Dominant display leads Tech past Western Illinois in 3-0 sweep
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A dominant display of offense was more than enough for the Tennessee Tech volleyball team to earn its ninth 3-0 sweep of the season Thursday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles made quick work of Ohio Valley Conference rival Western Illinois in the Hooper Eblen Center.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
17 | 21 | 19 | 0 |
|
|
25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Team Stats
| Game Statistics | Western Illinois | Tennessee Tech |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .035 | .183 |
| Blocks | 8.0 | 6.0 |
| Digs | 55 | 63 |
| Aces | 2 | 2 |
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A dominant display across the board was more than enough for the Tennessee Tech volleyball team to earn its ninth 3-0 sweep of the season Thursday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles made quick work of Ohio Valley Conference rival Western Illinois in the Hooper Eblen Center.
Already equipped with the top offense in the league and one of the best in the nation, the Cookeville crew took it to a whole new level on Thursday, trailing for a grand total of four points the entire day. Tech (14-1, 3-0) set the standard early and never let the Leathernecks (8-7, 2-2) get comfortable on their offensive side of the net either.
Right from the first swing, the match belonged to the Golden Eagles, with a 5-1 lead making the statement. Western Illinois closed to as close as 11-10 with a five-point run, but Tech slammed the door shut on its way to a decisive 25-17 win.
The offense produced 16 kills in the set on .217 efficiency, providing the defense the room to keep the Leathernecks off form. The visitors managed just seven terminations in the set, hitting a chilly .054.
Not much improved for the Leathernecks in set two, other than the Golden Eagles making 12 attack errors. The home purple and gold more than made up for the miscues, stacking a whopping 19 strikes onto its total of the day while keeping the WIU offense at bay again to the tune of seven kills and an 0.53 attack.
Western Illinois earned its only lead of the day to start the second set, jumping in front 2-0. Tech quickly tied the match twice and then put the Leathernecks in its rearview mirror for the remainder of the day, claiming set two, 25-21.
Set three was much of the same, with the Cookeville crew dominating the kills board yet again with a 16-8 advantage. It paved the way for the deciding, 25-19 victory.
Outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen nearly signed and delivered the third set by herself, landing nine strikes on Western's side while hitting .333. The senior concluded another spectacular showing with her fourth double-double of the year, adding a season-high 14 digs to her match-high 16 kills and .243 hitting percentage.
Isringhausen continued her ascent up the all-time career kills chart for the program, passing Laura Sidorowicz (2001-04) for fourth place, totaling 1,411 so far. She also skipped past Bonnie Zoss (1989-92) for fourth on the team's all-time career list for points, with 1,655.0.
Junior setter Jordan Karlen had the Golden Eagle offense humming throughout the day, doling out 40 assists to go with 12 digs for her eighth double-double of the year.
Rookie Alayna Pierce was a force as well from the outside, piling up 15 terminations to go along with eight digs, two solo blocks, and an ace. Fellow freshman Mallory Jenkins provided an early spark, finishing the day with eight kills and three total rejections from her middle blocker role.
Also contributing eight kills to the effort was senior outside Bell Powell, landing each of her first four swings of the game. She added three block assists to the mix as well. Libero McKenna Young tallied 14 digs to tie Isringhausen for the team lead and tacked on three helpers while defensive specialist Aleeya Jones mixed in nine digs.
The Golden Eagles and Leathernecks will square off one more time in the Eblen Center on Friday, featuring another 2:00 p.m. CT match-up.
Photo by Jim Dillon
