Ohio Valley Conference

MACOMB, Ill. - Little Rock secured its third consecutive Ohio Valley Conference victory on Friday, and with it, a berth in the OVC Championships later this month. The Trojans finished a series sweep of Western Illinois by scores of 25-19, 25-21, 21-25, and 25-22. Little Rock improved to 14-12 overall and 9-5 in conference play with four matches remaining in the regular season.
 
While Friday's match was much more competitive than the day before, when Little Rock hit .388 on the way to an easy sweep of the Leathernecks (7-20, 4-10), the result was still the same. But while Thursday's contest was a banner day for the offense, today's contest was highlighted by the Trojans' defense, which totaled 107 digs. 
 
"It was good to get this second win on the road and at the same time, clinch a spot in the OVC tournament. Andrea and the rest of the defense played very well today, and that made the difference for us." – Little Rock head coach Van Compton
 
Andrea Roman – among the nation's leaders in digs again this season – collected 35 digs in just four sets to lead the way. Crismeyli Rodriguez finished with 19 digs, Dariana Valencia tallied 17, Bella Cherry had 13, and Kaylee Smith finished with a dozen. Jaycee Kennedy turned in five blocks to boost Little Rock at the net.
 
"Our blockers did a great job setting things up, and that allows me to read and stay aggressive. We stayed very disciplined defensively and played with confidence." – Little Rock junior Andrea Roman
 
Cherry paced the offense with 15 kills, followed by Rodriguez with 14, and Sophia Garrido with 12. Valencia had 25 assists with Smith adding 16. Roman also collected eight assists.

SOUTHERN INDIANA  3, UT MARTIN 0
MARTIN, Tenn. - University of Southern Indiana Volleyball earned the sweep at the University of Tennessee at Martin on Friday night, to move to 9-4 in Ohio Valley Conference play and 13-12 overall. With the win, USI has officially earned its spot in the OVC tournament.
 
Friday's victory marks the first time the Screaming Eagles have won on the road at Skyhawks Fieldhouse.

The Screaming Eagles started strong, taking a quick lead with a five-point serving run from junior Ashby Willis. Freshman setter Aysa Thomas dished out nine assists, two digs, and snuck in two kills for the team. Willis led the offense with four kills, followed by freshman Carley Wright with three.

The Skyhawks put up more of a fight at the start of the second set, holding the lead for the first 13 points before the Eagles took it back. Willis continued to find the court consistently, tallying four more kills, along with junior Leah Coleman, who also added four. Sophomore libero Audrey Small picked up four digs to double her first-set number.

With some quick push and pull to start the final set, the Eagles took control of the lead by the fifth point. Three USI players tallied three kills in the set, including Coleman, Willis, and senior Bianca Anderson, who made zero errors to hit a .600 percentage. Every Eagle player who took the court picked up a dig in the final set, led by Willis with five.

For the game, Thomas finished with 30 assists, five digs, and tied her career-high with five kills. Willis finished with her 13th double-double of the season with 11 kills and 10 digs. As a team, USI tallied two blocks per set for six total, led by junior McKenzie Murphy.

MOREHEAD STATE 3, SIUE 0
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State got the 10th sweep of its Ohio Valley Conference schedule as they put away Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (25-17, 25-16, 29-27) Friday night on senior night in Johnson Arena.

Morehead State (19-6, 13-1 OVC) used a balanced attack led by Morehead native Bailey Brashear, who set a career high with 11 kills, hitting .474. Seniors M.E. Hargan and Sarah Heath added nine kills apiece. Amelia Nott and Hollan Everett added eight terminations apiece.

SIUE (12-15, 7-9 OVC) was led by Sophie Robinson with 15 kills. She added 10 digs for a double-double. Freshman Kennedy Pike added nine kills for the Cougars.

Morehead State took an early lead in the opening set, but SIUE used a five-point run to go up 8-6. The Eagles tied the set up at 10-10 after a three-point run. MSU ran off five straight to gain separation at 19-14. Another 5-0 run got the Eagles to set point. Brashear ended it with her seventh kill of the set.

The second set began closely contested. SIUE ran off four-straight to even the score at 8-8. Then, similar to the opening frame, the Eagles used runs to gain separation. A pair of 3-0 run edged MSU ahead 15-11. Later a four-point charge put the Eagles on top 22-14. Everett led the MSU attack with four kills; M.E. Hargan smacked two service aces in the frame.

The game closed with a wild third set that featured 20 tie scores and eight lead changes. Both teams went on multiple runs, with neither able to extend a lead longer than two points. SIUE held off two Eagle match points and had two set points of their own. The Eagles clinched the match with a 3-0, capped by Hargan's ninth ace of the season.

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, LINDENWOOD 1
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri Volleyball (15-12, 7-6 OVC) defeated Lindenwood (10-11, 6-7 OVC) in a four-set match on Friday at Houck Field House, with scores of 23-25, 26-24, 25-12, 25-19. SEMO recorded a total of 58 kills and 9 blocks, securing a critical conference victory.

Southeast Missouri started with momentum as Lucy Arndt scored a service ace and forced an attack error to jump ahead 2-0. The visiting team responded with a 3-0 run, including a service ace by Dana Grib and a kill by Jade Roth, to tie the score at 3-3. Marin Johnson was instrumental for the Redhawks, contributing four kills and a block, maintaining a narrow lead at 20-19. Lindenwood finished strong, as Kylee Richey recorded multiple kills and Faith Atkins delivered a crucial block, taking the set 25-23.

The Lions established an early advantage with a kill by Autumn Bax, contributing to a 5-3 lead. SEMO leveled the score at 17-17 with a service ace from Megan Holder during a key stretch. The home side surged ahead to 20-17, aided by consecutive attack errors from the Lions. Southeast Missouri captured the set 26-24, concluding with a block by Avery Torrey and Kara Oxenknecht.

The Redhawks opened with a strong start, gaining a 2-0 lead after an early attack error by Atkins. Johnson contributed with two critical kills, extending the home team's lead to 5-3. A service ace by Alandry Below pushed Southeast Missouri further ahead, making it 10-5. Johnson's continued offensive output, including another kill, helped propel Southeast Missouri to a 25-12 set win.

Lindenwood initiated the set with a kill by Ashley Geluck, assisted by Amelia Thro. The Redhawks responded with a series of kills, including a strong performance from Johnson, who added three consecutive points. Katherine St. John contributed significantly with key kills and a service ace, pushing Southeast Missouri's lead. Despite a late surge by the Lions, highlighted by multiple kills from Bax and Richey, Southeast Missouri secured the set 25-19.

EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0
NASHVILLE - The Panthers volleyball team opened their weekend series in dominating fashion, beating Tennessee State 3-0. After the win, EIU moves to 17-6 (11-2 OVC), while the Tigers drop to 1-27 (0-15 OVC).  

EIU opened the match with a quick start, 9-2, forcing an early timeout by Tennessee State. The Tigers showed some life, scoring three points; however, EIU still led 13-5. The offensive duo of Destiny Walker and Katie Kopshever continued to put their foot on the gas, charging a long scoring run, extending their lead to 17-6. The Panthers faced no trouble the rest of the way, winning 25-8.  

Like set one, the Panthers dominated early, taking a 13-5 lead with Kopshever and Emma Schroeder leading the way. After a break in the action, EIU went on a 6-0 scoring run after a service ace from Tori Mohesky. The second timeout used by Tennessee State was no trouble for EIU, as they used multiple kills, including Jorah Rutter and a service ace, to lift the Panthers to a set two victory, 25-10.  

Tennessee State provided resistance to start set three with the score of 10-6 in favor of the Panthers. After Laura Paniagua checked into the set, the Panthers scored five out of the next six points with multiple Panthers earning a kill. The run didn't stop there, as EIU extended their lead to 20-11. With the match in their hands, the Tigers charged a late comeback, scoring five points to cut the deficit to 22-16. However, the Panthers would not panic with Schroeder directing the offense to close out the set and the match.  

Destiny Walker led the way with 13.5 points, 12 kills, and a .579 hitting percentage. Catalina Rochaix led the match in assists with 32. As a team, EIU had a .461 hitting percentage, 44 kills, 35 assists, 28 digs, and 9 blocks.