By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech volleyball team kicks off its quest for its first Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title since 2008 Sunday afternoon, squaring off with the No. 6 seed Little Rock Trojans at 1:00 p.m. at Houck Field House on the campus of No. 1 seed Southeast Missouri in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
With a win, the No. 3 seeded Golden Eagles would compete in the semifinals on Monday at 2:00 p.m. CT against the winner between No. 2 seed Lindenwood and No. 7 SIUE. Should Tech advance once again, it would await any of the Redhawks, No. 4 Morehead State, No. 5 Western Illinois, or #8 Tennessee State for a championship match-up at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
Tickets will be sold on a per day basis, either $8 (online advance purchase) or $10 at the gate. To purchase tickets ahead of time, please visit this LINK. SEMO does have a CLEAR BAG policy for all of its athletic venues. All tournament matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
Tech fell in a pair of 3-1 finals in Cookeville against the Trojans earlier this season. The Golden Eagles dropped its next tilt at SEMO before rattling off seven straight wins to close out the regular season and enter the tournament as the hottest team in the league.
THE MATCHUPS
Sunday, November 24 – vs. #6 Little Rock, 1:00 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Video
Monday, November 25 – vs. TBA, 2:00 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Video
Tuesday, November 26 – vs. TBA, 6:00 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Video
National Level
The purple and gold rank ninth in the country in kills per set (14.24), 19th in opponent hitting percentage (.162), 24th in assists per set (12.97), 25th in aces per set, 25th in total assists, and 26th in total aces. Senior outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen ranks third nationally in points (604.5), fourth in total kills (523), sixth in the country in kills per set (4.93), seventh with 5.70 points per set, ninth with 58 aces, and 14th with 0.55 aces per set, while junior setter Jordan Karlen ranks fourth in the nation in assists per set with a mark of 11.24 and fifth with 1,191 total assists.
Playing Outside
Senior outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen was a beast for the Golden Eagles over the final two matches of the regular season, helping Tech extend its winning streak to seven straight matches by averaging 5.17 kills, 1.00 blocks, an absurd 2.17 service aces, and 7.92 points per set while hitting .403 from the outside. The senior opened the week with 13 kills on a .367 attack, four blocks, and 13 digs for her ninth double-double of the year.
The highlight came from the service line, as the Edwardsville native set a new rally-scoring era program record with 8 aces, including six alone in the first set. She followed it up with a whopping 18 kills and a .432 hitting percentage on Wednesday, adding five more aces, two blocks, and 15 digs for her 10th double-double of the year.
For her efforts, Isringhausen picked up her program and league-record eighth OVC Offensive Player of the Week nod of the year, and third in a row. On Saturday, she was named the OVC's Player of the Year.
Isringhausen turned in one of the most dominant and decorated single-season performances in the history of the program, setting school records for service aces (58), kills per set (4.93), service aces per set (0.55), and points per set (5.70) during the rally-scoring era. During the year, the Edwardsville, Ill. native piled up a league-record eight OVC Offensive Player of the Week honors, including each of the final three weeks of the year.
The first player in Tech history to collect National Player of the Week honors, Isringhausen paced the OVC with 523 kills, 4.93 kills per set, 58 aces, 0.55 aces per set, 604.5 points, and 5.70 points per set, while also ranking eighth in hitting percentage with a mark of .291. The senior wasn't just the best in the league, but one of the best in the country, ranking third in the nation in points, fourth in kills, sixth in kills per set, seventh in points per set, ninth in service aces, and 14th in aces per set.
The fourth Golden Eagle in program history to earn OVC Player of the Year honors, joining an elite group of Kim Tunnell (1985), Becky Murray Isom (1986), and Leah Meffert (2008), Isringhausen also became just the fourth member of the Tech program to collect All-OVC First Team recognition three times, a club that features Murray Isom (1985-88), Meffert (2007-10), and Taylor Dorsey (2018-22).
The First Team nod was also the fourth All-OVC honor of Isringhausen's career, making her a member of a crew of just four other Golden Eagles to accomplish the feat, including Meffer, Dorsey, and Stephanie Busch (1997-00). The Tech leader cemented herself as one of the best to ever don the purple and gold, plastering her name all over the career rankings for the program.
Setting Things Up
Junior setter Jordan Karlen continued her remarkable campaign with another week of stellar distribution for the league's top offensive unit. The junior averaged 10.83 assists, 2.83 digs, and 0.33 aces per set, opening the week with 34 helpers, an ace, eight digs, and two blocks. She kept the effort going on Wednesday, contributing 31 assists, two kills, an ace, and nine digs to round out the week.
Karlen's captured seven OVC Setter of the Week honors on the year, extending her program records for a single season and for a career, marking the 13th Setter of the Week accolade and 16th total weekly recognition.
Karlen joined the ranks of the elite Saturday with her second All-OVC First Team honor as a member of the Cookeville crew, becoming the first setter in program history to be selected to the First Team twice. It also marked her third career All-OVC accolade, after picking up Second Team honors last season.
Throughout the year, the junior collected a school-record seven OVC Setter of the Week honors, becoming just the second player in league history to post seven or more in a single season. It also extended her program marks for career weekly recognitions to 16 and career Setter of the Week nods to 13. Karlen's 13 Setter of the Week awards also rank as the third most for a career in conference history.
Floor General
Senior libero McKenna Young turned in her best performance of the year at UT Martin, helping extend Tech's winning streak to seven matches in a row to close out the regular season. The senior averaged 6.33 digs per set to contribute to the Golden Eagle effort, opening the week with 15 scoops in a 3-0 sweep on Tuesday. The libero followed it up with a whopping 23 digs in the team's second 3-0 sweep of the weekend, chipping in five assists for good measure.
Freshman Focus
Freshman outside Alayna Pierce became just the third rookie in school history to be named to an All-OVC First or Second Team on Saturday, earning Second Team honors. The Genoa, Ill. native finished the regular season ranked sixth with 3.47 points per set and seventh with 3.08 kills per set.
Pierce piled up three OVC Freshman of the Week honors on the year, becoming just the second Golden Eagle ever to pick up three such awards, joining her teammate Karlen. The freshman finished second on the team with 283 kills, third with 2.64 digs per set, and fourth with 243 total digs.
Current OVC Rankings
A quick glance at where the Golden Eagles rank among the OVC statistical leaders:
- Kills – Isringhausen (1st - 4.93/set); Pierce (7th - 3.08/set)
- Assists – Karlen (1st - 11.24/set)
- Hitting % – Isringhausen (8th - .291)
- Service Aces – Isringhausen (1st - 0.55/set); Aleeya Jones (4th - 0.33/set); Karlen (5th - 0.32/set)
- Digs – Young (8th - 4.61/set)
- Points – Isringhausen (1st - 5.70/set); Pierce (6th – 3.47/set)
Career Record Watch
A quick glance at where some of the current Golden Eagles rank in the program's all-time career charts:
- Madolyn Isringhausen
- 2nd – kills (1,685) – 10th in OVC history
- 2nd – attacks (4,625) – 11th in OVC history
- 2nd – points (1,973.0)
- 3rd – service aces (155)
- 3rd – service aces per set (0.34)
- 5th – points per set (4.17)
- 5th – kills per set (3.58)
- 7th – sets played (462)
- McKenna Young
- 1st– sets played (513)
- 2nd – digs (2,048) – 15th in OVC history
- 4th – digs per set (3.99)
- 6th – matches played (137)
- 8th – service aces (127)
- Jordan Karlen
- 2nd – assists per set (10.35)
- 5th – assists (3,374)
An Honored Group
A quick look at the honors picked up by the Golden Eagles in 2024:
- Madolyn Isringhausen
- Preseason All-OVC Team
- Carrie Yerty Classic All-Tournament Team
- Carrie Yerty Classic MVP
- Charlotte Invitational All-Tournament Team
- Charlotte Invitational MVP
- Golden Eagle Invitational All-Tournament Team
- Golden Eagle Invitational MVP
- Greensboro Invitational All-Tournament Team
- 8x OVC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 2, Sept. 16, Sept. 30, Oct. 7, Oct. 21, Nov. 11, Nov. 18, Nov. 22)
- 2x TSWA Volleyball Player of the Week (Sept. 3, Nov. 12)
- AVCA/GameChanger Division I National Player of the Week (Nov. 12)
- All-OVC First Team
- OVC Player of the Year
- Mallory Jenkins
- Preseason OVC Player to Watch
- Carrie Yerty Classic All-Tournament Team
- Jordan Karlen
- Preseason All-OVC Team
- Carrie Yerty Classic All-Tournament Team
- Golden Eagle Invitational All-Tournament Team
- 7x OVC Setter of the Week (Sept. 2, Sept. 16, Oct. 7, Oct. 28, Nov. 4, Nov. 11, Nov. 18)
- 4x TSWA Volleyball Player of the Week (Sept. 17, Oct. 8, Oct. 29, Nov. 5)
- All-OVC First Team
- Alayna Pierce
- 3x OVC Freshman of the Week (Sept. 30, Oct. 7, Nov. 18)
- All-OVC Second Team
- Bella Powell
- Charlotte Invitational All-Tournament Team
- McKenna Young
- Charlotte Invitational All-Tournament Team
- Golden Eagle Invitational All-Tournament Team
Photo by Jim Dillon
