Purple and gold battle to bitter end in 3-2 loss to Morehead State
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A down-to-the-wire finish on the sand ended in favor of the visitors from Morehead State as the Tennessee Tech beach volleyball team dropped a heartbreaking 3-2 decision to the visiting Eagles on Saturday afternoon at the Tech Beach Courts in Cookeville.
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A down-to-the-wire finish on the sand ended in favor of the visitors from Morehead State as the Tennessee Tech beach volleyball team dropped a heartbreaking 3-2 decision to the visiting Eagles on Saturday afternoon at the Tech Beach Courts in Cookeville.
The two sides spent the day trading points back and forth, with Morehead State (11-7, 5-1) eventually pulling out a three-set decision at the No. 1 position in a battle that required more than the regulated 15 points to win. Tech (3-10, 1-5) captured wins at the No. 2 and No. 4 slots, while the Eagles locked down wins at No. 1, No. 3, and No. 5.
After Morehead took the early lead with a win at No. 5, Tech's No. 4 tandem of Jazmine Yamilkoski and McKenna Young celebrated Senior Day in style. The pair of Tech seniors topped Brenna Bommer and Shea Hefner to square the match at 1-1, opening the duel with a 21-12 win. After falling 21-12 in the second set, Yamilkoski and Young flipped the script back in their favor with a dominant, 15-4 triumph.
The Eagles took back control of the match with a tight 2-1 win at the No. 3 slot, with Peighton Isley and M.E. Hargan just outlasting the Tech duo of Aleeya Jones and MK Roberts. Jones and Roberts took the opening set, 21-14, but the Eagles' side of Isley and Hargan answered back by edging the purple gold 23-21 in set two and 15-12 in the third and deciding set.
In need of a win to stay alive, the Cookeville crew turned to the No. 2 position to keep soaring, with Jordan Karlen and Brooke Amann reigning supreme. The Tech pair won 21-18 over Sydney Wyman and Sarah Heath in the first set before their opponents evened the duel at 21-15. Never deterred, Karlen and Amann evened the match once more at 2-2, claiming a 15-13 win in the third set.
It was an instant classic at the No. 1 slot, with Irene Wogenstahl and Bella Marita just squeezing the visitors past Tech's Bella Powell and Alayna Pierce in a 2-1 war. The Morehead duo opened the deciding battle with a 21-19 win, but the Golden Eagles had a response.
Powell and Pierce rallied in set two for a 21-18 victory, squaring the match-up at 1-1, with the match hanging in the balance. Naturally, the third and final set couldn't be decided by just playing to 15 points, with Wogenstahl and Marita needing two extra points to secure their team's win, topping the Golden Eagle squad 17-15.
Next on the docket for the Tech beach squad is a visit to Birmingham, Ala. and the Blazer Beach Bash on Friday, Apr. 11 and Saturday, Apr. 12. Tech will square off with Southeastern Louisiana at 2:00 p.m. CT on Friday before taking on host UAB at 5:30 p.m. On Saturday, the purple and gold will tango with Missouri State at 2:00 p.m. and then wrap up the weekend with a non-conference meeting with Chattanooga at 5:30 p.m.
Photo by Jim Dillon
