Tech battles Samford to fifth-set loss
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech won the first two sets and looked like it was going to break its losing streak, but the Samford Bulldogs had other plans as they won three straight sets to top the Golden Eagles in the deciding game five on Saturday night to conclude the 2025 Golden Eagle Invitational presented by Holiday Inn. Tech (2-7) had career-high nights for three Golden Eagles in kills as Bella Powell collected 25, Audrey Berkebile had 14 and Jordan Karlen had eight to set new personal bests. Freshman Jordyn Milhouse also had eight kills to round out the Tech kill leaders.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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25 | 25 | 19 | 21 | 11 | 2 |
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20 | 18 | 25 | 25 | 15 | 3 |
Team Stats
Samford
| Game Statistics | Samford | Tennessee Tech |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | 0.289 | 0.267 |
| Blocks | 5 | 2 |
| Digs | 50 | 59 |
| Aces | 5 | 5 |
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Athletics Media Relations
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech won the first two sets and looked like it was going to break its losing streak, but the Samford Bulldogs had other plans as they won three straight sets to top the Golden Eagles in the deciding game five on Saturday night to conclude the 2025 Golden Eagle Invitational presented by Holiday Inn.
Tech (2-7) had career-high nights for three Golden Eagles in kills as Bella Powell collected 25, Audrey Berkebile had 14 and Jordan Karlen had eight to set new personal bests. Freshman Jordyn Milhouse also had eight kills to round out the Tech kill leaders.
Karlen had 45 assists, while MK Roberts had 22 receptions and 13 digs to earn her a spot on the all-tournament team.
A future conference matchup for Tech when it enters the Southern Conference next season, the Golden Eagles came out on fire, surging out to a 7-2 run in the opening set. Powell powered Tech in the stanza collecting eight kills and a .429 hitting percentage in the first game.
As a team, the Golden Eagles hit .300 over the first set and were able to minimize errors. While Samford was able to battle back, Tech never trailed in the opening game to take a 25-20 win.
That effort continued in the second set as after a 3-3 tie, the Golden Eagles were able to build a seven-point advantage and held it to the end of the set, winning 25-18.
Samford started a comeback of its own in the third set, taking a 13-6 lead before a called timeout. The Golden Eagles responded, bringing a raucous Eblen Center crowd to its feet with a furious rally, cutting the deficit down to 18-14 before forcing the Bulldogs to call time. Samford edged back out, wrapping up the set 25-19.
The fourth set was a battle with 10 ties and five lead changes, but Samford emerged victorious 25-21, forcing the deciding fifth set. Berkebile had five kills on nine swings in the set, hitting .444, and was a key contributor defensively with five receptions and three digs.
Powell tried to put the Golden Eagles on her shoulders with four kills in the fifth set, but the Golden Eagles saw mistakes creep in at the hardest time with six attack errors, a set error, a service error and a reception error account for nine points in the race to 15. Tech kept pace, trailing 9-8, but the Bulldogs pulled away to take a 15-11 set win and the match.
Ally Cordes led Samford (4-4) with 22 kills with Kaleigh Meritt collecting 15. Setter Shea Bruntmyer had 42 assists. Cordes and Meritt both earned all-tournament honors. Wichita State, who completed action on Friday, had Jordan Heatherly, Sydney Dunning and Katie Galligan on the squad, while Radford collected Miranda Howard and Taryn Roberts.
The Golden Eagles return to action next week at the Capital Credit Union Classic in Green Bay, Wis., as Tech takes on Northern Iowa Thursday, host Green Bay on Friday and Western Michigan on Saturday.
