NASHVILLE, TN --The Tennessee State University Tiger volleyball team won a tough match in four sets (27-25, 25-27, 25-13, 25-18, 25-18) over the Little Rock Trojans Saturday at Kean Hall.The victory improved the Tigers' record to 17-15 overall and 10-8 in OVC play. TSU is on a four game winning streak and has won seven out of their last eight matches. The strong finish helped them earn a spot in the OVC Postseason Tournament for the first time since 2018. They were picked to finish last in the preseason, but finished in a four way tie for third. Tiebreakers made TSU the sixth seed.
I am so proud of this team and they way we finished," said head coach Donika Sutton, "It is tough to win in our conference. Getting 10 wins certainly showed the hard work they put in. Our seniors showed up huge all season. Today showed their desire not to lose. This was a solid performance."
The Tigers offense was paced by Johanna Alcantara, who finished with 18 kills on the day. Aleksandra Rojecka added 11 and Kennedy Davis chipped in with 10 as part of balanced Tennessee State attack.Also, Carla Boudal also pitched in with three kills and five aces in the contest. They were set up by Sofia Garcia-Guerrios' 34 assists along with Login Williams' 12. Defensively, had three players reach double figures in digs, including Gina Rivera-Ortiz's 28, 14 from Boudal, and 14 more from Garcia-Guerrios giving her a double-double. From the front row, Gabrielle Johnson contributed five blocks.
Game Notes
» TSU had three players in double figures in kills.(Alcantara, Rojecka and Davis.)
» Tennessee State had three players in double figures in digs. Rivera-Ortiz, Boudal and Garcia-Guerrios)
» Carla Boudal had a match-high five aces in the win.
» The Tigers never trailed on the way to winning the fourth set 25-18.
» TSU served up five aces on the way to a fourth-set victory.
» Johanna Alcantara had a match-high 18 kills.
» TSU got a match-high 28 digs from Gina Rivera-Ortiz.
» The Tiger attackers were helped by a match-high 34 assists from Sofia Garcia-Guerrios.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Tigers came out on top of a tight first set, winning 27-25 in a stanza that was tied six times and had two lead changes. got a solid defensive performance from a front row that blocked five Little Rock attacks in the stanza. Little Rock fought back from a six point deficit to force deuce. Celestial Miller was clutch in the set with two kills and a .667 hitting percentage. Garcia-Guerrios had nine helpers in the set.
SET 2 | TSU dropped set two 27-25 to even the match 1-1. The Tigers fell in a close second set, losing in a stanza that was tied seven times and had two lead changes. Rojecka kept the Tigers in the set with four kills. Garcia-Guerrios had 14 assists.
SET 3 | The Tigers fought back following the second-set loss to grab set three and a 2-1 lead in the match. TSU grabbed control of the set early when the score was 6-5 and held the lead the rest of the way to win 25-13. The Tigers ended on a strong note, opening up its biggest lead of the stanza, 12 points, to finish off the set.
SET 4 | TSU kept the momentum going, claiming the match win with a 25-18 fourth-set victory. The Tigers led from the first point on in the set to secure the victory. Tennessee State opened up as much as a nine point lead at 22-13 before closing out the stanza. TSU also supplemented their offense with five aces in the set.
This Thursday at 10 a.m., the Tigers will be back in action as they on Morehead State at UT-Martin in the OVC Tournament.
