COOKEVILLE, TN.- The Tennessee State Tigers (9-4, 1-3 OVC) gave a valiant effort but it was not enough as they fell to the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (8-6, 3-0 OVC) in a four-set match. The Tigers started fast in three of the four sets but fell 21-25, 25-21, 22-25 and 20-25.

Mental errors at the end of the three lost sets seemed to hurt the Tigers. The tough loss came down to communication breakdowns according to head coach Donika Sutton.  "We didn't finish on the ball, the block or on serve receive," said Sutton. "I saw some disconnection out there. We will have to figure out how to close the gap instead of separating as a unit." 

First Set: Tech 25-21 

TSU ran out to a 6-1 lead on an ace by junior Sofia Garcia-Guerrios. Tech went on their own 6-1 to tie it at seven. Both teams traded points until junior Ola Rojecka converted a kill making it a 10-8 Tiger lead. An Ashley Hand cross court kill gave Tech their first lead of the match at 11-10. TSU stormed back and after a kill by senior Kendall Washington, the Tigers took a 15-13 lead at the media break 

After the break, Tech went on a 6-2 run to gain momentum in the match. Two consecutive Madolyn Isringhausen kills fueled the run to force a TSU timeout. After the Golden Eagles went up 20-17, Rojecka put a stop to the run with a kill on an assist from Garcia-Guerrios. An Aria Holmes kill then knotted the score at 21 to force a Tech timeout. The timeout ended up being what the Golden Eagles needed as they closed out the set on a 4-0 run to take the first set. 

Second Set: TSU 25-21  

After Tech won the set's first point, the Tigers went on a 6-0 run but this time TSU didn't give up the lead. After a Isringhausen kill stopped the run, the Tigers then went on a 3-0 run extending the lead to 9-2 on a kill by Aria Holmes. An Isringhausen kill made it 9-3 but TSU then went on a 3-0 run to give them their largest lead of the night at 12-3 on a Holmes kill. Holmes and Washington's consecutive kills gave the Tigers a 15-6 lead going into the media break.  

Tech came out smoking after the break, going on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 15-11. Consecutive kills by Tiger senior Aniya Williams and Rojecka and an attack error by Tech's Morgan Gish, forced a Golden Eagle timeout with TSU up 19-12. Tech would not go away easily, winning five of the next seven points to cut the lead to 21-17. Tech continued to chip away eventually cutting the lead to two at 23-21. A Garcia-Guerrios nifty touch kill, and Tech attack error gave TSU the set 25-21. 

"We got in a really good rhythm," said Sutton. "We did a good job of winning the serve and the pass game. I saw some positive things in the set. Some things that we can build on." 

Third Set: Tech 25-22 

Early on, the third set was a nip and tuck affair. Both teams couldn't seem to mount a sustainable run. With the score tied at six, TSU went on a 3-0 run on consecutive kills by Washington and senior Mion Weldon and a serve ace by Garcia-Guerrios. The lead didn't last long as Tech decided to go on a 3-0 run of their own to tie the score at nine. A Williams kill gave the lead back to the Tigers, but Tech once again scored three consecutive points. The Golden Eagles then held on to take a 15-14 lead at the media break. 

The break seemed to give TSU new life. After Tech's Taylor Dorsey ace made it 16-14, the Tigers scored the next three points to take a 17-16 lead. Holmes was huge during the run getting a kill and two block assists. The teams traded points and with the score tied at 21, sandwiched kills by Madeline Furtado and Ashley Taylor around a TSU timeout to make the score 23-21 Tech. Both points were assisted by Hand. After a Hand service error made it 23-22, she made up for the error, assisting on a Furtado kill. Gish and Taylor's block assist gave the Golden Eagles the match.  

Fourth Set: Tech 25-20 

TSU looked poised to tie the contest by winning the first three points of the set. Tech then took control winning the next five points capped off by an ace by Emma Osterbur. A TSU net error gave Tech a 12-8 lead forcing Williams to take a timeout. The timeout stopped the Golden Eagle momentum and fueled the Tigers to go on a 5-0 run to take a 13-12 lead on a Rojecka kill. Tech was then able to retain the lead on a Dorsey kill and an assist block to make it 16-14. Holmes went to work getting two kills and a block to knot the score at 17. The scored then went back and forth. Tech's Skylar Boom's kill and an attack error by TSU made it 22-20 Tech. The error was costly because Rivera-Ortiz was injured on it. Another Tiger error made it 23-20 forcing another timeout by Sutton. After the timeout, Tech forced another TSU error to make it set point. Furtado then finished the game with a kill. 

The two teams will play again on Saturday at 7 p.m. (ESPN+)