Golden Eagles fall in Saturday rematch with Little Rock
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It was a similar fate for the Tennessee Tech volleyball team Saturday evening as the Golden Eagles fell to Ohio Valley Conference rival Little Rock in the Eblen Center, 3-1.
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It was a similar fate for the Tennessee Tech volleyball team Saturday evening as the Golden Eagles fell to Ohio Valley Conference rival Little Rock in the Eblen Center, 3-1.
For the second night in a row, the purple and gold struggled with consistency both on the attack and at the service line, totaling 41 errors between the two. Also for the second straight contest, Tech (16-6, 5-5) was quick to jump on top with a first-set victory.
The Golden Eagles built a six-point advantage in the opener, but the Trojans (14-10, 9-2) fought back to square things at 22-22. The Cookeville crew answered with three straight points to earn a 25-22 win, piling up 16 kills on a .308 attack and 4.0 blocks.
Little Rock bounced back to tie the match in set two, rolling to a 25-15 victory while the purple and gold produced just nine terminations. The Trojans rode the momentum from the second set into the third, snapping a 3-3 draw with a 9-0 run.
Tech refused to go down without a fight, storming back to knot the affair at 14-14. Little Rock pushed back out front, however, claiming a 25-22 win for a 2-1 lead.
In set four, the Golden Eagles fought back from another large deficit, turning a 21-14 hole into a 23-23 tie. Little Rock pulled out the 25-23 win, scoring back-to-back points to close things out, despite Tech's whopping 18 kills.
Senior outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen led the match with 18 kills while hitting .271, adding a team-high 14 digs for her seventh double-double of the season. Fellow senior outside Bella Powell chipped in 11 terminations and four digs while rookie outside Alayna Pierce tallied eight strikes with eight digs.
Junior setter Jordan Karlen amassed 54 assists with 12 digs for her 12th double-double of the year, mixing in a team-high four blocks. Freshman middle blocker Mallory Jenkins also delivered four blocks with four kills.
Sophomore outside Ava Schubert produced a season-high eight kills while hitting .500 in just two sets of action. Senior libero McKenna Young totaled 12 digs and two assists on the night while senior defensive specialist Aleeya Jones added nine scoops.
Tech makes its way to Cape Girardeau, Mo. for a pair of OVC tests against Southeast Missouri. The Golden Eagles open the weekend with a 6:00 p.m. CT tilt on Friday, Nov. 1 before wrapping things up with a 2:00 p.m. affair on Saturday, Nov. 2.
Photo by Jim Dillon
