Tech volleyball hits the road to take on SIUE

By Thomas Corhern, TTU Athletics Media Relations

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Tennessee Tech volleyball hits the road for five straight matches as the Ohio Valley Conference race hits the home stretch with seven matches remaining before the conference tournament.

The Golden Eagles (9-14, 6-5 OVC) start the road trip on Friday and Saturday with a pair of matches at SIUE. Tech takes on the Cougars at 6 PM Friday, then faces SIUE (12-11, 7-5 OVC) again at 3 PM on Saturday.

SIUE currently stands in fifth in the conference standings, trailing Morehead State (10-0), Eastern Illinois (8-2), Southern Indiana (8-3) and Little Rock (6-4). Tech is in sixth, while Southeast Missouri, Lindenwood and Western Illinois are all tied for seventh at 4-6. UT Martin (1-9) and Tennessee State (0-12) look to find their way into the conference tournament, which starts on Nov. 23 at the campus site of the regular-season champion.

The race is a challenging one ahead for the Golden Eagles as they take a return trip to Southern Indiana on Wednesday before taking a week off prior to a trip to Little Rock for two matches, then return home on Nov. 18 and 19 to take on Eastern Illinois for the regular-season finale.

Sophie Robinson leads the Cougars with 268 kills, followed by 224 for Kyndia Smith and 144 for Kennedy Pike. Setting duties are split between Paige Bernstein (462 assists, 5.0 per set) and Ally Hughes (438, 4.76 per set). Olivia Hogan has a team-best 361 digs, while Robinson has 282 digs. Vienna Elliott leads the Cougars with 83 total blocks – 21 solo and 62 assisted.

Bella Powell tops the Tech kills chart with an even 300, while Alayna Pierce has 155, Tuva Falk 123, Audrey Berkebile 122 and Jordyn Milhouse 101. Jordan Karlen has 802 assists, an average of 9.44 per set. MK Roberts leads Tech with 268 digs, followed by Karlen with 226  and Powell with 214. Falk has 51 blocks, while Milhouse has 40.

Photo | Jim Dillon