EIU tops Tech in finale, Golden Eagles take No. 6-seed in OVC tourney
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech started off strong, taking the first set against the visiting Eastern Illinois squad, but the Panthers surged back to take the match 3-1. With the victory, EIU claimed the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championship and will host the league’s tournament, which starts Sunday in Charleston, Ill.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
25 | 23 | 16 | 19 | 1 |
|
|
23 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Team Stats
Eastern Illinois
| Game Statistics | Eastern Illinois | Tennessee Tech |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | 0.131 | 0.059 |
| Blocks | 18 | 3 |
| Digs | 61 | 67 |
| Aces | 4 | 4 |
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Athletics Media Relations
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech started off strong, taking the first set against the visiting Eastern Illinois squad, but the Panthers surged back to take the match 3-1.
With the victory, EIU claimed the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championship and will host the league's tournament, which starts Sunday in Charleston, Ill.
The Golden Eagles take the event's No. 6-seed and will take on No. 3-seeded Southern Indiana on Sunday at 1 PM. The two teams split with USI winning in Cookeville and Tech winning at Evansville.
Tech (14-16, 11-7 OVC) won the first set 25-23. EIU led 23-22, but the Golden Eagles claimed the last three rallies as Bella Powell picked up back-to-back kills, then Jordan Karlen iced the set with a service ace.
The second set went in similar fashion, but with the score reversed. Lilli Amettis tied the set at 23-all, then Destiny Walker dealt a service ace for set point. Powell was charged with an attack error to give the Panthers the 25-23 set victory and even the match at a set each.
EIU stormed out to a 7-1 lead to open the third set and Tech trailed by as many as 11 points. The Golden Eagles cut the deficit back to 23-16, but Emma Schroeder had a kill and an attack error gave EIU the 25-16 set win to take the 2-1 advantage.
Tech trailed 18-17 in the fourth set, but the Panthers scored seven of the last nine points to close out the match with a 25-19 win.
Alayna Pierce led the Golden Eagles with a double-double, posting 18 kills and 13 digs, while Powell also had a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs. Karlen ended the game with 38 assists, while MK Roberts had 19 digs,
Walker, Katie Kopshever and Amettis each had 10 kills, while Cataline Rochaix had 31 assists and 11 digs. Kopshever also had 10 digs, while Ariadna Pereles had 22 digs. Anaya Rawlinson led EIU with two solo blocks and eight assisted blocks.
Photo | Jim Dillon
