Sports, Volleyball

Golden Eagle Volleyball Team Heads to Chattanooga

Tech volleyball player jumps to set the ball in front of the net.
Tech Senior Ashley Hand returns a volley during a match at the Golden Eagle Invitational on September 4, 2021. Tech volleyball will be at the Bama Bash Invitational Friday September 17 and Saturday September 18.
Photo provided by TTU Athletics.

With the Tech Volleyball 2020-21 season underway, the Golden Eagles look to keep their winning record alive as they travel to Chattanooga this weekend to play in the Chattanooga Classic.

The Golden Eagles started their season in the War Eagle invitational on Aug. 27-28 where they went 1-1 and just came off their own Golden Eagle Invitational on Sep. 3-4 going 2-1. This makes their record 3-2 going into their next tournament.

Tech’s right-side hitter, Morgan Gish, was asked about how the team is performing early in the season.

“Although this is the start of the season, the team prepared hard this summer in pre-season on and off the court.” said Gish, “We all have the same goal in mind, to win the OVC, and that shows in the way we play. We have all the right pieces of talent, hard work, and mindsets to get us there.”

The Golden Eagles have a total of three freshmen starting this year that play a huge role for the team. Mckenna Young from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Madolyn Isringhausen from Edwardsville, Illinois, as well as Payton Lombardi out of Clive, Iowa.

“Our freshmen are great pieces to our team” Gish commented, “they are three different positions and completely different players that all bring so much to our team both in practice and in games.”

Through five matches played, Isringhausen is averaging 3.85 kills per set, 2.10 digs per set, and racking up 90 total points for the golden eagles thus far. Young and Lombardi have added up 124 total digs and 14 service aces combined, with only one error. These will be some key players to look for in the Chattanooga Classic.

“We are excited to play in the Chattanooga Classic this weekend,” Gish said, “we are facing three very different teams that will all bring different challenges.”

The Golden Eagles biggest competitor they will face at the Chattanooga Classic is Virginia Tech. The Hokies have a 5-1 overall record and a lot of talent that Tech will have to overcome.

“We love playing out-of-conference teams that can make us better and we have the ability to bring home three wins this weekend.”

The Chattanooga Classic will begin on Sep. 10, when Tech will play their first game against Chattanooga at 5:00 p.m. The following day, Tech will face off against Troy at 9:00 a.m. and then turn around and play Virginia Tech at 4 p.m.