By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech volleyball team closes out the 2020-21 regular season on its home court this weekend, playing host to in-state rival Belmont in Ohio Valley Conference action at the Hooper Eblen Center.
The action will kick off Sunday evening with a 7:00 p.m. CT first serve. The two sides will conclude the weekend on Monday, with a 6:00 p.m. tilt. Monday's match will also represent Senior Day for the Golden Eagles, with outside hitter Ali Verzani set to be honored as Tech's lone senior following the match. Action for both contests is slated to appear on ESPN+.
THE MATCHUPS
Sunday, March 28 – vs. Belmont, 7 p.m. | Live Video | Live Stats
Monday, March 29 – vs. Belmont, 6 p.m. | Live Video | Live Stats
TEAM NOTES
The Golden Eagles (7-7, 7-7) enter their final weekend in the Eblen Center this season after a highly successful weekend on the road at Murray State. Tech claimed a pair of comeback victories against the Racers, including a 3-1 (18-25, 29-27, 25-21, 25-23) win on Sunday and an even more impressive 3-2 (25-20, 24-26, 22-25, 25-23, 15-11) W on Monday.
Sunday's victory represented the team's first over Murray State since 2011 and the first in Murray, Ky. since 2007. With the second win on Monday, the purple and gold collected its first back-to-back victories against the Racers since 2008 and 2009 and the first back-to-back road victories against its rival since 1997 and 1998.
Leading the way offensively this season for the purple and gold has been Preseason All-OVC selection Ali Verzani. The senior has racked up team-highs of 140 kills and 181.0 points while ranking second in the OVC with 25 service aces. She has also totaled 121 digs (second on the team) and 26 total blocks.
Redshirt sophomore Madeline Furtado has enjoyed a resurgent season after missing all but six matches in 2019 due to injury. The outside hitter eclipsed the century mark in kills for the first time in her career this year, tallying 113 with 92 digs and 134.5 points.
On the defensive side, middle blockers Taylor Dorsey and Skylar Boom have lived up to their positions in pacing the team in blocks. Dorsey, another Tech Preseason All-OVC selection, owns a team and league-high 59 total rejections on the year while also adding 122 kills. Boom ranks just behind with 55 blocks, including a team-high 17 block solos, and ranks second on the squad with 123 kills. Dorsey's 1.13 blocks per set rank her second in the OVC while Boom's 1.04 per set average rank her sixth.
Rookie libero McKenna Young has been a steady presence for the purple and gold, totaling a team-high 210 digs. Junior setter Ashley Hand leads the way with 506 assists on the year, averaging 9554 per set to rank fifth in the OVC.
SCOUTING THE BRUINS
(2020-21 record: 3-11, 3-11 OVC | Series Record: 15-16 | H: 10-6 | A: 5-9 | N: 0-1)
Belmont (3-11, 3-11) enters the weekend after claiming a pair of home victories against Tennessee State last week. The Bruins collected a 3-1 (25-21, 19-25, 25-18, 25-16) win to open play against the Tigers, and followed it up with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-23) victory in the rematch.
Taylor Floyd leads her squad with 129 kills on the year, hitting .277 in 12 matches. She's added 25 total blocks to rank second on the team while registering a team-high 144.5 points. Kristen Clemons has also tallied triple-digit kills with 105 on the year, hitting .260 with a team-high 36 total blocks.
The Bruins' top offensive distributor has been Carly Mason, posting a team-leading 305 assists while Izzy Schauer has tallied 143. Rachel McBride has racked up 180 digs and 11 service aces to lead the way for Belmont.
File photo by Robert Smith, APSU Athletics
