2023 Tennessee Tech Volleyball Schedule
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Another challenging slate is in store for the Tennessee Tech volleyball team this upcoming fall, as head coach Jeannette Phillips announced the 2023 schedule for the purple and gold.
A year after racking up the program's most overall victories and Ohio Valley Conference wins since 2008, the Golden Eagles will tackle 29 total matches in the fall, including 18 in league action. Tech will also compete in four tournaments prior to league play, including three road trips.
"The way our preseason is set up, it should allow us to compete at a very high level and showcase what we have been working toward," Phillips explained. "These teams that we will be facing early on will definitely prepare us for our always competitive OVC play."
Off the heels of a runner-up showing in the OVC regular season, one that saw the purple and gold compile a 17-14 overall record and 14-4 mark in league play, the Golden Eagles will look to take that next step as a program in winning an OVC title. Last season, Tech returned to the OVC Tournament for the third straight season under the direction of Phillips.
Back for the Golden Eagles to lead the 2023 journey are a trio of All-OVC performers in outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen (First Team), setter Jordan Karlen (First Team), and middle blocker Skylar Boom (Second Team). Karlen also returns as the league's reigning winner of both OVC Setter of the Year and OVC Freshman of the Year, the first student-athlete in conference history to take home both honors in the same season.
"Our team is very excited that another season is upon us," Phillips said. "They feel like they have some unfinished business and are ready to leap into the challenge head first."
Kicking off the newest season for the purple and gold is a trip east to Boone, N.C. for the Mountaineer Classic hosted by App State. The Golden Eagles will serve things up with a pair of tilts on Friday, Aug. 25, squaring off with Bellarmine and William & Mary. Action rounds out with the season-opening tournament against the host Mountaineers on Saturday, Aug. 26.
Keeping with tradition, Tech will host its annual Golden Eagle Invitational the following weekend, squaring off in two matches on Friday, Sept. 1 against in-state rival ETSU in the morning and Kennesaw State in the evening. A single contest against Cincinnati awaits the purple and gold on Saturday, Sept. 2.
Returning to the road, the Tech squad will make its way south for the Ole Miss Invite running Sept. 8-9 in Oxford, Miss. The Golden Eagles open play with a single match on Friday against Alcorn State before playing a pair against South Dakota State and Ole Miss on Saturday.
Wrapping up tournament play for the Golden Eagles is a two-day trek out west for the UniWyo Invite hosted by Wyoming in Laramie, Wyo. Tech will face host Wyoming on Thursday, Sept. 14 before concluding the event on Friday, Sept. 15 with an affair against Idaho State.
For the third straight year, OVC play will feature an 18-match marathon, with the lone squad not represented on Tech's slate the UT Martin Skyhawks. 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.
"With the late addition of a new team to our conference, things shifted around a bit with our conference schedule, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out," Phillips explained. "It is definitely interesting that not everyone in our conference will play one another and could potentially face off for the first time in the tournament, but that will just keep everyone on their toes."
The Golden Eagles begin their hunt for a league title against in-state foe and defending OVC Tournament champion Tennessee State with a pair of contests in the Hooper Eblen Center Sept. 22-23. Tech will get a rematch with Lindenwood, who knocked the purple and gold out of the league tournament a season ago, squaring off with the Lions at home Oct. 6-7.
A pair of home tilts with Eastern Illinois are on the docket for the purple and gold Oct. 20-21. Tech will close out the regular season with three straight matches in the Hoop, competing with long-time rival Morehead State on Tuesday, Nov. 7 before hosting Southeast Missouri in back-to-back affairs Nov. 10-11.
Tech's first road trip of the conference season represents its furthest, making the long drive to Little Rock for a two-stretch from Sept. 29-30. Three-straight matches away from Cookeville are on the docket in October, including a Tuesday tilt at Morehead State on Oct. 10. That is followed by a weekend trip to Edwardsville, Ill. Oct. 13-14 for a pair of match-ups with SIUE.
The team's longest road swing of the year kicks off with a journey north to face new league foe Western Illinois Oct. 26-27. Two more road contests await the Golden Eagles the following weekend, heading to Evansville, Ind. for matches with Southern Indiana Nov. 3-4.
With each team receiving a bye week during league play this season, the purple and gold will have an extra week to prepare for the OVC Tournament, with Tech's week off from conference competition occurring following its final matches of the regular season.
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. 19-25. The No. 1 seed will be allowed to choose the three-day span that best suits its hosting schedule.
"As always, the feeling of a new season and a blank slate is both daunting and exciting," Phillips expressed. "There is a lot of work to be done, but we have a great group to do it with, so we're looking forward to another fun journey together."
Photo by TTU Sports Information
