Golden Eagles close out home schedule with Thursday and Friday tilts with Southern Indiana
November 13, 2024

Golden Eagles close out home schedule with Thursday and Friday tilts with Southern Indiana

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech volleyball team wraps up its final home stand of the 2024 regular season, playing host to Southern Indiana in a pair of match-ups in the Hooper Eblen Center on Thursday and Friday. 

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By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech volleyball team wraps up its final home stand of the 2024 regular season, playing host to Southern Indiana in a pair of match-ups in the Hooper Eblen Center on Thursday and Friday. 

Thursday's series opener will feature a 3:30 p.m. CT start with the Tech women's basketball team hosting Jackson State following the match at 7:00 p.m. Friday's home finale will kick off at 6:00 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ with Dylan Vazzano on the call. 

Tech is 4-0 in the brief series history between the two programs, sporting a 2-0 mark at home with a pair of 3-0 sweeps over the Screaming Eagles in 2022. Last season, in Evansville, Ind., the Golden Eagles edged USI in a 3-2 decision before finishing off the weekend sweep with a 3-1 win.

THE MATCHUPS
Thursday, November 14 – vs. Southern Indiana, 3:30 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Video 
Friday, November 15 – vs. Southern Indiana, 6:00 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Video 

National Level
The purple and gold rank 12th in the country in kills per set (14.13), 21st in opponent hitting percentage (.162), 24th in assists per set (12.90). Senior outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen ranks fifth nationally in total kills (464), fifth in the country in points (525.5), seventh with 4.94 kills per set, and eighth with 5.59 points per set, while junior setter Jordan Karlen ranks fifth in the nation in assists per set with a mark of 11.16 and ninth with 1,049 total assists.

Playing Outside
Senior outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen turned in arguably the best weekend of her career while helping Tech to a pair of victories over SIUE, averaging an absurd 6.71 kills per set while hitting a robust .435 with just seven attack errors on 92 attempts. She also piled up 1.14 blocks and 7.57 points per set. In Friday's 3-0 sweep of the Cougars, the senior smashed .432 with 19 terminations and 3.0 blocks for 20.5 points overall. The Edwardsville, Ill. native delivered her best showing yet in the purple and gold on Senior Day on Saturday, erupting for a career-high 28 kills (tying for the second-most in a four-set match in the rally-scoring era in Tech history) while hitting .436. She chipped in two service aces and a season-high five blocks, totaling 32.5 points in the four-set win.

For her efforts, not only did Isringhausen pick up her program-record sixth OVC Offensive Player of the Week nod of the year, she also became the first Golden Eagle in school history to earn AVCA/GameChanger Division I National Player of the Week honors. In Saturday's contest, she became just the 11th Golden Eagle in program history to join the team's Double Grand Club, securing the 1,000th dig of her career in the match-up.

Setting Things Up
Junior setter Jordan Karlen did a little bit of everything for the Golden Eagles last week, helping lead the purple and gold to a pair of wins over SIUE. The junior averaged 1.43 kills per set on a ridiculous .667 hitting percentage, 10.43 assists per set, 3.43 digs per set, and 0.43 blocks per set. Karlen flirted with a triple-double on Friday, securing six terminations, 33 assists, two service aces, and 10 digs, settling for her 14th double-double of the year. She followed it up with four kills, 40 helpers, two blocks, and 14 more scoops on Saturday, locking down her 15th double-double on the season. For her efforts, she was named OVC Setter of the Week for the sixth time on the year and for the third consecutive week.

Karlen ranks first in program history with her 12 OVC Setter of the Week honors, sporting six more than any other Golden Eagle. She also boasts 15 total weekly awards from the league in her career, having earned a trio of Freshman of the Week nods on her way to OVC Freshman of the Year in 2022. Those 15 honors also represent the most by a Golden Eagle for a career.

Floor General
Senior libero McKenna Young paced the Golden Eagle defense yet again, registering 33 digs over the weekend. The Murfreesboro native averaged 4.71 scoops per set in Tech's pair of victories over SIUE, adding seven assists and an ace to the mix. Young sits just 18 digs away from becoming only the second player in program history to reach 2,000 in their career. She also needs to play in just four more sets to pass Taylor Dorsey (2018-22) and become Tech's all-time career leader in the category.

Freshman Focus
Rookie outside Alayna Pierce added another solid week of production to her impressive freshman campaign, averaging 2.14 kills and 2.71 digs per set in the team's weekend sweep of SIUE. She tallied eight kills with seven digs on Friday before tacking on seven terminations and 12 scoops on Saturday. The Genoa, Ill. native has earned OVC Freshman of the Week accolades twice this season.

Current OVC Rankings
A quick glance at where the Golden Eagles rank among the OVC statistical leaders:

  • Kills – Isringhausen (1st - 4.94/set); Pierce (7th - 3.06/set)
  • Assists – Karlen (1st - 11.16/set)
  • Hitting % – Isringhausen (8th - .287)
  • Service Aces – Isringhausen (1st - 0.45/set); Karlen (10th - 0.31/set)
  • Digs – Young (8th - 4.50/set)
  • Points – Isringhausen (1st - 5.59/set); Pierce (7th – 3.43/set)

Career Record Watch
A quick glance at where some of the current Golden Eagles rank in the program's all-time career charts:

  • Madolyn Isringhausen
    • 2nd – attacks (4,395)
    • 3rd – kills (1,626) – 13th in OVC history
    • 3rd – points (1,894.0)
    • 3rd – service aces (152)
    • 3rd – service aces per set (0.33)
    • 5th – points per set (4.15)
    • 5th – kills per set (3.57)
    • 8th – sets played (456)
  • McKenna Young
    • 2nd – digs (1,982)
    • 2nd – sets played (501)
    • 4th – digs per set (3.96)
    • 7th – matches played (133)
    • 9th – service aces (125)
  • Jordan Karlen
    • 2nd – assists per set (10.29)
    • 5th – assists (3,232)

An Honored Group
A quick look at the honors picked up by the Golden Eagles in 2024:

  • Madolyn Isringhausen
    • Preseason All-OVC Team
    • Carrie Yerty Classic All-Tournament Team
    • Carrie Yerty Classic MVP
    • Charlotte Invitational All-Tournament Team
    • Charlotte Invitational MVP
    • Golden Eagle Invitational All-Tournament Team
    • Golden Eagle Invitational MVP
    • Greensboro Invitational All-Tournament Team
    • 6x OVC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 2, Sept. 16, Sept. 30, Oct. 7, Oct. 21, Nov. 11)
    • 2x TSWA Volleyball Player of the Week (Sept. 3, Nov. 12)
    • AVCA/GameChanger Division I National Player of the Week (Nov. 12)
  • Mallory Jenkins
    • Preseason OVC Player to Watch
    • Carrie Yerty Classic All-Tournament Team
  • Jordan Karlen
    • Preseason All-OVC Team
    • Carrie Yerty Classic All-Tournament Team
    • Golden Eagle Invitational All-Tournament Team
    • 6x OVC Setter of the Week (Sept. 2, Sept. 16, Oct. 7, Oct. 28, Nov. 4, Nov. 11)
    • 4x TSWA Volleyball Player of the Week (Sept. 17, Oct. 8, Oct. 29, Nov. 5)
  • Alayna Pierce
    • 2x OVC Freshman of the Week (Sept. 30, Oct. 7)
  • Bella Powell
    • Charlotte Invitational All-Tournament Team
  • McKenna Young
    • Charlotte Invitational All-Tournament Team
    • Golden Eagle Invitational All-Tournament Team

Up Next
The Golden Eagles conclude the 2024 regular season with a final tune-up at UT Martin before embarking for the OVC Tournament. Tech will square off with its in-state rival in a 6:00 p.m. CT tilt on Tuesday, Nov. 19, and again in a 4:00 p.m. match-up on Wednesday, Nov. 20. 

Photo by Jim Dillon