Golden Eagles sweep OVC-leader Eastern Illinois in three sets
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech showed it is still very much a force in the Ohio Valley Conference as the Golden Eagles handed league-leader Eastern Illinois its third conference loss of the season as Tech swept the Panthers 3-0 on Tuesday night. The Golden Eagles (14-15, 11-6 OVC) claimed the first set 25-22, the second 26-24 and the third 25-20 to complete the sweep. It was a tight contest despite the sweep as the three sets saw 24 tie scores and just six lead changes – four coming in the second set.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
25 | 26 | 25 | 3 |
|
|
22 | 24 | 20 | 0 |
Team Stats
Eastern Illinois
| Game Statistics | Eastern Illinois | Tennessee Tech |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | 0.194 | 0.316 |
| Blocks | 6 | 6 |
| Digs | 44 | 47 |
| Aces | 5 | 5 |
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Athletics Media Relations
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech showed it is still very much a force in the Ohio Valley Conference as the Golden Eagles handed league-leader Eastern Illinois its third conference loss of the season as Tech swept the Panthers 3-0 on Tuesday night.
The Golden Eagles (14-15, 11-6 OVC) claimed the first set 25-22, the second 26-24 and the third 25-20 to complete the sweep. It was a tight contest despite the sweep as the three sets saw 24 tie scores and just six lead changes – four coming in the second set.
Bella Powell led the Golden Eagles with 11 kills and a .304 hitting percentage, while collecting two service aces with 16 receptions and six digs. Alayna Pierce had 10 kills with a .259 hitting percentage, while also tallying an assist, 10 receptions, five digs and an assisted block.
Jordan Karlen had a double-double with 31 assists and 10 digs, while MK Roberts led the team in digs with 13 and Mallory Jenkins had a team-best four assisted blocks.
The Panthers (20-7, 14-3 OVC) were led by Lilli Amettis with 11 kills, while Katie Kopshever had 10. Cataline Rochaix had 31 assists to match Karlen's tally, while Ariadna Pereles had a game-high 15 digs.
With the first matches of the week out of the way, EIU and Morehead State are now even at 14-3 for the top two spots in the standings. The Panthers still hold a tiebreaker with MSU, while Southern Indiana can match both of them Wednesday with EIU and Morehead losses.
Southeast Missouri, Little Rock and Tech all three won, leaving the trio deadlocked at 11-6. USI's victory Tuesday has secured the four-through-six spots for the Redhawks, Trojans and Golden Eagles with Wednesday's matches deciding the final seeding.
The opening set was square 13 times, the final time at 22 on a Tech service error. Tech received a point on an EIU service error to take the 23-22 lead, then MK Roberts delivered a service act, then an attack error by Kopshever gave Tech the early match advantage.
In the second set, Kopshever tied the set at 22, then Destiny Walker and Kopshever added two kills to take a 24-22 lead. The Golden Eagles battled back as Powell collected a kill, an attack error knotted the set at 24, then Tech took the lead on a Jenkins kill. The set ended on a Walker attack error.
After trailing 4-1, Tech rallied to take a 10-5 lead on a 9-0 run. The Golden Eagles led by as many as five and was able to hold off a Panther rally as the score only got as close as 20-18 before Tech was able to climb back out by five as Karlen clinched the match on a kill to make it 25-20.
The Golden Eagles conclude their regular-season slate on Wednesday against EIU at 4 PM. Admission is free.
Photo | Jim Dillon
