By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The run of brilliant offensive play extended to a fourth consecutive match for the Tennessee Tech volleyball team, as the Golden Eagles bested Ohio Valley Conference foe Southern Indiana in Evansville, Ind. Saturday afternoon, 3-1.
Coming as little surprise, Tech (10-16, 6-9) secured its fourth straight victory in the process thanks to more dazzling displays from a number of Golden Eagles on both the offensive and defensive end. For the second match in a row, the purple and gold crushed 70 kills to get the job done, doing so with a .293 efficiency.
It marked the first time a Tech squad recorded 70 or more terminations in back-to-back tilts since registering 79 on Nov. 2, 2007 against Tennessee State and 83 on Nov. 3, 2007 against Austin Peay.
To open the day, the two sides fought pretty evenly up to a 16-16 tie. The Screaming Eagles took the lead with a kill, looking to set the tone early, but the visitors from Cookeville had other ideas. Using a 5-0 run, the purple and gold took command and never let the home squad get back to within two in a 25-22 victory. Tech hit .318 in the set, racking up 17 kills and four blocks.
In set two, the Golden Eagles looked well on their way to another win, taking a five-point lead at 17-12. USI responded to tie the game as the two sides waged war down the stretch. It was the home squad coming out on top, squeaking by TTU 26-24 to even the match.
The purple and gold exploded out of the gates in the third set, leaping into a nine-point lead at 17-8. The Screaming Eagles fought back, pulling within a pair before the Golden Eagles finished things off for a 25-21 decision. Tech racked up 18 kills while hitting a robust .325 in the set.
Set four required a little bit of a rally for the Golden Eagles, but once they took over, it was smooth sailing the rest of the way. Down by three early, Tech rolled off seven of the next eight points to take its own three-point lead.
That advantage ballooned to eight for the Cookeville crew at its peak, leading to a 25-19 victory and clinching the match. The purple and gold tallied a ridiculous 20 kills in the final set, hitting .250 while tallying three more rejections.
A number of remarkable performances paved the way for the Golden Eagles, starting with setter Jordan Karlen. The sophomore locked down a career-high in assists for the third time in the last four matches, firing off a whopping 58 on the day. Adding 14 digs, not to mention three blocks, she posted her 11th double-double of the season. She averaged 14.50 helpers per set.
Also performing at an all-time level was rookie Ava Schubert, topping her best showing of the year from the previous night with a match-high-tying 21 kills. She smashed a spectacular .432 while chipping in three blocks.
Outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen also turned in 21 terminations while hitting .340, contributing her 12th double-double of the season with 16 digs. Libero McKenna Young piled up a match-high 18 digs, tacking on six assists and a team-high two service aces.
Skylar Boom dominated from her middle blocker position, delivering her first career double-double behind 11 kills and a season-high 11 total blocks. Outside hitter Bella Powell added 10 kills to the mix, just missing out on her own double-double with nine digs.
The Golden Eagles return to the Hooper Eblen Center for a midweek tilt Tuesday evening, squaring off with Morehead State in a 6:00 p.m. CT affair.
File photo by Jim Dillon
