Nashville, Tenn. --- The Tennessee State University
volleyball team's upset bid of OVC leader Morehead State fell short in a, 3-2,
loss to the Eagles Monday night in Kean Hall.
Tennessee State started strong but dropped two straight and
fell behind in the match, 2-1. The Tigers bounced back with a win in the fourth
frame to force a deciding set. The Eagles, however, held on and remained undefeated in
the league. TSU is the first OVC team to take MSU to five-sets.
TSU (8-6, 4-3 OVC) finished the match with 53 kills and a
.152 hitting percentage while MSU (12-5, 7-0 OVC) also notched 53 kills and hit
.160.
Shaquita Williams led Tennessee State with 18 kills (.361) while Danielle Howell added 13.
Britani Hathorn recorded a match-high 27 digs while Terakka Walker posted 14.
Morehead State was led by Ellie Roberson with 24 kills
(.413). Leslie Schellhaas paced the Eagle defense with 25 digs and Lindsey Roth
tallied 10.
Tennessee State controlled the first set from beginning to
end. The Tigers opened the match with five straight points to go ahead, 5-0.
The Eagles got on the board and narrowed the gap down to three but back-to-back
kills from Shaquita Williams put TSU on top, 10-3. The Tigers never looked back
as they registered 18 kills (.429) compared to the Eagles' nine (.097) in the, 25-15,
win.
After the teams played to a 7-7 deadlock in the second set,
TSU used a small run to take an 11-8 lead. MSU pulled even at 12-all and again
at 16-all before grabbing an 18-16 advantage. The Tigers managed to tie the
score but the Eagles used four unanswered points to take a 23-19 lead. MSU won
the set, 25-20, to even the match.
TSU used a timeout after MSU increased its advantage to 13-7
in the third set. The Eagles maintained the lead out of the break and stretched
the advantage to 18-11. The Tigers fell behind, 23-14, before eventually
dropping the set, 25-17.
In the fourth frame, a kill by Erika Moss coupled with a
Morehead State attack error made the score, 9-5, in favor of Tennessee State. TSU stretched the advantage to 13-7 before MSU
rallied to within one, 18-17. The Tigers, however, kept the Eagles at bay and
went on to win, 25-21.
Morehead State led, 8-4, at the midway mark of the fifth
set. After falling behind, 12-6, TSU cut the deficit down to three points. The
Tigers, however, were unable to get over the hump as the Eagles held on to win,
15-10.
Tennessee State returns to action on Friday, Oct.7 against
Murray State. Match time is slated for 7 p.m. in Kean Hall.
---tsutigers---
