Tennessee Tech battles Jacksonville State in five-set marathon
October 4, 2011

Tennessee Tech battles Jacksonville State in five-set marathon

Tennessee Tech volleyball fans we treated to an exciting five-set match Tuesday evening, as the Golden Eagles went the distance with Jacksonville State, but ultimately took the 3-2 loss.

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COOKEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tennessee Tech volleyball fans were treated to an exciting five-set match Tuesday evening, as the Golden Eagles went the distance with Jacksonville State, but ultimately took a 3-2 loss.

With three of the first four sets decided by five points or fewer, it was no surprise that the fans were pumped heading into the deciding fifth set. The Golden Eagles and Gamecocks reached the final after TTU forced the issue with a dominant 25-15 fourth set victory.

In the fifth set, JSU opened up several multi-point leads only to see TTU claw its way back to within striking distance. Leading 11-9, Jacksonville State was final able to stem the Golden Eagle comeback as it finished the set on a 4-2 run to take the set 15-11, and the match.

Despite the outcome, several Golden Eagles put forth a solid match including junior Kelsey Gray, who set a new career-high with 12 total blocks, to go along with eight kills.

Freshman Ellen Conti set a new career-high in kills with 19, while sophomore Natalie Penrod added 11 kills and 10 digs.

Sophomore Allison May continued her solid play on defense, notching a match-high 46 digs, while junior Madison Comperry tallied 43 assists and 15 digs.

On Jacksonville State's side of the net, the Nicole Merget and Hivya Leite paced the Gamecock offense with 13 kills each, while Kelly Cole posted a team-high 24 digs.

Tennessee Tech (2-15, 1-6 OVC) hits the road for a two-match stretch beginning with Morehead State Friday, at 6 p.m.