By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Outstanding resolve was the name of the game for the Tennessee Tech volleyball team Friday evening, as the Golden Eagles ran their Ohio Valley Conference-best winning streak to six straight matches with a 3-1 victory over Southeast Missouri.
Competing at the Hooper Eblen Center, the purple and gold won a war of attrition to kick off the night and used the momentum to secure its fourth consecutive victory against the Redhawks (20-6, 12-3), a program-best streak. The Golden Eagles (12-16, 8-9) burst out of the gates to open the match, taking a seven-point lead at 12-5.
SEMO battled back, securing a 23-23 tie that sparked an instant classic of an opening set. Both sides traded leads down the stretch, with the Redhawks reaching match point at 25-24. Tech squared things back at 25-all before outlasting the visitors from Cape Girardeau, Mo., 30-28.
The Cookeville crew piled up 21 kills and three blocks in the set, hitting .309 as a unit. Four different Golden Eagles recorded at least four terminations in the game, while sophomore setter Jordan Karlen dished out 16 assists.
Tech rode the spectacular finish into another sizable lead in set two, pushing out front by five points at 12-7. Four straight attack errors by the Golden Eagles and an ace allowed SEMO to knot things at 12-12. The Redhawks even took a lead of their own at 15-14, but the purple and gold swung back.
A 6-0 run put Tech on top for good, allowing the home squad to take a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-19 victory in the second set. Hitting .282 with two more blocks, the Golden Eagles piled up another 18 terminations while holding Southeast Missouri to just six kills with six errors.
The visitors proved why they entered the evening tied atop the OVC standings, exploding out to a 10-3 lead in the third set and holding off a late Tech surge for a 25-20 win. The purple and gold stripped the lead down to three at 22-19, but SEMO's early outburst was enough to hold up and force a fourth set.
In that fourth set, it seemed the match was destined for a fifth, as the Redhawks erupted out to a 10-2 advantage. Tech answered in kind, rolling off an 11-2 run to take its first lead of the game. Southeast Missouri tied it up one more time at 13-13, but the Golden Eagles put a cap on the evening with another impressive 12-4 run.
Hitting .270 in the set, the purple and gold totaled 15 kills and just five errors while also putting an exclamation point on the win with four blocks.
A number of impressive performances propelled the Golden Eagles to its sixth consecutive victory, led by Karlen and her 13th double-double of the season. The Janesville, Wis. native delivered a whopping 53 assists for a 13.25 per set average, along with a team-high 16 digs and four blocks.
Junior outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen continued her red-hot play, turning in a match-high 20 kills while hitting a solid .294. The team's offensive leader picked up her 15th double-double on the year and sixth in a row, racking up 15 digs, three blocks, and an ace.
Graduate middle blocker Skylar Boom produced a monster performance with 17 kills on a .343 efficiency. The Louisville native also led the match with five block assists. Junior libero McKenna Young dug up 15 attempts and shelled out four helpers on the night.
Rookie right side Ava Schubert joined the double-digit dig brigade, totaling 11 to go along with two blocks. Matching her output was junior outside hitter Bella Powell, who also tallied 11 terminations to pair with 13 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Junior middle blocker Emma Pabon tied Boom for the match lead with five blocks, chipping five kills for good measure.
The two sides will compete in the second match of the weekend Saturday evening, featuring a 7:00 p.m. CT start following the Golden Eagle football game against Gardner-Webb. The contest will represent Senior Night, with Skylar Boom, Olivia Taylor, and Katie DiRaimondo all set to be honored following the match.
Photo by Jim Dillon
