the weekend hitting .222 with five kills, a service ace, a dig, and a block against Tennessee State, before closing the weekend with a career-high 11 blocks, 13 kills, a service ace, while hitting .308 against the Bruins.
• Junior Ali Verzani was the Golden Eagles offensive leader this past weekend, collecting 26 kills and hitting .318 against Tennessee State and Belmont. She opened the weekend with a 15-kill performance against Tennessee State, narrowly missing a double-double with nine kills, while adding four assists and a service ace. She then followed it with 11 kills, seven digs, three block assists, a pair of service aces, and two assists.
• Sophomore Ashley Hand helped lead the Golden Eagles to a .324 hitting clip during their pair of victories over the weekend. She dished out a match-high 30 assists, and tallied 12 digs, five kills, a service ace, and a block against Tennessee State. She followed it up with a match-high 38 assists, nine digs, three kills, a pair of service aces, and a block during the regular-season finale against the Belmont.
• Freshman Carly Skrabak led the Golden Eagles back row this week as she collected 29 digs, 10 assists, and a service ace through seven sets. She tallied a match-high 17 digs, six assists, and a service ace in the Golden Eagles sweep over Tennessee State. She finished the week with a team-high 12 digs and four assists in the regular-season finale against Belmont.

SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS
2019 Record: 20-10, 12-4 OVC | Series Record: 12-42

Southeast Missouri finished the season 20-10 overall and with a 12-4 mark in OVC play. The Redhawks are also coming off a week in which they finished 1-1, after falling in a straight-set sweep against SIUE, but claiming a straight-set sweep over Eastern Illinois to close out the regular season.

Laney Malloy was Southeast Missouri's kills leader this season with 345 kills, averaging 3.03 per set. Claire Ochs was the leading setter for the Redhawks, dishing out 1,066 assists and helping lead the Redhawks to a .216 hitting clip on the season. Defensively, Southeast Missouri's back row was led by Tara Beilsmith, who finished with 561 digs, averaging 4.92 per set this season. Beilsmith led the Redhawks this past weekend, garnering 54 digs over two contests, including a career-high 33 on Friday on the road at SIUE, and earning her Co-Defensive Player of the Week alongside Dorsey.

Southeast Missouri leads the all-time series over Tech, 42-12. However, the Golden Eagles hold a 1-0 advantage over the Redhawks in 2019 as Tech defeated the Redhawks in a four-set battle earlier this season on September 28.

Photo by Thomas Corhern