COOKEVILLE, TENN. – Audrey Berkebile and Alayna Pierce each had a match high 12 kills Saturday afternoon to lift the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles to 3-1 (24-26, 25-19, 25-20, 25-20) win over the Furman Paladins in Southern Conference volleyball action from the Hooper Eblen Center.
Furman falls to 6-7 overall and 0-2 in the SoCon. The win improves Tennessee Tech to 6-8 on the season and 2-0 in league play.
Three different Paladins netted double digit kills in
Izzy Castelloe (11),
Tennyson Gorman (10), and
Amber Watson (10). Castelloe's team high 11 kills give her 13 straight matches this season with double digit kills and 17 of the last 18 dating back to last year.
Emily Navarro contributed 20 assists and six digs while
Morgan Baldridge added 15 assists and nine digs. Defensively,
Kennedy Seekford tied for a match high with 17 digs and
Ashtan Dodson provided 16.
Pierce finished with a double-double after registering 17 digs to go with her 12 kills. Morgan Peterlin also collected a double-double on 38 assists and 13 digs.
Furman staged a late rally in the opening set, forcing extra points, before falling, 26-24. The Paladins posted a .379 hitting percentage led by Castelloe's five kills, six assists each from Baldridge and Navarro, and six digs by Dodson. Furman took a 15-14 lead midway when Gorman and Watson combined for a block. The Golden Eagles would hold a 23-20 advantage late when the Paladins got three straight kills by Watson and
Kacie Moore to even the score. Tennessee Tech captured the set with a service error and service ace.
Furman bounced back in the second set, hitting .290 and holding the Golden Eagles to .071, for a 25-19 victory to even the match at 1-1. Gorman hit .714 and led the team with five kills. Baldridge and Navarro both dished out four assists while Seekford provided five digs. The Paladins reeled off four straight points around the media timeout and took a 16-10 lead off Gorman's kill. Furman led by as many as seven points twice and earned the win off a TTU attack error.
The third set saw Tennessee Tech limit the Paladins to just .028 hitting en route to a 25-20 triumph. Watson and
Lindsay Walch combined for seven of the Paladins' 10 kills, Navarro compiled six assists, and Dodson totaled six digs. The Golden Eagles started on an 8-2 run and, following Furman's final timeout, took an 18-12 lead off an attack error. The Paladins got to within four late, 24-20, when Watson connected on a kill, but Tennessee Tech won the set on the following play.
The Golden Eagles secured the match with another 25-20 victory in the fourth set. Neither team hit above .100 during the frame with Furman turning in a .025 clip and Tennessee Tech .065. Castelloe finished with three kills, Baldridge and Navarro four assists apiece, and Seekford seven digs. The teams split the initial 12 points when the Paladins picked up four of the next five points to go ahead, 10-7, off an attack error. Another Golden Eagle attack error kept Furman in front by two, 14-12. Tennessee Tech would then go on an 8-3 run and built a 20-17 advantage. Following a Paladin timeout, the Golden Eagles scored five of the last eight points.
Furman concluded the match hitting .162 as a team and held a 71-59 advantage in digs.
The Paladins play their first conference home matches of the season next weekend, October 1-2, hosting Chattanooga at Timmons Arena.
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