Box Score

RICHMOND, Ky. – Cassie Knutson had a career-high 32 kills, which was the most by any Ohio Valley Conference player this season, but the Eastern Kentucky University volleyball team fell in five sets to Tennessee State University.
 
The Tigers won by scores of 19-25, 25-23, 24-26, 26-24 and 15-2.
 
Three Colonels reached double-digit kills, Clairissa Hankinson had 10 kills and Makayla Logan pitched in 10 of her own. Rachel Woody had a match-high 51 assists to go along with 25 digs. Chloe Rojas tied her for a match-best 25 digs.   
 
It was all EKU in set number one, as the Colonels ran out to an early 9-4 lead after an attack error by the Tigers and never looked back in the opening stanza. EKU pushed their lead to a set-high 21-13 after a service ace by Rojas. The Colonels took the opening set 25-18. 
 
EKU jumped out to a 12-5 lead half way through the third stanza. That is when the Tigers used a 7-1 run after an attack error by EKU to cut into the Colonel lead 22-20. The third set was tied 24-24 when Eastern scored the last two points of the set, after a pair of attack errors by the Tigers, to claim the third stanza 26-24.
 
Stanza number four was a back and forth affair for the whole set. No team had a lead by more than three points throughout the set. TSU took a 13-10 advantage after an EKU attack error. Eastern answered right back with a 3-0 run to tie the set back up at 13-13 after a kill by Knutson. The Tigers scored the last two points of the frame after back-to-back kills and took the set 26-24.
 
EKU could not get anything going in set number five. TSU scored the first seven points of the frame and never looked back. The Tigers won the final set 15-2 and took the match.
 
Julia Pierson led the way for the Tennessee State with 24 kills and 16 digs. Gina Rivera-Ortiz had a match-high 25 digs on the match. TSU had five players with double-digit digs on the match.  
 
EKU finishes the season 5-23 with a 4-12 mark in the OVC while Tennessee State improves to 9-18 with a 7-9 mark in conference play.