COOKEVILLE, TN --  The Tennessee State Tiger Volleyball team showed impressive determination and contributions from several players in the 3-2 win over the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles Friday on the road at Eblen Center. The victory gave them a sweep of the team that was picked to finish first in the OVC.  The sweep moved the Tigers' record to 2-10 overall and 2-0 in OVC play. Counting last season, this is the ninth victory in a row for TSU against OVC opponents and their fourth straight against Tech. TTU only lost four conference games last season, two coming against the Tigers.

The Tigers played without setter Hennesys Lalane, who had a double-double last night of 43 assists and 16 digs, but got a great effort from her replacement, freshman setter Alanys Otero who had a double-double of her own with 47 assists and 17 digs. TSU had four players with double figures in kills, led by Jayla Holcombe, who finished with 23 on the day. Aleksandra Rojecka added 12. Celestial Miller and Gabrielle Johnson chipped in with ten apiece. Defensively, three freshmen players reached double figures in digs, including Celianiz Cabranes' 26, 17 from Otero, and 13 more from Jadyn Webb. From the front row, Kennedy Davis contributed seven blocks.

Game Notes

» TSU had four players in double figures in kills.
» The Tigers had 76 digs in the match, one more than last night. The 76 digs are the most for the team this season. 
» Miller had a team-high two aces in the win.
» TSU never trailed on the way to winning the second set 25-23.
» The Tigers never trailed on the way to winning the fourth set 25-18.
» Holcombe had a match and season-high 23 kills for Tennessee State.
» TSU got a match-high 26 digs from Cabranes.
» a game helped Tennessee State attackers and season-high 47 assists from Otero.

How It Happened

SET 1 | 26-28 Holcolmbe's Heroics Not Enough 
The Tigers dropped a close first set, losing 28-26 in a game tied nine times and having four lead changes. Holcombe was huge in the set with eight kills, a .316 hitting percentage, and two block assists. TSU started slow, going down 6-2 early before crawling back in the set, eventually taking a 19-18 lead. The Tigers had three set points but couldn't finish Tech off. Otero had 13 helpers in the set; Johnson had three kills and a .333 hitting percentage. 11 total errors in the set plagued TSU. 

SET 2 | 25-23 Tigers Hold on To Tie The Match at One
Tennessee State tied the match at 1-1 after a 25-23 victory in set two. The Tigers led from wire to wire in the set, opening it up as much as a six-point lead at 7-1 before closing out the set. Down 8-2, Tech got back in the set with a 4-0 run to cut the lead to two points, forcing TSU to call a timeout. TTU eventually tied the match at 15 but committed three straight attack errors to give TSU an 18-15 lead. The Tigers extend the run to 6-1 to go up 21-16. Tech made it interesting by chipping away and closing the lead to one at 24-23. Holcombe's ninth kill of the set gave TSU the win. 

SET 3 | 20-25 Tiger Comeback Falls Short
Tennessee Tech went ahead 2-1 in the match after taking down the Tigers in set three. TSU never led in the set, falling behind 18-2 before making a comeback. An 11-0 run got the Tigers back in the set. TSU cut the lead to two twice before TTU scored four of the last five points to finish the set.

SET 4 | 25-18 TSU Leads Wire to Wire to Force Fifth Set
Tennessee State then responded to secure the fourth set 25-18 to force a fifth set. The late momentum from the previous set seemed to give the Tigers the energy they needed. Tennessee State opened up as much as a seven-point lead at 19-12 before closing out the stanza, totaling 15 kills in the process. After TSU took a 15-10 lead before the media break, the Tigers went on two 2-1 spurts to force two TTU timeouts and give TSU the cushion they needed to take the set. A 4-1 run wrapped it up. Davis had two kills during the run, and TTU had two attack errors. A sensational save by Webb on the 24th point also was a key to the run. 

SET 5 | 15-12 6-0 Run Gives The Tigers The Sweep 
Down two sets to one, Tennessee State powered back to win the final two sets, culminating in a 15-12 fifth-set victory, to take the match 3-2. The Tigers took set five and the game despite trailing by five points at 9-4 before fighting back to secure the victory. Tennessee State jumped in front at 10-9 on a 6-0 run and hung on for a set win.

The Tigers will be home to welcome Southern Indiana to Kean Hall for the first time this Friday and Saturday.