NASHVILLE- Playing their first game at Kean Hall this season, the Tennessee State University Tiger Volleyball team looked right at home from the beginning. TSU (8-3, 0-2 OVC) won the first set but struggled in sets two and three before falling to the Southeast Missouri State University Redhawks (10-3, 1-0 OVC) in five sets 20-25, 25-17, 25-11, 23-25 and 15-10 in Ohio Valley Conference action.

The Tigers scratched and clawed to take the fourth set but didn't have enough energy to finish off the Redhawks. Though the loss hurt, TSU head coach Donika Sutton was pleased with how her team played.

"I am super proud of them," said Sutton. "I told them at the end of this match that I better not see one person hold their head. When you lose like that it is hard, but they fought and that's all you really want them to do. I tell them all the time that there is a way to lose, and there is a way to win. Of course, I wish that we had the win. We need to take this, hold on to it and figure out how to build from it."

Set 1

SEMO took an early 13-9 lead, but the Tigers went on a roll scoring six of the next seven points. During that run, seniors Aniya Williams and Mion Weldon scored on consecutive double blocks. SEMO then scored the next two points to take a 15-14 lead at the media timeout. Down 16-17, TSU then went on a 5-1 run to force SEMO to take a timeout. 

Williams then converted a beautiful crosscourt kill and had a block for a score to give her team a 23-19 lead, forcing SEMO to take a second timeout. Senior Kendall Washington, who transferred from SEMO, converted her fourth kill of the set to make it 24-20. A SEMO attack error finished the set off. 

"At first it was a little weird, but I was excited to see them," said Washington of her former teammates. We had a lot of energy, and we were cheering each other on. People were hyping me up and I like that. As a team we are always encouraging one another. We are one big family."

Set 2

SEMO started the next set with a purpose, scoring four times before TSU got on the board. The Redhawks looked like they were going to take control going 6-1 but TSU chipped away to make it 8-5. The game was delayed due to a fire alarm going off. The delay seemed to fuel SEMO. The Redhawks scored seven of the next eight points to take a 15-6 lead at the media break. 

After the break, SEMO kept their foot on the gas going up 20-7 on a service ace by senior Laney Malloy. TSU mounted a slight comeback 24-17 before an attack error finished the set. 

Set 3

The third set looked a lot like the previous one. SEMO ran out to a 5-1 lead and once again coasted to the media timeout, up 15-6. The Tigers couldn't regain their footing and fell in the set 25-11. Malloy had a strong set with five kills. 

Set 4

The fourth set was the most exciting of the night. With the score tied at 10, Williams converted two aces in a row to give TSU a 13-10 lead. Junior Ola Rojecka converted a kill on an assist from classmate Sofia Garcia-Guerrios giving the Tigers a 15-11 lead at the media break. 

The Tigers kept the pressure on, going up 19-13 on a dig that went over the net and landed in by senior Gina Rivera-Ortiz. A kill by Washington gave TSU their biggest lead of the set at 20-13. SEMO stormed back to cut the lead to 24-23. After a TSU timeout, the set ended on a SEMO attack error.   

"We had our ups and downs, but we stayed focused," said Rojecka. "It was hard, but we didn't give up. My mindset was for us to go to the fifth set."                      

Set 5

The decisive fifth set started off with both teams trading points. A Williams kill gave the Tigers a 6-3 lead. A Rojecka kill and a SEMO ball handling error had TSU feeling confident, going into the media timeout up 8-5. SEMO took over, scoring the next five points to take a lead that they would not relinquish. The match ended with Redhawk sophomore Kayla Closset converting on a service ace. 

"We were falling apart at the beginning mentally and we had to come together in that fourth set," said Williams. "We are big on communication, and I feel like if we don't, that's when we fall apart. We play quicker when we have more communication."

The loss is TSU's second in a row in OVC play. The Tigers are now 0-2 at home. TSU was led by Williams' 20.5 points and 11 kills. Rivera, the OVC Defensive Player of the Week had 21 digs and Garcia-Guerrios led her team with 37 assists. The two teams will meet again on Saturday at 2pm (CST) at Kean Hall. 

View Stats