TSU Tigers Remain Undefeated in Conference Play with Sweep of EKU

NASHVILLE, Tennessee --  The Tennessee State volleyball team swept the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, 25-22, 25-19, 25-23 Friday night in Kean Hall.

With the win over EKU, the Tigers are 5-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play, 7-9 overall, while the Colonels fall to 2-3 in league competition, 3-14 overall.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Rachel Henderson posted the match-high 16 kills on 25 attempts and added three errors, added two aces, five digs and three blocks to the stat line.
• Setter Laken Te’o facilitated the offense summing 41 assists on the night, helping her team hit for a .295.
• Gina Rivera Ortiz finished the night with a match-high 16 digs.
• EKU’s Cassie Knutson and Lindsey Wilkins each registered double-digit kills, 12 and 13, respectively.

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

Tennessee State took the lead and held it throughout the set. Henderson dominated, finishing with seven kills on eight attempts and four digs. TSU made multiple score runs throughout, to increase its lead by as much as seven, with the Colonels making one five-point push too late to make a comeback. Big Blue goes up 1-0 versus EKU, winning set one 25-22.

The Tigers maintained the lead in sets one and two, allowing only three tied scores in the first and two in the second. The hitting accuracy of both teams in set one dropped in the second as both teams committed numerous hitting errors and combined for three blocks. Big Blue finished the second set, 25-19 by decreasing the efficiency of EKU’s Lindsey Wilkins, who registered seven kills in set one.

In the final set, Eastern Kentucky made a huge push to lead TSU most of the set, and was the first to hit 20 points. The Tigers went on a three-point run to tie the score at 20. Big Blue's spread offense showed up in the final points as Kruize, Fihaki and Henderson all went up for kills. A Henderson ace ended the show, 25-23.

MATCH NOTES

• The Tigers improve to 5-0 in conference play, while Eastern Kentucky sinks to 2-3.
• In the all-time series against the Colonels, TSU improves to 12-54.
• The team honored fellow Tiger Christion Abercrombie, who sustained an injury at last weekend's football game versus Vanderbilt and remains in critical condition, at the start of the match. 

UP NEXT

Big Blue hosts the Eagles of Morehead State tomorrow, Oct. 5 in Kean Hall at noon.

TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY TIGERS ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS