By Thomas Corhern Herald-Citizen Assistant Sports
Editor
COOKEVILLE -- It's a clich?, but for Tennessee Tech volleyball, it
truly is history in the making.
The Golden Eagles have six games remaining in their regular season,
but for the first time since 1983, the Golden Eagles are in
contention for an Ohio Valley Conference regular season
championship.
True, Tech did win the 1997 OVC Tournament, but the Golden Eagles
finished second in the regular season.
Tech hosts its final home series of the season this weekend as the
team that the Golden Eagles currently find themselves tied for the
top spot, Morehead State, comes into town Friday night.
The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Eblen Center. Admission is
free.
Eastern Kentucky, currently tied for seventh in the league, is
Tech's final regular season opponent in the Eblen Center on
Saturday afternoon.
Friday's match is conceivably one of the biggest games in Tech
volleyball history.
"It ranks right up there," said coach John Blair, who leads his
team in with a 13-9 record, 10-2 in the OVC. "It's right up there
with the 1997 team that won the OVC tournament. That's certainly
what our goal is -- regular season and tournament.
"These are historic times. Since the advent of the league's
expansion, our team's never had a 10-2 record and competing for
first place. It's always been a 'catch them from behind' thing.
This is new territory for us."
And the players themselves are excited by the prospects.
"We're pumped," said junior libero Katie Kenline. "This game is
important for us because it could put us in first place and in
position to host the tournament."
If the Golden Eagles can hold on to their current streak and win
their first league title since '83, Tech will host the OVC
Tournament from Nov. 20-23.
Granted there's still a lot to play, but the Golden Eagles are
looking unstoppable at the moment.
But that's not getting the Golden Eagles off their game.
"It's been a great season so far, but we really haven't
accomplished anything yet," said senior setter Katherine "Kappy"
Lang. "We're all looking forward to this weekend. We want a strong
start against Morehead. But we want to host the tournament."
Yet, it's still history in the making.
"For our program, I think so," Lang said. "We've come a long way
from my freshman year. I don't think any of us are going to be
satisfied until we accomplish what we want to and that's win the
tournament."
"We all came in together and, hopefully, we'll all leave with a
championship and a ring," Kenline said.
Kenline entered the same season with Lang and fellow seniors
Jessica Asplund and Caitlin Bullock, but Kenline was redshirted
after an injury.
"We've been fortunate to have a great group of seniors," Blair
said. "They've worked really hard this year and committed
themselves to be where they are today."
But Morehead isn't a slouch by any means though.
"That's the team we want to beat," Kenline said. "They beat us
earlier in the season."
The Eagles claimed a 3-1 win in Morehead back on Oct. 4. After
winning its first nine straight league matches, Morehead State has
fallen in a slight dry spell.
"They've had a nice run," Blair said. "About four years ago, they
were right there even with us because of what their personnel
rollover was. They've been a bit quicker and the last couple of
years, they've been right there. I feel like we've been chasing
them. We lost to them 17-15 last year at the conference
championships.
"We've been neck and neck with them. Sometimes it's a break there,
a point here."
Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles have won 12 straight sets, sweeping
Tennessee-Martin, Jacksonville State, Tennessee State and Austin
Peay.
And in recent weeks, the Golden Eagles have been dominating the
OVC's weekly awards. Lang received her sixth setter of the week nod
earlier this week, while Kenline was tabbed as the league's
defensive player of the week.
"Those really are coming from how we are playing as a team," Lang
said. "It's nice to be recognized, but we wouldn't be recognized if
we weren't doing well as a team. That's what matters."
Kenline added, "Everyone on our team is deserving of awards, but
they can't give one to everybody."
Blair echoed those sentiments.
"With as well as our team as played, it's easy to showcase a few
players," Blair said. "In this sport, nobody gets there on their
own."