By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
MOREHEAD, Ky. – It was an all-out block party for the Tennessee Tech volleyball team Wednesday evening, as the Golden Eagles picked up their sixth straight win with a dominant, 3-1 performance at Morehead State. Picking up the team's sixth consecutive victory provided the program with its longest winning streak since the 2008 Ohio Valley Conference championship campaign.
The purple and gold powered up its defensive wall to the tune of a season-high-tying 15 blocks as a team, holding the Morehead offense to just a .120 attack percentage. Tech also locked down 47 kills while hitting .228 with seven service aces.
The win marked the first time the Golden Eagles (12-12, 9-3) won back-to-back matches against Morehead State (11-12, 7-5) since the second tilt of the 2014 season and first of the 2015 campaign. It was Tech's first season series sweep of the Eagles since 2014 and the program's first win at Morehead since 2017.
Picking up the team's sixth consecutive victory provided the program with its longest winning streak since the 2008 Ohio Valley Conference championship campaign.
The visitors from Cookeville looked strong right out of the gate, ratcheting up a 6-1 lead. Morehead tied it quickly and fought the Golden Eagles back and forth before pulling away late for a 25-21 win in set one.
Despite 15 kills from the Golden Eagles in the set, Morehead took the opener with superior blocking and higher efficiency. Tech shifted that mentality for the rest of the match.
In set two, the purple and gold controlled things most of the way, battling between ties and three-point leads at several junctures and releasing the lead just twice. In the end, the Golden Eagles took a critical 25-23 victory behind a lights-out attack of .387 with 14 kills and three blocks.
Tech sprinted off the blocks in the third, moving in front easily at 7-2 and never allowing the home Eagles within more than three the rest of the way. An elite display of defense by the Tech front row paved the way to a 25-16 win.
In the third set alone, TTU piled up six blocks and forced the Morehead attack into four more errors for an .027 line. The Golden Eagles made the most of their opportunities, recording eight kills on just 19 attempts.
The block soiree was a two-way-tango in the fourth set, with both sides combining for nine blocks. Tech boasted five of them, helping explode out to an 8-1 lead. In front by as much as 12 in the set, the Golden Eagles simply made less mistakes the rest of the way.
Morehead hit -.068 in the fourth, recording 11 errors with eight kills. Tech posted 10 kills and a couple of aces to help get the job done.
Senior middle blocker Taylor Dorsey was the linchpin on the night, picking up her first double-double of the year and fifth of her career. The Birmingham native registered 11 total rejections, tying her career-high mark from her sophomore campaign in 2019. She also tied for the match lead with 15 kills, hitting a solid .344 along the way.
Dorsey is now just 11 total blocks away from becoming just the third Golden Eagle ever to record 500 for a career. She would also become the first Tech player ever to record 1,000 kills and 500 blocks in a career. Dorsey also sits just 18 block assists away from the Golden Eagle career mark currently held by Stephanie Busch (446).
Outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen also tied for the match-lead with 15 kills, hitting .257 while also contributing two aces, nine digs, and five blocks of her own. Middle Skylar Boom chipped in four rejections and seven kills while hitting .429.
Senior middle Dallas Oatis sent back a career-high four attempts on the night while also producing four terminations. Brooke Amann did a little bit of everything for the Golden Eagles, recording four kills, two aces, 12 digs, and a block.
Fresh off picking up her 1,000th career dig, libero McKenna Young made quick work towards her 2,000th by picking up a match-high 20. She added an ace and four assists to the mix. Freshman setter Jordan Karlen dished out 37 assists on the night and added two aces, six digs, and a block to the effort.
The Golden Eagles will now return home to host Little Rock for the first time as OVC opponents Friday and Saturday. The first match is slated for a 6:00 p.m. CT start on Friday while the second match of the weekend will take place at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, both inside the comfort of the Hooper Eblen Center.
File photo by Jim Dillon
