By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
MURRAY, Ky. – Another resilient effort from the Tennessee Tech volleyball team resulted in a come-from-behind victory Monday evening, as the Golden Eagles (7-7, 7-7) edged Murray State (5-9, 5-9) in Racer Arena, 3-2 (25-20, 24-26, 22-25, 25-23, 15-11).
One night after earning its first win over the Racers since 2011 and first W in Murray, Ky. since 2007, the purple and gold collected its first back-to-back victories against its rival since 2008 and 2009 and the first back-to-back road victories against Murray State since 1997 and 1998.
The Golden Eagles had to pull out all the stops to collect their third-straight win, postin season-highs of 89.0 points, 63 kills, 60 assists and 30 block assists. The visitors' 76 digs finished just one shy of their season-best showing while their 16 total blocks was just two off their top showing of the year.
Tech picked up where it left off Sunday, opening the match with a monster first set. Ripping off a match-high 18 kills and .306 hitting percentage, the Golden Eagles earned a 25-20 victory. The purple and gold led by as much as eight in the set, the easiest the road would come on an otherwise back-and-forth night.
In set two, the Golden Eagles delivered another high attack percentage, hitting .294 with 13 kills, but the Racers woke up to the tune of 17 kills of their own and a .278 hitting percentage. The Murray offense did enough to upend Tech 26-24 in the set, evening the match at 1-1.
The home squad rode that momentum into set three, stifling a late surge by the Golden Eagles. The Racers forced Tech into a match-high eight attack errors, just enough to claim a 25-22 win and 2-1 lead on the night.
Set four was a roller coaster, with the purple and gold soaring out to a 5-1 lead. Murray State answered back, taking as much as a 15-11 advantage later in the game. Tech swung back control to its side at 18-16, but the two sides would deadlock the next five points, settling at 23-23.
Tech head coach Jeannette Waldo called for a timeout, giving her team a chance to regroup and force a decisive fifth set. The Golden Eagles delivered taking back the serve with a huge kill from sophomore Skylar Boom. Up 24-23, the ball turned over to another sophomore, Emma Osterbur. She produced with a service ace to tie the contest at 2-2.
It was all Tech in set five, as the Golden Eagles never trailed on their way to a 15-11 victory. Fittingly, it was a combination of juniors Taylor Dorsey and Ashley Hand that produced the final point of the evening, combining for one of Tech's 16 blocks on the night.
Dorsey was incredible for the second-straight night, hitting an eye-popping .414 with 14 kills and just two attack errors. She also totaled 10 blocks, registering her second double-double on the year and the third of her career. The middle blocker led the Golden Eagles with 19.0 total points.
Hand delivered a season-high 54 assists in the match, her highest total since Oct. 18 of last season when she doled out 58 at Eastern Illinois. She also tallied two blocks and three service aces with eight digs. Libero McKenna Young exploded for a season-best 34 digs, 12 more than her previous best showing.
Senior Ali Verzani was explosive all over the court for the purple and gold, powering a team-high 16 kills to go along with 10 digs for another double-double. She also locked up four block assists. Outside hitter Madeline Furtado put forth a strong effort, turning in 14 kills with a pair of aces and 10 digs for her own double-double.
Also in on the double-digit-dig party was sophomore Emma Osterbur, who snagged 10 as well as a match-high four service aces. Skylar Boom made it four Golden Eagles with double-figure kills, totaling 12 to go along with six total blocks.
The Golden Eagles will return home to the Hooper Eblen Center for its final set of matches of the 2020-21 campaign. Tech will host in-state rival Belmont on Sunday, Mar. 28 in a 7:00 p.m. CT tilt before wrapping up the season with Senior Day on Monday, Mar. 29 at 6:00 p.m.
File photo by Jim Dillon
