By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Another stellar display of offense propelled the Tennessee Tech volleyball team to its third consecutive victory Friday evening, as the Golden Eagles bested Ohio Valley Conference foe Southern Indiana in a five-set thriller in Evansville, Ind.
Competing in their eighth, five-set tilt in 14 league contests this season, the purple and gold smashed a season-high 70 kills while hitting .246 to pick up a huge road win. It marked the team's most terminations in a match since tallying 72 in a five-set win at Belmont on Nov. 13, 2021.
The two sides fought squarely in the opening set, with neither team able to pull away by more than two points until the very end. Snapping a 19-19 stalemate, the Golden Eagles close things out with a 6-2 run.
Tech rolled out 16 kills in the set, making up for eight errors on the attack. The visitors also held the Screaming Eagles to just nine point-scoring swings to pull out the first-set W.
In set two, Southern Indiana pushed out to six-point lead at 19-13, but the Cookeville crew showed its resiliency, eventually tying the score at 22-22. Three straight points allowed the home squad to even the match at 1-1, despite the Golden Eagles rocking the block to the tune of six rejections.
The purple and gold flipped the script in the third set, jumping on top after an 8-8 tie and never looking back. Tech carried its lead the whole way through, picking up a 25-22 decision behind a whopping 20 kills on an unconscious .450 hitting percentage.
Sophomore setter Jordan Karlen recorded a ridiculous 17 helpers while junior outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen tallied an eye-popping nine kills in the set, hitting .692.
Southern Indiana cruised to a set-four victory, ripping off an 8-0 run out of the gates. The fast start propelled the Screaming Eagles to a 25-13 victory to force a fifth and decisive set. Tech struggled to find its form on offense for the first time on the night, managing just nine kills while the home squad totaled its highest mark of 18.
Tech never let USI get any real momentum in the fifth, allowing just a single lead by its opponents at 5-4. The Golden Eagles reached out to a four-point advantage at 11-7, but the Screaming Eagles responded with a 4-0 run to even the score.
It was all Tech the rest of the way, as the Golden Eagles came out victorious with a 4-1 streak and a 15-12 decision. The offense carried the way in the finale, accounting for 12 kills and a .304 hitting percentage.
A number of impressive individual performances combined together for the spectacular team effort, starting with Karlen. The reigning OVC Setter of the Year rocked a career-high 55 assists on the night, averaging 11.00 per set with seven digs.
Isringhausen racked up a team-high 22 terminations for the second straight match, adding 13 digs for her 11th double-double of the season. Behind two service aces on the night, the Edwardsville, Ill. native moved into a tie for 10th on the program's all-time career list for aces. She put forth three blocks for good measure.
Graduate middle blocker Skylar Boom secured 13 kills on .423 efficiency, registering a team-high five total blocks and one solo stop. The Louisville native now ranks sixth on Tech's career top-10 lists for both block assists and total blocks, as well as 10th in solo rejections.
Rookie right side Ava Schubert exploded for a new season-high of 19 kills while hitting a ridiculously efficient .405. Libero McKenna Young delivered 23 digs to the Tech effort, leading the match in the category.
Defensive specialist Aleeya Jones contributed 14 digs on the evening while middle blocker Emma Pabon turned in five kills and three blocks.
The second match of the weekend will feature a 2:00 p.m. CT start Saturday afternoon at Screaming Eagles Arena.
File photo by Jim Dillon
