NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee State University Tigers will be home on Wednesday and Thursday to take on the Morehead State Eagles in volleyball. The matches will finish the season for the Tigers (2-24, 2-14 OVC), which was plagued by several untimely injuries. TSU is out of postseason contention, so they will attempt to spoil the MSU's seed in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

Last time out, the Tigers had three attackers with double-digits in kills. Celestial Miler tied her career-high with 18, Jayla Holcombe added 16, and Storm White had 15, which also is a career-high. Aleksandra Rojecka stepped in as the primary setter and registered a double-double with 31 assists and 17 digs.

As of today, the Eagles are sitting tied for third place with Lindenwood. They could end up as low as the seventh seed with tiebreaker scenarios. Morehead State leads the all-time series at 62-14, including a 24-9 record in Nashville. The Tigers got the best of the Eagles in last season's OVC tournament's first round, winning 3-2 on their way to the OVC championship.

It should be quite a battle at the net, as TSU sits at second, and MSU is third in the OVC in blocks per set. Morehead also features a deadly offensive attack, which ranks second in the conference in points.
 
Match 27: Morehead State (16-12, 9-7 OVC) at (TSU Tigers (2-24, 2-14 OVC)
Date/Time: Wednesday, November 15 | 6 p.m. (CST)
Watch: Morehead State vs. Tennessee State 11/17/23 - NCAA Women's Volleyball Live Stream on Watch ESPN
Live Stats: https://tsutigers.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Location: | Kean Hall, Nashville
 
Match 28: Morehead State (16-12, 9-7 OVC) at (TSU Tigers (2-24, 2-14 OVC)
Date/Time: Thursday, November 16 | 6 p.m. (CST)
Watch: Morehead State vs. Tennessee State 11/18/23 - NCAA Women's Volleyball Live Stream on Watch ESPN
Live Stats: https://tsutigers.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Location: | Kean Hall, Nashville
 
Quick Hits:
 
Freshmen Digging In

Three of the top six leaders in digs for the Tigers are freshmen. Cabranes leads the team with 483. Jadyn Webb is fourth with 128, and Alanys Otero sits sixth with 109. Their efforts are needed while junior libero Hadley Pride had to redshirt this season due to injury. Cabranes tops the OVC in digs per set by a freshman this season.
 
Six Million Dollar Man Recruiting
 
After playing nationally ranked Stanford University in the regular season and Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament, Sutton vowed to add size and speed to her recruitment strategy. With the addition of tall and athletic transfers Erica Calderone (Indian Hills Community College), Jayla Holcombe (Murray State), and Hennesys Lalane (Indian Hills CC), there are now eight players at her disposal who are listed at 6'0 and above.
 
Is There a Doctor in the House?
 
Not quite yet, but soon, as freshman Jadyn Webb received her white coat at festivities during Homecoming Week. Webb participates in the prestigious Dr. Levi Watkins Jr. Medical/Dental Accelerated Pathway Program. She was among 14 freshmen that earned the elite honor.
 
Club Teammates Bring Thunder to TSU
 
Rockwood Thunder Volleyball Club teammates Kennedy Davis and Jayla Holcombe have returned to the same team. Their 16-year friendship has led them to Big Blue Country.  Based in Ellisville, Missouri, the Thunder is one of the most successful clubs in the country. They have produced several NCAA Division 1 players. The duo's play has been a key for the Tigers this season.

International Cuisine
 
Over the years, the Tigers have relied on an international approach to recruiting, so much that it isn't foreign (see what I did there) to hear music from other countries during pregame warm-ups. Grad student Aleksandra Rojecka (Poland) and senior Alondra Santana-Rodriguez (Puerto Rico) are holdovers from last year's team. Like Santana-Rodriguez, freshman duo Celianiz Cabranes and Alanys Otero are from Puerto Rico. Erica Calderone and Hennesys Lalane come to Big Blue Country from the Dominican Republic. Freshman Jadyn Webb has international experience playing for the US Virgin Islands.
 
Pierson Named Coach of the Year
 
Former volleyball player and grad assistant Julia Pierson, the head coach for Maplewood High School in Nashville, was voted the District 10AA Coach of the Year. Pierson played for the Big Blue from 2016 to 2019. In 2020, she was nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.  
 
THE TIGERS AT A GLANCE:
 

• The Tigers are the defending OVC Tournament champions.
• Senior Kennedy Davis was the lone Tiger named to the Preseason All-OVC Team.
• TSU is the second-ranked team in the OVC in blocks per set (2.28).
• Davis has 102 blocks this season. She has reached the 100-block plateau in both of her years in a Tiger uniform.   
• Celestial Miller leads the team with six double-doubles.
• Celianiz Cabranes is the top freshman in digs per set in the OVC. Her 4.78 average ranks her fourth overall.

 
SCOUTING THE MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES:
 

• Morehead is one of the nation's top defensive teams, ranking sixth in the NCAA in digs per set (17.59).
• Peighton Isley is third in the OVC in digs per set at 5.16, which places her 17^th in the nation.
• Irene Wogenstahl leads the OVC in blocks per set at 1.09.
• M.E. Hargan leads the team in points, points/set, kills, and kills per set and ranks among the top 10 in the OVC in each category.
• Local Eagles include Hargan (Elizabethtown, Kentucky), Ellie Whiteside (Paducah, Kentucky), and Avery Ray (Chattanooga, Tennessee).