Tech volleyball hosts Tennessee State Friday and Saturday
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech volleyball team will be back in action on Friday as the Golden Eagles welcome in-state conference foe Tennessee State to the Hooper Eblen Center. First serve is slated for 6 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required) with Thomas Corhern on the call. Admission to all volleyball matches at the Eblen Center is free to the public.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
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25 | 25 | 26 | 3 |
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22 | 13 | 24 | 0 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
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24 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
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26 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 1 |
Team Stats
Tennessee State
| Game Statistics | Tennessee State | Tennessee Tech |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | 0.045 | 0.229 |
| Blocks | 6 | 8 |
| Digs | 39 | 41 |
| Aces | 3 | 5 |
Tennessee State
| Game Statistics | Tennessee State | Tennessee Tech |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | 0.096 | 0.278 |
| Blocks | 4 | 6 |
| Digs | 70 | 76 |
| Aces | 4 | 9 |
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Athletics Media Relations
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech volleyball team will be back in action on Friday as the Golden Eagles welcome in-state conference foe Tennessee State to the Hooper Eblen Center.
First serve is slated for 6 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required) with Thomas Corhern on the call. Admission to all volleyball matches at the Eblen Center is free to the public.
After a strong start to the conference campaign with a pair of victories over Western Illinois, the Golden Eagles (5-11 overall) battled Southeast Missouri to two four-set losses, coming out to take the first set before the defending conference regular-season champions swept the next three sets.
There was progress for the Golden Eagles despite the loss as Tech saw sophomore Alayna Pierce return to action on the court after an injury had sidelined her for nearly a month. She didn't miss a beat as she missed tying her career-best in kills by two and finished the week with 30 kills, 14 digs and two blocks.
Senior setter Jordan Karlen also collected a pair of career milestones during the two OVC series thus far as she collected her 1,000th career dig against Western Illinois, then posted her 4,000th career assist last Friday against Southeast Missouri. The newest member of Tech's 12-player double grand club, Karlen stands 1,068 assists behind all-time leader Kappy Lang to share the crown.
In four conference matches, Bella Powell leads the team with 61 kills, while Ava Schubert has 38 and Pierce 30. Tech has 33 service aces in league play, with eight for Powell and six each for MK Roberts and Tuva Falk. Karlen has 173 assists in conference action, while Roberts has 49 digs and Powell 47. Jordyn Milhouse leads the team in blocks during conference play with 10, while Falk and Karlen each have seven.
Tennessee State comes into the match with a 1-17 record and 0-5 in the OVC, but the record is always a misnomer, because the Tigers are a team that can get hot and surprise people.
Freshman Aliyah Harris leads TSU with 117 kills on the season, while Maygan Miller-Garcia also has triple-digit kills with 104. Sagaia Reilly has 373 assists. Eirini Bitsaktsi has 160 digs, while Reilly has 118 and Sydni Poston has 117. Miller-Garcia leads the team with 39 blocks – eight solo and 31 assists.
The series continues Saturday as the Golden Eagles will also host Youth Day with a 30-minute clinic and autograph session following the finale. The event, for sixth-graders and younger, is free. To register for the event, e-mail Megan Smith at mlsmith@tntech.edu.
Photo | Jim Dillon
