The Citadel Falters Against Tennessee Tech in SoCon Home Opener

Friday, October 2

Charleston, S.C.

6:00 PM

The Citadel

3-12,0-3SoCon

Tennessee Tech

7-8,3-0SoCon

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Tennessee Tech	25	25	25	3
The Citadel	17	14	21	0

Box Score.PDF

Photo by: Aaron Beswick / The Citadel Athletics

The Citadel Falters Against Tennessee Tech in SoCon Home Opener

10/2/2026 8:38:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: The Citadel Athletics

CHARLESTON, S.C. — The Citadel (3-12, 0-3 SoCon) fell in straight sets to Tennessee Tech (7-8, 3-0 SoCon) in the team's Southern Conference home opener Friday night at McAlister Field House, 25-17, 25-14, 25-21.

Cameron Reese led the Bulldogs with nine kills, seven digs, one service ace and one solo block. Jordyn Sims matched Reese with nine kills and added four digs. Allie Davison finished with 21 assists, 10 digs and one service ace.

Audrey Berkebile led Tennessee Tech with 11 kills while adding seven digs, two service aces and one block assist. Mallory Jenkins recorded 10 kills on 15 attacks without an error and added two blocks. Morgan Petelin finished with 36 assists, eight digs, one ace and one block assist, while Shelby Hannah collected a team-high 16 digs and added five assists.

"Our young players have been pushing really hard in practice, and when they get the results, they earn opportunities on the floor," said head coach Dave Zelenock. "We tried some different matchups and moved people around, especially in the third set, and that helped. At the end of the day, though, we still made too many errors, and Tech played a clean match."

First Set | 17-25
·       Tennessee Tech opened a 3-0 lead before The Citadel cut the advantage to 6-5 on a Sims kill and a Luci Lippelgoos service ace.
·       After the Golden Eagles moved ahead 10-5, the Bulldogs answered with three straight points, including an Emma Pastusic kill and a Davison ace, to cut the deficit to 10-8.
·       Tennessee Tech responded with five consecutive points and later extended the advantage to 20-10.
·       The Bulldogs made a late four-point push to pull within 22-16, highlighted by a Sims kill and Reese ace, but the Golden Eagles closed out the set, 25-17.

Second Set | 14-25
·       Tennessee Tech built a 9-4 advantage before kills from Elizabeth Miller and Sims helped the Bulldogs trim the deficit to 10-7.
·       A 4-0 Golden Eagles run stretched the lead to 14-7, but Reese answered with back-to-back kills to narrow the lead back to 14-9.
·       The Bulldogs later scored three straight points, including a Mia Watson ace, to cut the deficit to 15-12.
·       Tennessee Tech responded with seven consecutive points, including kills from Jordyn Milhouse, Alayna Pierce and Berkebile, before closing the set, 25-14.

Third Set | 21-25
·       The Bulldogs jumped ahead 4-1 behind a Jess Martin ace and kills from Miller and Sims.
·       Tennessee Tech responded to take a 6-4 lead, and the set remained tight through a 9-9 tie before the Golden Eagles moved ahead 17-11.
·       The Citadel battled back from a 19-12 deficit to pull within 21-19, with Reese, Weise and Rachel Reininger contributing kills during the run.
·       Tennessee Tech held off the comeback, reaching match point at 24-20 before taking the final set, 25-21.

Up Next
The Bulldogs host Tennessee Tech in a second consecutive match Saturday, Oct. 3, at 2 p.m. inside McAlister Field House.

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