SEMIFINAL SCORES
#2 Jacksonville State 3, #3 Southeast Missouri 0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-18)
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 0
MOREHEAD, KY. - Ohio Valley Conference Co-Player of the Year, Lena Kindermann, hit .538 with 18 kills to help power Jacksonville State to a 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-18) sweep of Southeast Missouri in the semifinal round of the 2021 Spring OVC volleyball tournament on Thursday afternoon inside Johnson Arena on the campus of Morehead State.
The Gamecocks (16-1 OVC) ended the Redhawks' 14-match winning streak, which dated back to the start of the season when JSU took the first two matches of the season from SEMO (14-3). The win propels Jax State into its fourth appearance in the OVC tournament title match, and first since 2009. The Gamecocks are 3-0 in their previous three appearances.
JSU will meet Morehead State in the championship at 6 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. CT on Friday, after the Eagles received a bye to the final round following positive Covid-19 tests from their semifinal opponent.
Alongside Kindermann, senior Kaylie Milton added 10 kills to go with 10 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. Freshmen Courtney Glotzbach and Sadie Brown each put down six kills, while Brown registered a team-high five blocks.
Senior Lexie Libs paced the offense with 41 assists, and was one of three Gamecocks to finish with 10-or-more digs with 11 just ahead of Milton. Sophomore libero Erin Carmichael led the way upping 16 attacks to highlight a Gamecock back row that had a great day collecting 53 digs in just three sets. Sophomore Kylee Quigley secured seven digs, while freshman Tahya Pozorski had six.
The Gamecocks started fast in the opening set, eventually leading 18-11 after kills from Milton and Katie Montgomery, who finished with five for the day. Leading 22-17, SEMO used a late surge to go on a 6-2 run, fighting off three set-points before JSU took the set on another Milton kill out of a timeout.
The second frame was just as tight with JSU trailing early and only ahead 17-15 midway through the set. Similar to the first, JSU led 21-17 before SEMO had a 6-2 stretch that surrounded a pair of Kindermann kills to even the game at 23-23. After SEMO avoided the first set-point, Glotzbach put JSU up 25-24, where a block from Brown and Libs would secure the 2-0 match lead.
Jax State polished off the semifinal matchup in the the third with a 25-18 win, finishing on a strong 10-4 run after a close 15-14 score at the midway point.
2020-21 First-Team All-OVC honoree Laney Malloy led the Redhawks with seven kills and 12 digs. Colby Greene, Talia Gouard (.429 hitting percentage) and Zoey Beasley each chipped in six kills.
Southeast Missouri's Claire Ochs who was also named to the 2020-21 First-Team All-OVC dished out 25 assists with four kills and three digs.
Friday's championship match will stream on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. Eastern Time. JSU and MSU split the two regular-season meetings. The winner of Friday's championship match will receive the OVC's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.