UPCOMING SCHEDULE
2008 OVC VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT (COOKEVILLE, TN)
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20 - FIRST ROUNDS
#3 Murray State vs. #6 UT Martin - 5:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
#4 Austin Peay vs. #5 Southeast Missouri - 7:30 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21 - SEMIFINALS
#2 Morehead State vs. #3 Murray State/#6 UT Martin - 5:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
#1 Tennessee Tech vs. #4 Austin Peay/#5 SE Missouri - 7:30 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22 - CHAMPIONSHIP
Championship - 5:00 p.m. (OVCSports.TV)
ALL TIMES CENTRAL
2008 OVC Players of the Week - November 17, 2008
Offensive:
Christian Lowe, MB, Sr., 6'0
San Antonio, Texas - Tennessee State
Lowe averaged 4.62 kills over the weekend as Tennessee State closed out its 2008 season. She tallied 20 kills and 10 digs against Eastern Illinois and followed that up with a 17-kill, 13-dig effort versus Southeast Missouri. Lowe also chipped in eight kills in the match with Morehead State earlier in the week.
Defensive:
Kayleah Sauer, LIB, Fr., 5'6
Louisville, Ky. - Murray State
Sauer posted a team-high 5.43 digs per set as Murray State went 2-0 last week. She also added a squad-best three service aces to go with four assists. She is currently third in the Conference standings with 5.25 digs per set.
Co-Setters:
Jade Guo, S, Fr., 5'11
DaTong, China - Murray State
Sarah Barth, S, Jr., 5'11
Germantown, Ill. - Southeast Missouri
Guo dished out 73 assists last week as Murray State went 2-0. She also recorded a service ace, 15 digs and six blocks on the weekend. She recorded her team-leading 11th double-double of the season against Jacksonville State with 43 assists and 10 digs.
Barth posted 80 assists to help Southeast Missouri go 1-1 last week. She also chipped in 25 digs. Barth recorded back-to-back double-doubles over the weekend. She handed out a match-high 33 assists to go along with 11 digs against APSU and followed that up with 47 assists and 14 digs against TSU.
2008 Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball Team Notes
Austin Peay (13-5 OVC; 21-10 overall): Austin Peay defeated Southeast Missouri (25-17, 25-22, 25-21), Eastern Illinois (26-24, 25-18, 23-25, 25-20) and Eastern Kentucky (25-21, 25-19, 25-18) to surpass the 20-win plateau for the first time since 1999. Head coach Jenny Hazelwood saw her team improve from an eight-win campaign in 2007 to a 21-win effort this season. Sophomore Jessica Mollman tallied 33 kills over the three matches, including 14 against Eastern Kentucky. She also recorded 10 blocks. Sophomore Taylor Skinner posted six blocks against both Southeast Missouri and Eastern Illinois to give her 15 for the week. Austin Peay earned the fourth seed in the 2008 OVC Volleyball Tournament and will face No. 5 Southeast Missouri in first-round action on Thursday.
Eastern Illinois (2-16 OVC; 5-25 overall): Eastern Illinois split a pair of matches to conclude the 2008 season. The Panthers defeated Tennessee State in four sets (25-15, 22-25, 25-22, 25-23) before falling to Austin Peay, 3-1 (26-24, 25-18, 23-25, 25-20). The win over the Tigers earned the Panthers their lone sweep of a league opponent this year, while EIU also picked up its first four-set win. The Panthers finished the year with a 5-25 overall mark while going 2-16 overall.
Eastern Kentucky ( 4-14 OVC; 6-23 overall): Eastern Kentucky's season came to an end with a pair of three-set losses, falling to Austin Peay (25-21, 25-19, 25-18) and Morehead State (25-20, 25-15, 25-23). In the Austin Peay match, sophomore Abbey O'Connor reached the program's top 10 for digs in a season . O'Connor posted a match-high 16 digs versus Morehead State to give her 515 for the season. Senior Amanda Wilson led the team with 12 kills while senior Bridget Mustard added seven kills and six blocks in the match with the Lady Govs. Against Morehead State, sophomore Kelsey Rose led the offense with nine kills and a .292 attack percentage while sophomore Kate Hendle dished out 25 assists to go along with 10 digs. EKU finished the year with a 6-23 overall record and a 4-14 OVC mark.
Jacksonville State (6-12 OVC; 10-19 overall): Jacksonville State split a pair of matches to close out the 2008 season. The Gamecocks fell to Murray State, 3-1 (20-25, 25-14, 25-21, 28-26) before defeating UT Martin, 3-2 (16-25, 22-25, 25-18, 25-17, 15-7). Junior Brittany Whitten passed the 1,000 kill plateau versus Murray State as she tallied 17 kills. She is just the third player in JSU history to record at least 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. Whitten also recorded 20 kills on a .234 attack percentage versus UT Martin. JSU finished the season with a 10-19 overall mark while going 6-12 in the OVC.
Morehead State (14-4 OVC; 23-7 overall): Morehead State swept Tennessee State (25-13, 25-23, 26-24) and Eastern Kentucky (25-20, 25-15, 25-23) to finish with a share of the OVC regular-season championship for the second straight year. The Eagles' 23 wins this year are the most in head coach Jamie Gordan's six-year tenure. Sophomore Kailtin Craven totaled 27 kills to lead the team. She had 16 against EKU while hitting .353. Senior Katelyn Barbour tallied 44 assists last week and is now only 20 handouts shy of the school's career record of 4,670. Morehead State is the second seed for the OVC Tournament and received a first-round bye. The Eagles will face the winner of the #3 Murray State/#6 UT Martin match on Friday.
Murray State (13-5 OVC; 16-12 overall): Murray State picked up a pair of wins last week, defeating Jacksonville State (20-25, 25-14, 25-21, 28-26) and Tennessee Tech (25-23, 25-14, 25-16). Sophomore Sara Hayden posted a team-best .389 attack percentage. Freshman Kayleah Sauer tallied a team-high 5.43 digs per set over the two matches. Freshman Jade Guo dished out 73 assists last week to go along with 15 digs and 11 kills. Senior Heather Norris moved up to the No. 3 spot on the OVC All-time digs list with 2,096. This weekend was the Racers Swinging to Eliminate Cancer fund raiser. The team has already raised over $1,000 for the National Brain Tumor Society and the amount is expected to rise over $1,500 after all the per attack attempt donations are collected. Murray State earned the third seed in the OVC Tournament and will face No. 6 UT Martin in first-round action on Thursday.
Southeast Missouri (11-7 OVC; 13-13 overall): Southeast Missouri fell to Austin Peay, 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-11) and defeated Tennessee State, 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-22). Sophomore Claire Keaton averaged 3.57 kills and 4.00 digs per set last week. Junior Molly Davis recorded a match-high 17 digs against APSU and followed that up with a 20-dig performance against Tennessee State. Junior Sarah Barth handed out 80 assists to go along with 25 digs. The Redhawks earned the fifth seed in the OVC Tournament and will face No. 4 Austin Peay in the first round on Thursday.
SIU EDWARDSVILLE ( 13-14 overall): SIU Edwardsville concluded its first Division I season by going 2-1 at the National Transitions Tournament. The Cougars fell to South Dakota, 3-1 (25-22, 25-14, 17-25, 27-25), before defeating Bryant, 3-1 (25-17, 26-28, 25-13, 25-23), and Seattle, 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 31-29). Sophomore Sydney Winslow was named to the all-tournament team after tallying 53 kills over the three matches. SIUE finished the season with a 13-14 overall mark.
TENNESSEE STATE (6-12 OVC; 8-18 overall ): Tennessee State dropped a trio of matches last week, falling to Morehead State, 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 26-24); Eastern Illinois, 3-1 (25-12, 22-25, 25-22, 25-24); and Southeast Missouri, 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-12, 25-21). Senior Christian Lowe tallied 45 kills last week, including 20 versus Eastern Illinois. She also chipped in 10 digs for the double-double. Lowe followed that up with a17-kill and 13-dig performance against Southeast Missouri. The Tigers finished the season with a 8-18 overall mark while going 6-12 in the OVC.
Tennessee Tech (14-4 OVC; 17-11 overall): Tennessee Tech claimed a share of their first OVC regular-season title since 1986. Tech also earned the top seed and the right to host the league tournament. Sophomore Leah Meffert tallied 23 kills last week, including 16 versus UT Martin. Junior Katie Kenline posted 25 digs over the three matches while senior Kappy Lang dished out 64 assists. As the No.1 seed, the Golden Eagles received a first-round bye and will face the winner of the #4 Austin Peay/#5 Southeast Missouri match in the semifinals on Friday.
UT MARTIN(7-11 OVC; 9-23 overall): UT Martin dropped a pair of matches last week, falling to Tennessee Tech, 3-1 (25-21, 25-14, 18-25, 25-18), and Jacksonville State, 3-2 (16-25, 22-25, 25-18, 25-17, 15-7). The Skyhawks qualified for its first OVC Tournament since winning the 2002 title as the sixth seed. UT Martin will once again be the sixth seed in the league tourney and will face No. 3 Murray State in first-round play on Thursday.
OVC News and Notes
NEW MEMBER: SIU Edwardsville officially became a member of the OVC on July 1, 2008 while its athletic programs will begin competing in the Conference over the following years as the institution completes its reclassification to Division I. All SIUE team sports will begin regular season competition in the OVC during the 2011-12 academic year and will be eligible for postseason competition in 2012-13. The exception will be the SIUE softball program which will be eligible for both regular season and tournament competition in 2010-11; the softball program was the department’s women’s sport designee to be fast-tracked to Division I, making it eligible to compete at the Division I level prior to other SIUE sports.
OVCSPORTS.TV: All home matches for Eastern Illinois, Jacksonville State and UT Martin will be available on OVCSports.TV. Other select matches will also be web streamed throughout the season. Volleyball packages are available for $29.95 which includes all matches that are streamed and the OVC Champions. Single matches can be purchased for $4.95. For more information and to sign up visit www.ovcsports.com.