UPCOMING SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10
UT Martin at
Morehead State* - 5 p.m. (OVCDN)
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11
UT Martin at
Eastern Kentucky* - 5 p.m.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12
Southeast Missouri at
Eastern Kentucky* - 5 p.m.
Austin Peay at
Belmont* - 6 p.m. (OVCDN)
Murray State at
Tennessee State* - 6 p.m.
Eastern Illinois at
Jacksonville State* - 7 p.m.
SIUE at
Tennessee Tech* - 7 p.m. (OVCDN)
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13
Southeast Missouri at
Morehead State* - 1 p.m. (OVCDN)
Austin Peay at
Tennessee State* 2 p.m.
Eastern Illinois at
Tennessee Tech* - 2 p.m.
Murray State at
Belmont* - 2 p.m. (OVCDN)
SIUE at
Jacksonville State* - 7 p.m.
ALL TIMES CENTRAL
* - OVC Match
2018 OVC Players of the Week - Oct. 8
Offensive:
Rachel Giustino, OH, Jr., 5-10, Alqonquin, Ill. - Murray State
Giustino led the team with 31 kills while hitting .256 as Racers went 2-0 last week. She had 17 kills and a .341 hitting percentage in the win over SIUE. Against Eastern Illinois, she had 14 kills. She also racked up 31 digs, including a season-high 17 versus the Panthers. She now has six straight double-doubles.
Others Nominated: Cecily Gable, Austin Peay; Maggie Mullins, Belmont; Cassie Knutson, Eastern Kentucky; Kaylie Milton, Jacksonville State; Jessie Wachtman, Morehead State; Annie Wehrheim, Southeast Missouri; Rachel Henderson, Tennessee State; Rachel Thomas, Tennessee Tech
Defensive:
Becca Fernandez, L, 5-2, Carol Stream, Ill. - Murray State
Fernandez led the team with 34 digs, including 20 in the win over SIUE. She finished with 14 kills in the victory over Eastern Illinois. Fernandez also had seven assists over the two matches.
Others Nominated: Ginny Gerig, Austin Peay; Haley Sullivan, Belmont; Chloe Rojas, Eastern Kentucky; Kaylee Frear, Jacksonville State; Maddie Fella, Morehead State; Ally Dion, Southeast Missouri; Gina Rivera Ortiz, Tennessee State; Susie Jeziorowski, Tennessee Tech.
Co-Setter:
Kristen Stucker, S, Sr., 5-10, Johnston, Iowa - Austin Peay
Stucker posted a 35-assist, 12-dig double-double in the win over Eastern Illinois while leading the team to a .239 attack percentage. She followed that up with 53 assists and nine digs in the victory over SIUE. She helped the Govs hit .265 versus the Cougars. For the week she had 88 assists, 21 digs, two blocks and two kills while helping Austin Peay post a .253 attack percentage.
Lexi Libs, S, So, 6-0, Floyds Knob, Ind. - Jacksonville State
Libs dished out 100 assists as the Gamecocks went 2-0 last week. She helped JSU notch a .260 team hitting percentage. She had 52 assists versus Tennessee Tech and followed that up with 48 against UT Martin. She also totaled 18 digs, five kills and five blocks.
Others Nominated: Akia Warrior, Belmont; Chandler Clark, Morehead State; Callie Anderton, Murray State; Claire Ochs, Southeast Missouri; Laken Te'o, Tennessee State; Susie Jeziorowski, Tennessee Tech
Newcomer:
Lena Kindermann, Oh, Fr, 6-2, Neuenkirchen, Germany - Jacksonville State
Kindermann matched her season-high with 18 kills while hitting .351 in the win over Tennessee Tech. She followed that up with 13 kills against UT Martin with a .356 attack percentage. She also had a pair of blocks in each match.
Others Nominated: Taylor Floyd, Belmont; Allison Whitten, Morehead State; Annie Werheim, Southeast Missouri; JoJo Kruize, Tennessee State; Alie Verzani, Tennessee Tech
2018 Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball Team Notes
Austin Peay (6-0 OVC; 16-2 overall): Austin Peay remained undefeated in OVC play with wins over Eastern Illinois and SIUE last week. It marks the first time in program history that APSU has opened OVC play with a 6-0 record. Senior Cecily Gable posted a career-high 24 kills to go with a .316 hitting percentage, two blocks and 10 digs in the win over the Cougars. It was the first 20-kill outing of her career. Junior Ginny Gerig had 21 digs in the three-set win over Eastern Illinois. Against SIUE, she had 18 digs. Senior Kristen Stucker recorded 88 assists and 21 digs last week. She moved into third on the Governors career assists list, ending the weekend with 4,167. Austin Peay will travel to Belmont on Friday and Tennessee State on Friday.
Belmont (1-5 OVC; 1-17 overall): Belmont fell to Morehead State before picking up its first win of the season with a victory over Eastern Kentucky last week. Senior Maggie Mullins totaled 16 kills over the two matches, including recording 10 versus EKU. She was one did shy of a double-double versus the Colonels. Senior Haley Sullivan reached double-digits in digs in each match. She had a team-high 13 versus Morehead State and had 11 against Morehead State. Sophomore Akia Warrior dished out a career-high 44 assists to go with 12 digs for her first double-double of the season. Freshman Taylor Floyd totaled 18 kills and 11 digs over the two matches. Belmont will host Austin Peay on Friday and Murray State on Saturday.
Eastern Illinois (1-5 OVC; 6-15 overall): Eastern Illinois fell to Austin Peay and Murray State last week. Junior Katie Sommer led the team with 21 kills over the two matches. Sophomore Madison Cunningham recorded 19 digs versus Austin Peay and 13 against Murray State. The Panthers continue their road trip as they will travel to Jacksonville State on Friday and Tennessee Tech on Saturday.
Eastern Kentucky (2-4 OVC; 3-15 overall): Eastern Kentucky fell at Tennessee State and Belmont last week. Senior Cassie Knutson led the team with 31 kills over the two matches. She had 12 versus Tennessee State and followed that up with 19 versus Belmont. Senior Chloe Rojas totaled 37 digs last week, including 25 versus the Bruins. Eastern Kentucky will host UT Martin on Thursday and Southeast Missouri on Friday.
Jacksonville State (3-3 OVC; 10-9 overall): Jacksonville State defeated Tennessee Tech and UT Martin last week. Sophomore led the team with 33 kills, including 19 at UT Martin. She also added 24 kills over the two matches. Junior Kaylee Frear notched nine blocks last week. Sophomore setter Lexie Libs dished out 52 assists at versus Tennessee Tech and 48 against UT Martin. She helped the team hit .260 over the two matches. Freshman Lena Kindermann matched her season-high with 18 kills while hitting .351 in the win over Tech. She followed that up with 13 kills and a .346 clip versus UTM. Senior Mackenzie Rombach now has 454 career blocks and is 35 away from JSU's Division I record of 489. Jacksonville State will host Eastern Illinois on Friday and SIUE on Saturday.
Morehead State (5-1 OVC; 14-5 overall): Morehead State defeated Belmont and Tennessee State last week. Senior Jessie Wachtman totaled 18 kills with just two errors in 30 attempts for a team-high .533 hitting percentage. She also notched nine blocks last week. Senior Maddie Fella also had nine blocks over the two matches to go with five digs and seven kills. Sophomore Chandler Clark dished out 67 assists to go with 21 digs over the six sets last week. She helped the team hit .220. Freshman Allison Whitten collected 28 digs for the week. She led the team with 17 digs versus Belmont and 11 versus Tennessee State. The Eagles will host UT Martin on Wednesday and Southeast Missouri on Saturday.
Murray State (3-3 OVC; 9-9 overall): Murray State defeated SIUE and Eastern Illinois last week. Junior Rachel Giustino led the Racers with 31 kills in the two matches. She had 17 kills versus SIUE and 14 against Eastern Illinois. She also had 31 digs, including 17 against EIU. She now has six straight double-doubles. Sophomore Becca Fernandez led the team with 34 digs with 20 coming against SIUE. Sophomore Callie Anderton dished out 74 assists over the six sets. She also had 17 digs and helped the Racers hit .300. Murray State will travel to Tennessee State on Friday and Belmont on Saturday.
Southeast Missouri (4-2 OVC; 12-7 overall): Southeast Missouri picked up a pair of wins over UT Martin and Tennessee Tech last week. With 12 victories, the Redhawks have their highest win total in the past four seasons. Junior Annie Wehrheim led the team with 32 kills over the two matches. She had a career-best 24 kills on a .426 clip to go with three digs versus Tech. Sophomore Ally Dion led the team with 22 digs versus UT Martin and added 14 versus Tennessee Tech. Freshman Claire Ochs dished out 94 assists and helped the team hit. 237. She recorded a double-double in each match with 40 assists and 18 digs versus UTM and 54 assists and 14 digs against TTU. Southeast Missouri will travel to Eastern Kentucky on Friday and Morehead State on Saturday.
SIUE (3-3 OVC; 4-14 overall): SIUE fell to Murray State and Austin Peay last week. Sophomore Annie Ellis and freshman Ellen LeMasters are among league leaders in hitting percentage in Conference matches while sophomore Rachel McDonald ranks in the top of the OVC in kills per set, service aces per set and points per set in league matches. Junior Mallory Nicholson leads the team with nine double-doubles. The Cougars will travel to Tennessee Tech on Friday and Jacksonville State on Saturday.
Tennessee State (5-1 OVC; 7-10 overall): Tennessee Tech fell to Middle Tennessee before going 1-1 in league play last week. The Tigers defeated Eastern Kentucky and fell to Morehead State. Senior Rachel Henderson recorded 16 kills and a .520 hitting percentage against EKU. She finished the week with 27 kills and 13 blocks. Freshman Gina Rivera Ortiz reached double-digits in all three matches, totaling 43 for the week. Junior Laken Te'o recorded 114 assists and 23 digs over the three matches. She notched her ninth double-double of the season with 31 assists and 11 digs against Morehead State. Junior JoJo Kruize totaled 29 kills, 16 digs and five blocks last week. Tennessee State will host Murray State on Friday and Austin Peay on Saturday.
Tennessee Tech (1-5 OVC; 7-13 overall): Tennessee Tech fell to Jacksonville State and Southeast Missouri last week. Junior Rachel Thomas recorded a career-high 21 kills against Southeast Missouri. For the week she had 29 kills and .356 hitting percentage. Senior Susie Jeziorowski recorded 93 assists, 12 digs, 10 blocks and four kills over the two matches. She recorded a career-high nine blocks versus JSU. Sophomore Ali Verzani totaled 31 kills, including a career-best 21 against the Redhawks. She added 12 digs for the double-double. Tennessee Tech will host SIUE on Friday and Eastern Illinois on Saturday.
UT Martin (2-4 OVC; 8-11 overall): UT Martin fell to Southeast Missouri and Jacksonville State last week. Hannah Phillips recorded 3.50 kills per set and a .373 attack percentage. She had a career-high 15 kills while hitting .464 against JSU. She also led the team with 13 kills at Southeast Missouri. Brooke Gyori (3.75 digs per set), Justine Walker (1.25 blocks per set) and Gintare Mackeviciute (1.25 blocks per set) paced the UT Martin defense last week. The Skyhawks will travel to Morehead State on Wednesday and Eastern Kentucky on Thursday