By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – For the second straight night, the Tennessee Tech volleyball team fell to in-state rival Tennessee State in five sets, dropping a 3-2 decision to the Tigers Saturday afternoon in the Hooper Eblen Center to wrap up their Ohio Valley Conference opening weekend.
Consistency was the key to the match, one in which the Golden Eagles were held to just an .090 hitting percentage. Tech also limited the TSU attack to just a .136 efficiency, but the difference proved just enough for the Tigers to pick up the win.
No lead seemed safe in a match full of runs, starting with the opening game. The purple and gold jumped out to a 12-7 advantage at one point, but the visitors from Nashville flipped the script and took their own two-point lead down the stretch.
Facing set point three times, the Golden Eagles held strong and tied things at 24, 25, and once more at 26. A three-point run to end the set provided Tech with a 28-26 win and an early 1-0 lead.
Tennessee State roared out to a big start in set two, quickly building an 8-2 lead. The Golden Eagles rallied to square things at 15-15 before the Tigers moved back out by six at 24-18. The Cookeville crew dug in and fired off five straight to pull within a point before TSU finished things off with a 25-23 win to even the match.
Set three proved to be one of the more bizarre in recent memory, with both sides showing signs of absolute dominance. Leading 2-1, the Golden Eagles went absolutely nuts to the tune of a 17-2 run for a 19-3 lead.
What followed was equally crazy, as the Tigers answered with a 16-2 run of their own to close the gap to 21-19. Tech locked things in, closing the set on a 4-1 run for a 25-20 win and 2-1 lead in the match.
TSU again followed a loss with a hot start, leading by at least two points for nearly the entire fourth set. Scoring a 25-18 win, the Tigers forced a fifth and decisive set for the second straight day.
Tech looked well on its way to taking the match after building a 9-4 advantage, but another Tennessee State run proved too much to overcome. The visitors dropped six straight to take a 10-9 lead. The Golden Eagles tied things at 10-10, but the Tigers scored the next two points and didn't look back, winning 15-12.
Freshman Jillian Shaneyfelt was sharp once again while filling in as the Golden Eagle setter due to injury, racking up 45 helpers and a team-high 15 digs for her second career double-double. The rookie also combined for a block and picked up her first career kill.
Outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen recorded her sixth double-double of the season behind a team-high 13 kills and 11 digs, adding three service aces and two blocks to the mix as well. Freshman right side Ava Schubert produced a season-best 12 terminations for the third straight match and assisted on a pair of rejections as well.
Junior Bella Powell solidified her second double-double of the weekend and season behind 11 kills and 13 digs. Middle blocker Skylar Boom just missed out on the double-digit kill fun, settling for nine terminations and three total blocks.
Exploding for her best match in the purple and gold, middle blocker Emma Pabon registered career highs of six kills and five blocks. Libero McKenna Young tallied 14 digs and four service aces while defensive specialist Aleeya Jones chipped in 12 digs.
Tech makes its first OVC road trip of the season next weekend, making the long hall to Arkansas for a pair of match-ups with Little Rock. The weekend will kick off with a 6:00 p.m. affair on Friday, Sept. 29 and end with a 2:00 p.m. contest on Saturday, Sept. 30.
Photo by Jim Dillon
