MARTIN, TN. — It's win or go home as the Tennessee State University Tiger Volleyball Team earned a spot in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament for the first time since 2018. The team comes into the tournament red hot after winning seven out of their last eight games finishing the season in a four-way tie for third place with a 10-8 conference record.
 
TSU, picked to finish last in the preseason, ended up as the sixth seed due to tiebreakers. At 10 a.m. on Thursday, they will take on the third seeded Morehead State Eagles who has an identical 10-8 record. The Eagles defeated the Tigers in two matches between the two schools this year at Morehead.
 
On October 6, TSU fell in four sets (13-25, 20-25, 26-24, 15-25). Celestial Miller finished with 11 kills on the day to lead the Lady Tigers offense. Defensively, had two players reach double figures in digs as Gina Rivera-Ortiz had 27 and Login Williams had 11. Carla Boudal had three aces to lead the match. For the Eagles, Bridget Bessler had a double-double of 52 assists and 21 digs to help pace three Eagle strikers in double figures.
 
The next night, the Tigers fell in five sets (25-18, 20-25, 25-19, 9-25, 10-15). TSU was led by double-doubles from Gabrielle Johnson, who registered 10 kills and 16 blocks and Sofia Garcia-Guerrios who had 18 assists and 16 digs on the day. Johanna Alcantara also added 10 kills to help the offense. On the defensive end, Gina Rivera-Ortiz chipped in for with 22 digs.
 
 
The Matchup: Tennessee State Tigers (16-15, 10-8 OVC) vs. Morehead State (14-15, 10-8 OVC)
Date/Time:  Thursday, November 17 || 10:00 a.m. (CST)
Location: Skyhawk Fieldhouse | Martin, Tennessee
Live Stats:     https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=436950
Live Video:      https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/3cd803f4-dd5a-4aa2-b1ef-9a327618aba7?om-navmethod=espn%3Aglobalsearch%3Aresults
 
SCOUTING THE TIGERS:

• Johanna Alcantara is second in the OVC in total kills (281) and is third in kills per set (3.90).
• Gina Rivera-Ortiz is now second in career digs in the OVC with 2551. Her 654 digs is a single season school record and places her second in the OVC in overall matches this season.
• Carla Boudal led the OVC in services aces with 50 in overall games.
• Kennedy Davis finished second in the OVC in hitting percentage in overall matches at .356. The leader finished at .357
• Gabrielle Johnson (116) and Davis (111) finished the season with over 100 blocks in overall play. Johnson's 91 blocks led in OVC play.

 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES

• Bridget Bessler leads the conference in assists per set at 10.17. In addition, she recorded 15 double-doubles to lead the team.
• Irene Wogenstahl finished the regular season ranked fifth in the OVC in hitting percentage at .289. She hit above .300 in seven of the final 10 matches.
• Abby Hulsman (3.01) and Maycie Welborn (2.83) both finished in the top 10 in the conference in kills per set. Hulsman will finish her career with 900+ career kills.
• Sydney Wyman closed the regular season with at least one block in 15 straight matches. She also recorded double-digit kills in nine of the final 15.