By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
LEXINGTON, Ky. – For the first time in more than 25 years, the Tennessee Tech volleyball team was one of its own recognized at the national level, as the American Volleyball Coaches Association named senior outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen to its Division I Women's All-South Region Team Tuesday morning.
Earning an honorable mention spot on the AVCA All-South Region Team, Isringhausen became the first Golden Eagle to collect All-Region honors since TTU Sports Hall of Famer Rachel Melchiorre received recognition following the 1997 campaign.
"We are so proud of Maddie as she pulls in a spot on the All-Region Team," Tech head coach Jeannette Phillips expressed. "I cannot express enough how much she deserves everything that she has earned due to her determination, work ethic, and leadership. She has accomplished so much and will continue to do so after her time as a Golden Eagle is officially complete. Maddie has paved the way for other future athletes to dream bigger and her impact at Tech can not be understated. The ripples her she is causing will flow through this program for many years to come."
Isringhausen turned in one of the most dominant and decorated single-season performances in the history of the program, setting school records for the rally-scoring era for kills (559), kills per set (4.90), service aces (59), service aces per set (0.52), points (642.0), and points per set (5.63). During the year, the Edwardsville, Ill. native piled up a league-record eight Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors, including each of the final three weeks of the regular season.
The first player in Tech history to collect National Player of the Week honors, Isringhausen paced the OVC kills, kills per set, aces, aces per set, points, and 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).
Her All-OVC First Team nod was also the fourth All-OVC honor of her 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.
Isringhausen concluded her five-year stretch in Cookeville saw her finish first among career leaders for the program with 2,011.0 points, second with 1,721 kills, 4,737 attacks, and 169 service aces, third with 0.36 aces per set and 4.21 points per set, fourth with 476 sets played, fifth with 3.62 kills per set, and ninth with 127 matches played. Additionally, she became just the 11th member of the program's Double Grand Club, securing more than 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs during her career.
Following this year's OVC Championships, Isringhausen was selected to the OVC All-Tournament Team for her efforts in Tech's two contests, a 3-0 sweep over Little Rock and a heartbreaking, 3-2 loss to eventual champion Lindenwood. With the season officially over for the purple and gold, Isringhausen received an invitation to training camp by the Atlanta Vibe, a member of the Pro Volleyball Federation.
Photo by Jim Dillon
