By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – It was a big bounce back for the Tennessee Tech volleyball team Saturday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles rode a wave of strong offense and tenacity to get the job done in a 3-1 win over a Southeast Missouri squad that had won nine consecutive Ohio Valley Conference matches heading into the day.
Tech (17-7, 6-6) piled up 60 kills and 10 service aces throughout the match, capturing its own advantages along the margins after seeing the reverse side of things in Friday's five-set loss to the Redhawks (13-11, 10-2).
Saturday's tilt started a little precarious for the purple and gold, with SEMO jumping out to an early, 9-3 lead. The home squad kept that six-point advantage up to a 13-7 score, but the Golden Eagles flipped a switch.
Tech dropped an 11-1 run to take an 18-14 lead of its own, powered by a trio of Jordan Karlen service aces. Southeast Missouri pulled to within a point down the stretch, but Tech rolled off four straight points to finish off a 25-20 win.
Set two saw both sides go back and forth most of the way, that is until the Golden Eagles spun four straight points to break a 16-16 draw. That momentum proved plenty as the purple and gold powered its way to a 25-19 win and a 2-0 lead.
SEMO finally got its footing for set three, opening a large lead early and never really allowing the Tech squad to get going. The Redhawks kept their hopes alive with a 25-19 decision while the Golden Eagles struggled to the tune of just 10 kills and 10 attack errors.
The Cookeville crew flipped that script to another level to close out the match in set four, fighting back from a 17-15 deficit late. Striking for a 10-1 run to close the match, Tech exploded for nine kills over that span to lock down a 25-18 victory.
The purple and gold delivered a mind-blowing 21 terminations in the set while making just five errors. Middle blocker Elena Wallace was nearly perfect, accounting for six kills on just eight swings for a .750 attack. Outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen and right side Ava Schubert chipped in six and five strikes, respectively.
For the match, Isringhausen led the Cookeville crew with 14 total kills, mixing in nine digs and a service ace. The ace represented the 150th of the senior's career, making her just the third Golden Eagle in program history to reach the milestone.
Three other members of purple and gold delivered double-digit kills on the night, with Wallace crushing .550 with a Tech career-high of 12 terminations. Rookie outside Alayna Pierce also provided a dozen smashes while racking up 16 digs for her sixth double-double on the year. Schubert rounded out the group with a season-high 10 kills.
Freshman middle blocker Mallory Jenkins nearly made it five Golden Eagles in the double-figure club, sporting nine strikes on a .474 attack to go with a team-high five total blocks. Tying her season high of three service aces was freshman defensive specialist Katie Green.
Quarterbacking the Tech effort on offense, setter Jordan Karlen turned in her 13th double-double of the season, beginning with a spectacular showing of 50 assists. Chipping in a team-high 21 digs, she also added three blocks and three aces. Senior libero McKenna Young clocked in with 20 digs of her own while assisting on five digs.
Tech returns to Cookeville for a four-game home stand, starting with a pair of matches in the Eblen Center against SIUE. The purple and gold kicks off the weekend with a 6:00 p.m. CT tilt on Friday, Nov. 8 and will cap the weekend with a 2:00 p.m. contest on Saturday, Nov. 9.
File photo by Jim Dillon
