2022 Tennessee Tech Volleyball Schedule
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A tough, but uplifting challenge awaits the Tennessee Tech volleyball team this upcoming fall, as head coach Jeannette Phillips announced the 2022 schedule for the purple and gold.
A total of 30 matches await the Golden Eagles in 2022, including 18 in Ohio Valley Conference action. Tech will also compete in four tournaments prior to league play, including three road trips.
"We always like to set up a challenging preseason [before conference play] so we can test our team early, both physically and mentally, and this year is no different," Phillips explained. "We get to travel to see some teams we have yet to play as a program and we should have some fun within these new challenges."
Tech will look to build off a highly successful 2021 campaign that saw the team collect 16 wins and an 11-7 mark in league play that clinched its second OVC Tournament berth under the direction of Phillips. Both the 16 regular season victories and 11 OVC dubs represented the top marks for the program since winning both the regular season and tournament titles in 2008.
Now with three straight winning seasons in conference play and the return of a pair of All-OVC selections in senior middle blocker Taylor Dorsey (First Team) and outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen (Second Team), the Golden Eagles look poised to challenge for its first league crown since the 2008 run.
The purple and gold begins its 2022 journey with a trip west to Springfield, Mo. for the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational hosted by Missouri State. Tech will kick off the event with a pair of tilts against Central Arkansas and MSU on Friday, Aug. 26. A match-up with Oral Roberts on Aug. 27 will round out action for the season-opening tournament.
Tech once again makes the return to Cookeville to host its annual Golden Eagle Invitational the following week, kicking off the four-team event with matches against Northwestern and Western Carolina on Friday, Sept. 2. Putting a wrap on tournament is a Sept. 3 affair against Evansville.
"We love having the opportunity to host a home tournament," Phillips expressed. "Our home match atmosphere is so special that we want to be able to play at home as much as possible. You feel a little more comfortable at home and it allows us to focus a little more clearly on our opponents rather than the entire aspect of what an away competition entails. We're really excited."
Back on the road the next week, the Golden Eagles will head north for Ohio's Bobcat Invitational, starting with a Friday, Sept. 9 game against Loyola Maryland. A double dip on Sept. 10 will feature tilts with Bradley and host Ohio.
The team's final non-conference action will be a quick visit north to Bowling Green, Ky. and the WKU Invitational. Following a tournament-opening bash against the host Hilltoppers, Tech will conclude the first day of action on Friday, Sept. 16 with a meeting against Indiana. Saturday's tournament finale pits the purple and gold against Southeastern Conference foe Texas A&M.
For the second year in a row, OVC play will feature the 10 league teams competing in an 18-match marathon. Teams will once again face each other two times on consecutive days throughout the season, with each team's travel partner featuring a midweek home-and-home setup.
The Golden Eagles begin their trek towards an OVC crown by hosting new league member Southern Indiana with a pair of matches on Sept. 23 and Sept. 24. Tech will see three straight games at home on Oct. 12, 14, and 15, hosting Morehead State in a Wednesday tilt before welcoming in SIUE for a weekend pair.
Tech will also host first-year OVC member Little Rock to close out October, with a couple of contests on the 28th and 29th. Rounding out the home schedule in league play, as well as regular season competition, are a pair of in-state match-ups with UT Martin Nov. 11 and 12.
The first road swing of league play features a Thursday-Friday trip to Nashville against Tennessee State on Sept. 29 and 30. Tech will stay on the road for a first-time visit to St. Charles, Mo. against new OVC foe Lindenwood Oct. 7-8.
A three-game road swing later in the month begins with Oct. 21 and 22 tilts at reigning conference champion Southeast Missouri and ends with a Wednesday visit to Morehead State on Oct. 26. The Golden Eagles' final road trip of the year marks its longest, a trek north to Charleston Ill. for Nov. 4 and 5 match-ups at Eastern Illinois.
Finishing in the top eight of the final OVC standings will earn the purple and gold a bid to the league's annual postseason tournament, hosted by the regular-season champion over a three-day period spanning Nov. 17-21. The No. 1 seed will be allowed to choose the three-day span that best suits its hosting schedule.
"This season will feel so different after all of the changes that the OVC has seen recently," Phillips said. "It will be a neat new challenge having some new opponents to add to some familiar foes."
Photo by TTU Sports Information
