Nashville --- The Tennessee State
University volleyball team came up short
in a five-set battle with Eastern Illinois
Saturday afternoon in Kean Hall.
With the loss, Tennessee
State dropped its seventh
straight home match and moves to 3-20 (2-9 OVC) on the season.
Eastern Illinois (9-17,
2-11 OVC) picked up its second conference win of the season and snapped a
10-match league losing streak.
Tennessee State tallied 69 kills and a .281 attack percentage
while Eastern Illinois notched 66 kills and
hit .275 for the match. Defensively, TSU turned in 64 digs compared to EIU's
60.
The Tigers registered seven team blocks and the Panthers
recorded eight as both squads had 19 attack errors.
Shaquita Williams led TSU offensively with a match-high 21
kills while Naomi Wells added 13. Terakka Walker tallied a double-double with
12 kills and 16 digs.
Defensively, the Tigers were led by Kamille King with a
match-high 22 digs. Yamari Padilla-Collazo recorded 52 assists, eight kills and
seven digs.
The Panthers had four players to post double figures in
kills led by Melanie Boykins (14). Alex Zwettler (13), Jorie Dieter (12) and
Jessica Wheeler (11) also notched double-digits.
Brittany Wallace led the Panthers defensively with 17 digs while
Chrisse Albers added 15. Zwettler chipped in 11. Albers dished out 53 assists.
In set one, TSU jumped out to a 10-2 lead behind the serve
of Yamari Padilla-Collazo. EIU called a timeout to recover but TSU continued to
build on its lead. The Tigers swelled the advantage to 20-12 before going on to
win.
The momentum shifted in set two as EIU built up a16-8 lead
following a TSU attack error. The Panthers stretched their advantage to 20-12
and the Tigers could not overcome the deficit.
TSU used timely kills and an impressive .484 hitting
percentage to claim the third set. With the score tied 17-17, TSU closed out
the frame with an 8-2 run. The Tigers did not commit an error in the set.
Set four was a battle from the onset as TSU was looking to
end the match and EIU was fighting to stay alive. With the score knotted 24-24,
the Panthers capitalized on two Tiger attack errors to squeeze out the extra
points win.
The fifth set was intense and filled with energy from both
teams. The score went back and forth before EIU went ahead 11-9. This led to a
TSU timeout. The Tigers came to within one on a service error but the Panthers
would not relinquish the lead.
The Tigers return to action on Oct. 30 when they hit the
road to face Eastern Kentucky.
