Dorsey, Karlen collect OVC weekly honors
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Thanks to a pair of standout performances against Morehead State and SIUE, the Tennessee Tech volleyball team turned in a perfect, 3-0 week, leading to more weekly recognition from the Ohio Valley Conference for the Golden Eagle program.
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Thanks to a pair of standout performances against Morehead State and SIUE, the Tennessee Tech volleyball team turned in a perfect, 3-0 week, leading to more weekly recognition from the Ohio Valley Conference for the Golden Eagle program.
Senior Taylor Dorsey was awarded OVC Offensive Player of the Week accolades while freshman Jordan Karlen was honored as the league's Setter and Newcomer of the Week for the third time this season. Karlen became the first Golden Eagle in school history to earn Newcomer of the Week twice back on Sept. 26.
For the week, Karlen averaged a flashy 11.50 assists per set, compiling 115 over three Tech wins while leading the team to a .249 attack percentage as a unit. In the team's four-set win over Morehead, the rookie dished out 43 assists with eight digs.
She racked up 36 more in each of the team's 3-0 sweeps of SIUE, posting her fifth double-double of the season on Friday with 11 digs. Tech hit .318 in the Friday tilt and .272 on Saturday.
Karlen ranks second in the OVC this season in assists per set with a mark of 9.61. She also ranks second in total assists, compiling 682 in 71 sets so far this season.
Dorsey was unstoppable attacking out of the middle during the team's perfect showing, accumulating 38 kills and 11 blocks while hitting a robust .425 in 10 sets. The senior led all attackers with 16 terminations while hitting .371 in the team's victory over Morehead State.
On Friday, she again led all attackers with 13 kills in just three sets, hitting a ridiculous .579 for the fourth-highest attack percentage in a three-set match in the rally-scoring era in Tech history. She added six blocks to the mix as well. She rounded out the weekend with nine more kills and a .368 attack.
The Birmingham native leads the OVC this season in attack percentage, hitting .356 in 78 sets. Her 207 kills rank third among the top-10 hitting percentage in the lead as well.
The Golden Eagles head back out on the road for a pair of tilts in Cape Girardeau, Mo. against Southeast Missouri this weekend. The two teams will square off in a 6:00 p.m. CT match on Friday, Oct. 21 and follow with a 2:00 p.m. affair Saturday, Oct. 22.
Photos by Emily Armstrong (Dorsey) and Jim Dillon (Karlen)
