WEDNESDAY'S SCORE
Tennessee Tech 3, @Southern Indiana 1
TENNESSEE TECH 3, SOUTHERN INDIANA 1
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - After a slow start, the Tennessee Tech volleyball team dropped the first set, then took the next three to take the return trip to Southern Indiana, winning 3-1.
Alayna Pierce led the way with 17 kills as she hit .500 on the night, while collecting nine digs. Bella Powell had a double-double with 10 kills and 17 digs, while Jordyn Milhouse had 10 kills on a .348 hitting percentage as she also collected two solo blocks and three assisted.
Jordan Karlen posted 43 assists in the match, while she also had 14 digs to collect the double-double. Karlen also finished with seven kills and two assisted blocks to outduel USI setter Aysa Thomas, who had two kills, 34 assists, 19 digs and an assisted block in the match.
As Tech hit .233 for the evening, it was the Screaming Eagles who fell on the short end, hitting .176 with 42 kills on 131 attacks as the Golden Eagles had 57 kills on 146 swings.
Ashby Willis led USI (12-12, 8-4 OVC) with 10 kills, while the trio of Carly Wright, Bianca Anderson and Leah Coleman each had eight.
The Screaming Eagles were scorching in the first set, hitting .323, collecting six assisted blocks and one solo, while forcing Tech into 13 total errors – seven on the attack, four on the serve.
Following a 5-5 tie, USI doubled Tech up, including a seven-serve run for Thomas and a three-rally run for Anderson to give the Screaming Eagles the first set with a 25-15 score.
USI scored the first point in the second set, but that was its only lead in the stanza as the Golden Eagles took the lead and never looked back, leading bas as many as five before Tech claimed the 25-21 win in the set.
The Golden Eagles rebounded in a big way with 16 kills, including Milhouse going 5-for-7 for a .714 clip in the set.
In the third set, the score was knotted up six times – the last at 10-all – then MK Roberts had a six-rally tenure at serve, collecting two aces to put Tech up 15-11. The Golden Eagles increased their lead to six before USI came back to within one at 21-20. The two teams swapped attack errors, then Powell earned a kill on a successful challenge, followed by an Ava Schubert kill to get set point.
After an attack error, Pierce wrapped up the set with a kill for the 25-22 win.
The fourth set was a competitive one with nine tie scores and six lead changes. Three of those ties came with both teams at 20 points and beyond. The set turned in the Golden Eagles favor as a challenge on a kill by Wright reversed the play to a 23-22 advantage for Tech, then Wright was charged with another attack error to give the Golden Eagles match point.
A Tech service error inched USI closer, but Pierce ended the match with a kill for the 25-23 set win.