By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech volleyball team heads south to Oxford, Miss. to continue tournament action this weekend, kicking off the Ole Miss Invite Friday afternoon with a 4:00 p.m. CT tilt with Alcorn State.
Play continues Saturday with a 10:00 a.m. meeting with South Dakota State and wraps up following a 4:00 p.m. match-up against the host Rebels. Tech's match with Ole Miss on Saturday represents the lone affair slated to be streamed over the weekend, with action found on SEC Network+.
THE MATCHUPS
Friday, September 8 – vs. Alcorn State, 4:00 p.m. | Live Stats
Saturday, September 9 – vs. South Dakota State, 10:00 a.m. | Live Stats
Saturday, September 9 – at Ole Miss, 4:00 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Video
Striking Early
The Golden Eagles have opened each of their first two tournaments of the 2023 campaign with 3-0 sweeps and will look to accomplish the same with Friday's tilt against Alcorn State. Tech opened the season with decisions of 25-23, 25-19, and 25-20 over Bellarmine at the Mountaineer Classic. The purple and gold kicked off its home tournament last weekend behind 25-14, 26-24, and 25-16 triumphs over in-state rival ETSU.
Preseason Honors
A trio of Golden Eagles picked up Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference honors, including sophomore setter Jordan Karlen, junior outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen, and graduate middle blocker Skylar Boom, the most Tech players earning preseason recognition since 2008.
Setting Things Up
The OVC's reigning Setter and Freshman of the Year, Karlen put forth a strong weekend at the Golden Eagle Invitational presented by Holiday Inn of Cookeville, securing her first career All-Tournament honors. Averaging 10.30 assists and 2.40 digs per set for the week, the Janesville, Wis. native also locked down her fourth career OVC Setter of the Week nod for her work. She dished out 38 helpers in three sets against ETSU and followed with 42 in a four-set loss to Kennesaw State. Karlen currently ranks fourth in the league with 9.48 assists per set.
Consistent Attack
Now in her third season as the top offensive weapon for the Golden Eagles, Isringhausen has continued to show the consistency that earned her All-OVC Second Team honors in 2021 and First Team recognition last season. The junior outside currently ranks fifth in the OVC with 3.24 kills per set, racking up another 34 over the weekend in 10 sets. Isringhausen also turned in her second double-double of the season, recording 15 kills and career-high 17 digs against Kennesaw State.
Here Comes the Boom
Limited to two matches of work over the weekend, Boom aided the Tech effort to the tune of back-to-back tilts with seven kills against Kennesaw State and Cincinnati. She added four blocks to the mix against the Owls as well.
Floor General
Junior libero McKenna Young fought her way to strong showing against Kennesaw State during the Golden Eagle Invitational, posting her second 20-dig performance of the year against the Owls. She added eight digs to the stat sheets against ETSU as well, ranking seventh in the league with 3.89 digs per set.
Rising Rookie
Freshman right side Ava Schubert continued her strong start with the purple and gold, locking up a season-high 10 kills while hitting a robust .316 against ETSU. She followed with four service aces, four terminations, and four blocks against Kennesaw State and now ranks eighth in the OVC with 0.45 aces per set.
Up Next
Tech will conclude its pre-OVC slate with a trip west for the UniWyo Invite in Laramie, Wyo. The Golden Eagles will square off with tournament host Wyoming in a 7:30 p.m. CT affair Thursday, Sept. 14 before wrapping things up on Friday, Sept. 15 with a 3:00 p.m. bout with Idaho State.
Photo by Jim Dillon
