Tennessee Tech outside hitter Elena Pierce led the Golden Eagles volleyball team to three consecutive victories during the Golden Eagle Invitational by anchoring the squad’s offensive performance.
Pierce said the team secured the wins over the weekend while competing in the Golden Eagle Invitational. Pierce said she averaged more than four kills per set and totaled 84 kills so far this season.
“I think just like being able to just like mentally be there with like my teammates and just the help of them like being able to like call shots and just like the fact that they can trust me just gives me confidence to be able to do things and be able to succeed in those ways because I know that they trust that what I’m going to do is like can work,” Pierce said. “So I think just having that and having that support from my teammates just gives me the confidence to be able to do the thing.”
Pierce said she recorded 67 kills across the three matches played during the tournament. Pierce said the team’s setters played a vital role in the offensive production by spreading the ball to different hitters.
“Um, I think honestly, a big thing is our setters just spreading the offense,” Pierce said. “Um, that just causes the blockers on the other side just to kind of be a little frantic and just the help of them and then just our entire team just constantly like being there supporting each other so like calling out shots and whatever, whatever it takes just giving us confidence which I guess led to success within that.”
Pierce said she prepares for the high-energy environment of matches by focusing on her mental state before taking the court. Pierce said she prioritizes spending time with her teammates and engaging in prayer to settle her mind.
“Yeah, I, a lot of the adrenaline just comes from my teammates just doing great things and, you know, we all love each other so much so just seeing them like succeed and seeing us succeed as a team, like that just instantly brings adrenaline to us because we’re all out doing exactly what we love to do with people that we love,” Pierce said.
Pierce said her role as a leader on the team developed because of her ability to remain composed during intense rallies. Pierce said teammates often look to her to provide a sense of stability when the pace of the game becomes frantic.
“I think just naturally as, I mean, as a team we all come together and we like kind of look to each other and I guess that like a lot of people have mentioned that I do have like a calm steady head on the court,” Pierce said. “So I think that that naturally causes me to be a leader as like people look to me for the calmness and for the steadiness on the court, especially in the game like you said like a game of adrenaline where like you kind of just need that like to settle down at points.”
Pierce said the team is preparing to travel for its next series of matches at Air Force.