Eastern Kentucky 3, @Tennessee State 2
@Murray State 3, Southeast Missouri 1
@UMKC 3, SIU Edwardsville 0
EASTERN KENTUCKY 3, TENNESSEE STATE 2
NASHVILLE - Eastern Kentucky University's volleyball team won for the first time on the road this season with a 3-2 victory at Tennessee State University tonight in Nashville, Tenn. The Colonels entered the night 0-9 on the road this season, and a combined 0-16 away from McBrayer Arena.
Game scores were 23-25, 25-21, 25-18, 26-28 and 15-5.
Coupled with Southeast Missouri's loss at Murray State, Eastern Kentucky remained in the hunt for a spot in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament. SEMO, with an 8-9 conference mark, currently holds the final tournament spot.
Three players recorded double digit kill totals for the Colonels (7-18, 6-9 OVC). Lauren Snyder led the way with 18 kills. She also had 13 digs and three blocks. Lindsey Loescher contributed 15 kills and 21 digs. Autumn Harms finished with 13 kills, a .370 attack percentage and five blocks.
Naomi Wells led the Tigers (3-25, 2-14 OVC) with 17 kills. Vicmari Prospero and Shaquita Williams added 13 kills each. Terakka Walker led all players with 31 digs.
Eastern out-hit Tennessee State .242 to .176 and held a 10-5 advantage in blocks. The Tigers totaled six more kills than EKU, 70-64, but had 33 errors compared to just 17 for the Colonels.
Eastern Kentucky overcame a 21-17 deficit late in the first set to tie the score at 23-23, but TSU scored the next two points to jump in front 1-0. A kill by Hannah Groudle put the Colonels on top 3-2 in the second set and Eastern never relinquished the lead. An ace by Wells brought Tennessee State to within one, 19-18, but the Tigers wouldn't get any closer. A kill by Loesher ended the set, 25-21, and tied the match at 1-1.
TSU scored the first four points in the third set and led 10-4 after a kill by Walker. A kill by Yamari P-Collazo made it 16-9 in favor of the home team. However, Eastern went on a 10-1 run to turn a seven-point deficit into a two-point lead. Six Tennessee State attack errors contributed to the run. The last error capped the run put EKU in front 19-17. The Tigers only scored one more point as the Colonels ended the match on a 16-2 run to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
In the fourth set, the roles were reversed. Eastern Kentucky built a nine point lead before Tennessee State battled back. A kill by Groudle pushed the Colonels out to a 17-8 lead. A kill by Loescher kept Eastern in front by four, 23-19. Out of a time out, TSU scored four straight, including two kills by Williams, to tie the score 23-23. A kill by Loescher gave Eastern the first of three match-points, 24-23. A Tiger error gave the Colonels their third match-point, 26-25, but Tennessee State scored three straight points to extend the match to a fifth set.
The Tigers scored three of the first four points in the fifth set, but after that it was all Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels scored five straight to start a match-ending 14-2 run. EKU scored the final eight points. Back-to-back kills by Loescher ended the match.
MURRAY STATE 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State volleyball team had several firsts and milestones in its 3-1 (28-30, 33-31, 25-19, 25-19) victory over Southeast Missouri State in the last game in Racer Arena for the 2009 campaign. The Racers (11-16, 10-6 OVC) clinched a berth in the 2009 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament with the victory, which saw sophomore libero Kayleah Sauer tally her 1,000th career dig to become the 12th member of the MSU 1,000 Dig Club.
The Racers had five players record double-digit dig totals for the first time this season and had four players tally double-digit kill totals. Junior Becca Lamb recorded her first career double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs, while Jade Guo added her fourth double-double of the season, with a season-best 53 assists and 15 digs. Sophomore Kayleah Sauer tallied 21 digs for MSU on her way to over 1,000 in her career, while senior Cassie Chesney recorded a season-best 22 and ended the match just two shy of the 1,000 dig mark herself.
The first and second sets were the longest sets of the year for the Racers, with the winning team tallying 30 or more points to take the win. The Redhawks (13-16, 8-9 OVC) took the win in set one, 30-28, after both teams forced 10 tie score and five lead changes. The teams each traded several runs in the beginning of the set before forcing seven of the ties after SEMO was the first to get to 20 points. The Redhawks took the win on two errors in-a-row by MSU.
The second set was even more of a battle for control with 23 ties and seven lead changes. Neither team took more than a two-point advantage through the set. The Racers had to battle back to force extra-points after SEMO went up 24-23 on a kill by Emily Maher, but Amanda Rickhoff recorded a service error to give MSU a chance to come-back and win. The Racers earned the win on two-straight errors by the Redhawks.
Before heading to the locker room for the intermission the team took the time to present the Gesler Family of Murray with a check for $3,678.75, the amount raised by the Swinging To Eliminate Cancer fundraiser.
The excitement of helping a local family in a time of need and from fighting back to win the second set allowed MSU to take control of the third set right from the start. The Racers opened the set with a 6-1 lead and never allowed SEMO to get closer than four points the rest of the set on their way to the 25-19 win.
The Redhawks renewed the tight battle in the fourth set and forced 11 ties on the scoreboard. The final tie came at 15, when the Racers started a 4-2 run to take the lead for good. MSU closed out the set with a 5-1 run with Lydia Orf serving to earn the 25-19 victory.
The Racers recorded several season bests in the four-set match, including kills (69), attacks (203), digs (100), and assists (64). MSU also out-dug the Redhawks for the second-straight match (100-97). SEMO is currently ranked No. 2 in the country with 19.1 digs per set.
UMKC 3, SIU EDWARDSVILLE 0
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - UMKC outlasted Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Tuesday with a 25-22, 25-20, 25-19 victory Tuesday in college volleyball action.
The two teams turned it into a defensive struggle with SIUE gathering 81 digs while the Kangaroos managed 79. Karie Downing led SIUE defensively with 20 digs.
The Kangaroos, 13-15, jumped ahead in game one, breaking a 22-22 tie with a kill from Kelsey Knoche. It was Knoche would then serve out the set with a service ace and a kill from Jamie Hagerman.
Jessica Hemann was a bright spot for the Cougars, now 1-27. She led SIUE with 10 kills and recorded a .420 hitting percentage. Hemann leads SIUE hitters with a .269 hitting percentage this season.
The Cougars led briefly in the third set 13-12 before Elizabeth Beck and Knoche served the Kangaroos to a 6-1 run, taking the lead for good. Beck's 11 kills led all players.