Tech closes out Blazer Invitational with loss to USC Upstate
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Tennessee Tech volleyball team closed out action at the UAB Blazer Invitational on Saturday, starting off well with a 25-22 victory in the opening set, but the USC Upstate squad rallied to take the next three sets 25-15, 28-26 and 25-18 to take the 3-1 win. Tech (2-4) returns to action as it opens up its home slate with the Golden Eagle Invitational presented by Holiday Inn of Cookeville on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, hosting Wichita State, Radford and Samford in the Hooper Eblen Center. All games are free to the public.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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25 | 15 | 26 | 18 | 1 |
|
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22 | 25 | 28 | 25 | 3 |
Team Stats
USC Upstate
| Game Statistics | USC Upstate | Tennessee Tech |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | 0.391 | 0.247 |
| Blocks | 5 | 4 |
| Digs | 64 | 54 |
| Aces | 3 | 4 |
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Athletics Media Relations
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Tennessee Tech volleyball team closed out action at the UAB Blazer Invitational on Saturday, starting off well with a 25-22 victory in the opening set, but the USC Upstate squad rallied to take the next three sets 25-15, 28-26 and 25-18 to take the 3-1 win.
Tech (2-4) returns to action as it opens up its home slate with the Golden Eagle Invitational presented by Holiday Inn of Cookeville on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, hosting Wichita State, Radford and Samford in the Hooper Eblen Center. All games are free to the public.
Bella Powell led the Golden Eagles with 18 kills, while freshman Jordyn Milhouse set a new personal best with 11 kills and Ava Schubert collected nine to lead the offense. MK Roberts had 14 digs and Jordan Karlen collected 12 digs and 45 assists to pick up a double-double.
Summer Kohler led USC Upstate (4-3) with 18 kills, while Ady O'Grady and Kensley Haneline each had 15. Kamyla Vega David posted 51 assists and 15 digs, while Sophia Overholt had 19 digs.
Overall, it was a close match with 13 ties in the first set and 11 ties in the third.
After Schubert tied the first set at 20 with a kill off a feed from Karlen, the Golden Eagles were able to outscore the Spartans 5-2 to close out the opening series with the win.
However, USC Upstate took the wind out of Tech's sails early in the second set, surging out to a 10-3 lead and never looked back, continually building on the advantage until the Spartans took the 10-point lead to close out the set. USC Upstate hit .562 in the set with O'Grady and Haneline recording five kills each.
In the third set, Eryn Spradley gave the Golden Eagles set point on a kill off of Powell's assist, leading 24-21. Two straight attack errors brought the Spartans back to 24-23, then Haneline tied the set at 24 and USC Upstate took a 25-24 lead on Kohler's kill. Schubert tied the set once more with a kill.
Kohler sandwiched an attack error on Haneline with successful kills to make it a 27-26 Spartan lead, then O'Grady scored the final kill off a block error to give USC Upstate the 2-1 advantage in the match.
In the final set, the Golden Eagles trailed 15-17, but could not get any closer as the Spartans outscored Tech 8-3 down the stretch. Powell matched Kohler with six kills each, but seven attack errors against the Golden Eagles proved the difference in the set.
