Tech welcomes in Wichita State, Radford and Samford for Golden Eagle Invitational presented by Holiday Inn
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – There’s no place like home – that’s the attitude the Tennessee Tech volleyball team is taking this weekend as they open up their home slate Thursday through Saturday at the 2025 Golden Eagle Invitational presented by Holiday Inn of Cookeville. The three-day event begins Thursday as Radford takes on Wichita State at 11 a.m. followed by the Golden Eagles hosting the Shockers at 6 p.m. with Dylan Vazzano providing the coverage on the latter match on ESPN+ (subscription required).
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Team Stats
Wichita State
| Game Statistics | Wichita State | Tennessee Tech |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | 0.451 | 0.039 |
| Blocks | 4 | 5 |
| Digs | 40 | 23 |
| Aces | 9 | 1 |
Radford
| Game Statistics | Radford | Tennessee Tech |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | 0.444 | 0.161 |
| Blocks | 8 | 2 |
| Digs | 35 | 26 |
| Aces | 7 | 6 |
Samford
| Game Statistics | Samford | Tennessee Tech |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | 0.289 | 0.267 |
| Blocks | 5 | 2 |
| Digs | 50 | 59 |
| Aces | 5 | 5 |
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Athletics Media Relations
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – There's no place like home – that's the attitude the Tennessee Tech volleyball team is taking this weekend as they open up their home slate Thursday through Saturday at the 2025 Golden Eagle Invitational presented by Holiday Inn of Cookeville.
The three-day event begins Thursday as Radford takes on Wichita State at 11 a.m. followed by the Golden Eagles hosting the Shockers at 6 p.m. with Dylan Vazzano providing the coverage on the latter match on ESPN+ (subscription required).
Friday's action will see Wichita State close out its action at 11 a.m. against Samford before Tech takes on Radford in the ESPN+ contest at 3 p.m. Samford and Radford lock horns at 6 p.m.
The tournament concludes Saturday evening as Tech hosts Samford at 6 p.m.
Wichita State, under the direction of 26-year head coach Chris Lamb, is currently 3-2 on the year, taking two matches last week at the BYU Nike Invitational. The Shockers topped Incarnate Word 3-1 and Northern Colorado 3-2, doubling up in the fifth and deciding set. Against host and No. 18-ranked BYU, Wichita State fell 3-1.
In their home event in late August, the Shockers fell 3-0 to Kennesaw State, then defeated Arkansas, who was receiving top 25 votes, 3-2.
Sydney Dunning leads the team with 79 kills – an average of 3.76 per set – and a .224 hitting percentage. Brooklyn Leggett also has been a strong attacker, collecting 59 kills, while Maddie Wilson has 33 and also leads the team with 30 total blocks – 1.58 per set.
At setter, Jordan Heatherly has 191 total sets, averaging 9.1 assists per set. On defense, Gabi Maas has a team-best 93 digs (4.43 per set) and Katie Galligan has 61 (2.9 per set).
Radford has started the season with a 1-5 mark, going 1-2 in the Highlanders' home tournament with a 3-1 loss to Eastern Michigan, a 3-0 win over Kansas City, then a 3-1 loss over Marshall. It was followed by a tough weekend at Morehead State with 3-0 sweeps from Illinois-Chicago and Toledo, but were able to take a set from the Eagles.
Sierra Moore and Olivia Ryno share the team lead in kills with 39 each, while Gabriela Smolenska leads in assists with 92 and Jackeline Nerro has 65. Miranda Howard has 69 digs, while Smolenska and Aubrey Hatch each have 16 blocks.
Samford enters the weekend with a 2-3 record, collecting 3-2 wins over Troy and Winthrop. The losses aren't indicative of the Bulldogs' ability as two of them have been against Southeastern Conference competition with 3-0 losses to Georgia and Tennessee. The Bulldogs fell 3-0 to North Alabama on Tuesday.
Kaleigh Meritt leads the team with 86 kills with Ally Cordes collecting 60 kills. Shea Bruntmyer has 139 assists, averaging 8.69 per set. Greer Golden tops the teams in blocks with 12, while Emma Sorensen and Cordes each have 38 digs.
Admission to all Tech Volleyball games at the Hooper Eblen Center is free to the public.
