Historic performance lifts Golden Eagles past Leathernecks in five-set thriller
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It was an instant classic in the Hooper Eblen Center Friday afternoon, as the Tennessee Tech volleyball team claimed an impressive, 3-2 victory over Western Illinois in a battle between two of the Ohio Valley Conference’s top offenses.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
24 | 26 | 18 | 25 | 7 | 2 |
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26 | 24 | 25 | 21 | 15 | 3 |
Team Stats
Western Illinois
| Game Statistics | Western Illinois | Tennessee Tech |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .222 | .255 |
| Blocks | 11.5 | 12.0 |
| Digs | 69 | 85 |
| Aces | 2 | 8 |
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It was an instant classic in the Hooper Eblen Center Friday afternoon, as the Tennessee Tech volleyball team claimed an impressive, 3-2 victory over Western Illinois in a battle between two of the Ohio Valley Conference's top offenses.
Moving to a perfect 4-0 to start OVC play, the Golden Eagles (15-1, 4-0) continued to extend the best start in program history after delivering historic numbers across the board. It took an eye-popping 74 kills to get the job done on Friday, the most by a Tech unit since smashing 75 in a 3-2 win over Murray State in the OVC Tournament Championship match on Nov. 22, 2008.
The effort to take down the Leathernecks for the second straight also required 69 assists, the most by the Cookeville crew since doling out 69 in a 3-2 win at UT Martin on Nov. 13, 2015, and 89 digs, the highest total by the Golden Eagles since scooping 105 in four sets against UT Martin on Nov. 11, 2022.
The opening two sets of the day were an absolute war, with each side claiming 26-24 victories. In the first set, Tech dominated on the attack, piling up a ridiculous 20 kills while hitting .368. Western Illinois (8-8, 2-3) couldn't match the pace, chalking up 14. Set two saw the Leathernecks flip the script, earning their own 26-24 win after just edging the Golden Eagles in the termination department, 17-14.
There wasn't much drama in set three, as the home purple and gold sprinted out to an 11-4 lead and eventually held a 10-point advantage on its way to a 25-18 triumph. The Tech defense showed off this time around, racking up five blocks and holding WIU to just eight kills and an .023 attack. The offense chipped in 17 kills to finish things off.
Flipping the court again, Western Illinois made some adjustments and rebounded nicely for a 25-21 win in the fourth set, hitting .326 with 17 spikes. The Leathernecks also limited Tech to 15 with seven errors.
Supremely dissatisfied with moving on to a fifth set, the Golden Eagles never allowed it to be competitive, taking out their frustration to the tune of a 15-7 win. In decisive fashion, Tech tallied eight kills and two aces while allowing just two kills total across the entire fifth set.
Leading the way on the attack with a pair of brilliant performances were outside hitters Madolyn Isringhausen and Alayna Pierce, becoming the first Golden Eagle teammates to post at least 20 kills in the same match since Isringhausen and Ava Schubert each produced 21 in a four-set win at Southern Indiana on Nov. 4 of last season.
Isringhausen tied her career-high of 25 terminations while hitting an impressive .309. Her season-best 15 digs provided her fifth double-double of the season. The senior continued to etch her name in the program's record books, climbing past Amanda Lindgren (2006-09) for third on the career kills list and jumping over Maggie Stern (1999-02) for third on the career points list.
Pierce established a new career-high on the day, peppering 21 terminations onto the stat sheet while also scooping 15 digs for her third double-double of the year. The rookie also delivered three solo blocks in the match on three consecutive plays.
Junior setter Jordan Karlen directed the incredible offensive display at hand, compiling a new career standard of 63 assists across the five sets. The mark tied for the fourth most helpers in a five-set match during the rally-scoring era in program history. It also represented the most by a Golden Eagles since Melanie Culp totaled 63 against Murray State on Nov. 5, 2010.
Karlen's 13 digs were enough for her ninth double-double of the season. She also chipped in three blocks and landed a career-high five service aces for the Tech effort as well.
Defensively, senior libero McKenna Young was all over the place for the purple and gold, covering the floor for a season-high 26 digs. She tacked on three helpers as well while moving into fifth on Tech's career charts for sets played.
Senior outside Bella Powell joined in on the offensive fun, registering 11 kills to go along with a team-high-tying six total blocks. Matching her effort in the blocks department was senior middle blocker Emma Pabon, who collected five kills as well.
Freshman middle Mallory Jenkins enjoyed a new career-high mark in the kills department as well, tallying 12 on the power of a .423 attack with three blocks. Mixing in 13 digs and two aces for good measure was senior defensive specialist Aleeya Jones.
Tech opens a four-game road stretch next week, heading west to St. Charles, Mo. for a pair of league tests with Lindenwood. The Golden Eagles and Lions will square off Thursday, Oct. 10 at 6:00 p.m. CT before finishing the week on Friday, Oct. 11 with another 6:00 p.m. affair.
Photo by Jim Dillon
