Lang leads Tech to 3-0 OVC win over UT Martin
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - One look at Tech's numbers and it's obvious
that Kappy Lang did her job well.
The senior setter distributed her sets evenly while running the
Tech offense and led the Golden Eagles to a 3-0 Ohio Valley
Conference victory over UT Martin Saturday afternoon in Eblen
Center.
"It was one of our better blocking weekends," said head coach John
Blair. "We had 10 today and 12 yesterday. I think it's the first
time this season that we had back-to-back matches with double-digit
blocks."
Five different players shared in Lang's efforts as Tech improved to
10-9 overall and 7-2 in the OVC, putting coach John Blair's team
just 1 1/2 games behind league-leader Morehead State. UTM, which
had won a 3-0 match Friday at Jacksonville, slipped to 5-15 overall
and 3-5 in the league.
Sophomore Leah Meffert led the attack with 11 kills and junior
Amanda Lindgren added 10. Sophomore Marie Peddicord posted nine
kills while hitting .316, and Caitlin Bullock killed eight balls
while hitting .375.
Senior Jessica Asplund, who finished off the third game with two
blocks and a kill, ended the afternoon with seven kills on a .429
hitting mark, along with eight block assists.
As a team, Tech hit .257 for the match and had 10 team blocks. UTM
hit .093 for the match with nine team blocks. Megan Hitt led the
UTM offense with eight kills and a .500 hitting mark. Taylor Noland
added seven kills and Ashley Doherty had six.
Tech dominated the first set, hitting .423 while limiting UT Martin
to a minus .133 mark. Lang got things rolling in Tech's direction,
setting six different players for kills and getting one herself. In
fact, every player on the court except libero Katie Kenline had a
kill in the first set.
Tech jumped out to what appeared to be a comfortable lead in the
second set, building a 17-10 lead as Lang continued to distribute
the wealth. But UTM battled back behind libero Jennifer Roberts,
who had eight digs in the set, and five team blocks, to tie the set
at 20-20.
The Golden Eagles rattled off the final five points on Lang's serve
to grab the 25-20 win and 2-0 lead at the intermission.
"Kappy played great today," Blair said. "We are passing more and
more consistent and that sets her up to dish it out. She is playing
impressively this season."
The third set was a similar script as Tech was on top 11-4 before
UT Martin fought back to make it 14-12. The Golden Eagles got back
on top 17-12, before the Skyhawks finally tied the set, 21-21 with
a couple of blocks.
Meffert turned the tables, dumping a kills into the middle of the
Skyhawks to make it 22-21, then Asplund and Lang teamed up for a
block to make it 23-21. Following a UTM timeout and a point by the
visitors made it 23-22, Asplund recorded a kill and followed with a
block to end the event with a 25-22 Golden Eagle win.
"We got some great plays from Katie this afternoon," Blair said.
"She is playing up to her ability and being very consistent."
Tech remains at home for a match next Saturday when the Golden
Eagles host OVC rival Jacksonville State at 2 p.m.
