FRIDAY’S SCORES
Tennessee State 3, @UT Maritn 1 (32-30, 22-25, 25-18, 25-23)
@Austin Peay 3, Eastern Illinois 0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-22)
@Murray State 3, SIUE 1 (25-15, 25-10, 17-25, 25-23)
@Southeast Missouri 3, Belmont 2 (16-25, 25-23, 25-18, 23-25, 15-13)
Eastern Kentucky 3, @Tennessee Tech 1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-15, 25-19)
AUSTIN PEAY 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - A balanced offensive attack helped Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team overcome a scrappy Eastern Illinois squad with a three set (25-23, 25-19, 25-23) Ohio Valley Conference victory, Friday night at the Dunn Center.
Austin Peay (11-12) knew senior outside hitter Nikki Doyle would be the focus of the opponent’s defense after her 34-kill performance against Middle Tennessee, Wednesday. Eastern Illinois (4-16) proved that thought correct as the Panthers defense keyed on Doyle all night, limiting her to 11 kills and a modest .121 attack percentage.
The Lady Govs responded by balancing their attack with senior opposite hitter Alex Sain picking up the biggest part of the load with 11 kills and an impressive .476 attack percentage. Junior middle blocker Lauren Henderson and sophomore outside hitter Jada Stotts each added nine kills.
Still, it wasn’t an easy night for the Lady Govs as they trailed in both the first and third sets until nearly the closing moment. Austin Peay trailed the first set 22-20 before rallying to score five of the final six points, including three kills by Sain, to win 25-23. After winning the second set in wire-to-wire fashion, the Lady Govs trailed 22-21 in the third set before scoring the final four points to close the match.
Eastern Illinois was held to 34 kills, Reynae Hutchinson leading the offensive with nine kills. The Panthers were able to post a dominating 11-6 advantage in blocks, with Stephanie Arnold leading the effort with five blocks.
TENNESSEE STATE 3, UT MARTIN 1
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team hit .248 as a team this evening against Tennessee State, but the Skyhawks couldn’t make enough plays in a 3-1 loss (30-32, 25-22, 18-25, 23-25) at Skyhawk Fieldhouse.
Freshman Amanda Crask hit .476 with a career-high 12 kills to go along with 37 assists tonight to lead UT Martin offensively. Sophomore Emily Keaton also added 12 kills while Lynsey Hazelwood (nine kills), Shelby Hoskins (eight) and Jackie Harter (eight) also powered the Skyhawks (7-14, 3-4 OVC).
Defensively, Kasey Elswick racked up 18 digs while Chelsea Bowles scooped up 14 digs for UT Martin. Harter and Hoskins each tallied four blocks apiece to lead the Skyhawks at the net.
Tennessee State had four players reach double-digits in kills with Naomi Watts leading the way with 18. Rachel Ambroch tallied 17 kills while Sherryce Butler had 16 and Lindsay Hornsby recorded 15 kills. Ambroch and Well each registered double-doubles as they recorded 14 and 13 digs, respectively. Britani Hathorn paced the Tiger defense with 24 digs.
The first set featured 14 tie scores, most of which came in the latter stages of the set. A kill by Bowles helped UT Martin jump out to a 3-1 lead but Tennessee State quickly came back to claim a 4-3 advantage. The Tigers would lead by three on three different occasions before an assisted block by Hoskins and Allie Whimpey evened the score at 13-all. Although Tennessee State would reclaim the lead and threatened to close out the set, UT Martin battled back from a 24-22 deficit thanks to back-to-back kills by Hazelwood. The two teams then traded points over the next 12 possessions until Tennessee State pieced together consecutive points to claim a 32-30 win.
Hazelwood’s four kills and Crask’s 13 assists led the Skyhawks, who hit .350 with 16 kills in the first set.
The Skyhawks took a 6-3 lead in the second set and after Tennessee State cut the score to 8-6, UT Martin extended its lead out to four at 10-6 and 13-9. The Tigers crept within one at 14-13 but Hoskins immediately answered with a kill, followed by a pair of kills by Hazelwood and Crask to make the score 17-14. Tennessee State then went on a 6-0 run to take a 20-17 advantage before UT Martin returned the favor with five straight points to lead 22-20. A pair of late kills by Keaton iced the set and evened the match at 1-all.
Keaton (four kills) paced the offense in the second set, while Elswick compiled seven digs to lead the Skyhawk defense.
Tennessee State grabbed an early lead in the third set but two Hoskins kills kept UT Martin within one point (5-4). The Tigers led by six at 13-7 before four straight Skyhawk points sliced UT Martin’s deficit to two. However, Tennessee State used a 4-1 run to take a 19-13 advantage and the Skyhawks could not get closer than four points the rest of the way.
Hoskins and Crask both had four kills apiece to lead UT Martin in the third set.
Both teams swapped leads early in the fourth set before Tennessee State scored four unanswered to lead 9-4. UT Martin closed the gap to three points twice before the Tigers pushed their advantage out to 18-12. Hoskins then recorded two kills and a service ace to pull the Skyhawks within three at 19-16. A kill by Taylor Simons and a Tennessee State attack error made the score 21-20 in Tennessee State’s favor. The Tigers accounted for the next two points but UT Martin scrapped its way back to a one-point deficit on two different occasions (23-22, 24-23). However, a kill by Tennessee State’s Naomi Wells ended the Skyhawks’ comeback bid.
Keaton (five kills) and Crask (four kills, 11 assists) led the way for UT Martin in the fourth and final set.
MURRAY STATE 3, SIUE 1
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State volleyball team snapped a six-match losing streak on Friday night at Racer Arena by taking down SIU Edwardsville, 3-1.
In the first set, the Racers (4-13, 2-5 OVC) came out firing on all cylinders and opened the set on a 9-3 run. While the Cougars made several attempts to pull even, Murray State stayed the course and was able to keep SIUE at bay each time. The Racers closed out the set on a 7-3 run to take the opening frame, 25-15. Freshmen Taylor Olden (Lincoln, Ill.), Alyssa Lelm (Mackinaw, Ill.) and Kristen Besselsen (St. Louis, Mo.) led the Racers in the set with three kills each.
In the second set, it was all Murray State. The Racers opened the game on a 17-5 run and never looked, eventually taking the set, 25-10. The Cougars (7-11, 3-4 OVC) turned in a -.100 attack percentage in the set, while the Racers hit .545 and committed just two errors. Freshman Emily Schmahl (Edgewood, Ky.) led MSU with a set-high four kills, while freshman Sam Bedard (Breese, Ill.) chipped in with 12 assists.
The third set saw SIUE stave off defeat, by taking the frame, 25-17. The Racers led 9-7 early in the stanza, but allowed the Cougars to go on a 10-3 run and take away any momentum. Murray State attempted a rally late in the set, but eventually fell for the first time in the match. Olden once again led her team in the set by tallying four kills, while freshman (Louisville, Ky.) Jodie Klein paced the defense with five digs.
The fourth set was fast and furious, as the two teams traded points back and forth. In the latter part of the frame, the Cougars charged forward and took a 19-14 lead. However, the Racers would not go quietly. Olden helped power the Racers down the stretch with three kills in the final four points to give MSU the exciting 25-23 set win and 3-1 match win.
Olden and Bedard both finished the match with double-doubles, as Olden had 16 kills and 10 digs, while Bedard had 40 assists and 16 digs. The double-double was the second of the season for Olden and the third for Bedard, a team-high. Lelm also had a big night with six blocks, while Schmahl had 14 kills.
The Cougars were led by Kelsey Augustine and Kristen Torre with 10 kills each. Chelsea Colclasure posted a team-high 22 digs.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 3, TENNESSEE TECH 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Junior Ashley Edmond finished with a season-high 19 kills as Eastern Kentucky University’s volleyball team beat Tennessee Tech, 3-1, on Friday.
The Colonels (5-12, 2-5 OVC) won by scores of 25-22, 23-25, 25-15 and 25-19.
Edmond’s 19 kills were the most by a Colonel this season. She made only six errors in 46 attempts for a .283 attack percentage. The Michigan City, Ind., native added 18 digs and two blocks.
Freshman Rachel Vick contributed 12 kills and two blocks. Sophomore Alexis Plagens added 10 kills. Dena Ott finished with 21 digs while freshman Mallori Moffat led all players with 28 assists.
Natalie Penrod and Kelsey Gray led the Golden Eagles (2-17, 0-7 OVC) with 11 kills each.
Eastern was out-blocked 14-5 and committed three more errors than TTU, but the Colonels put away 17 more kills than the home team.
With the score tied 21-21 in the first set, Eastern Kentucky won three straight points to reach set-point. Moments later a kill by Edmond concluded the set and put the visitors in front 1-0. The exact opposite took place in the second set. With the score tied 21-21, the Golden Eagles scored three straight to reach set-point. The Colonels closed the gap to one, but a kill by Gray tied the match 1-1.
After the break, the final two sets belonged to EKU. After taking a 2-1 lead, the Colonels trailed 12-10 in the fourth set before using a 10-2 run to take a 20-14 lead. Back-to-back aces by Ott made it 23-18. A Tech attack error gave the match to Eastern.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 2
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Senior middle blocker Annie Gruenschlaeger tied the school career block assist record, and senior attacker Ellie Roberson pounded down a career-best 28 kills as the Morehead State volleyball team erased a 2-0 deficit to defeat the host Jacksonville State Gamecocks 3-2 (26-28, 22-25, 25-20, 25-23, 15-9) Friday night at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
The Eagles (15-6/7-0 OVC East) ran their 2012 winning streak to 13 matches, equaling the longest streak of 2011, and picked up their 20th consecutive league road win. MSU is now 43-2 in the last 45 conference matchups since 2010. JSU fell to 10-11 overall and 4-3 in the league's East Division.
Gruenschlaeger tallied three block assists to tie former teammate Emma Keough's career mark of 369. Roberson's career-best kill total was part of a season-high 79 put-aways for the visitors.
MSU also won a match after trailing 2-0 for the first time since a rally against Kent State resulted in a victory on Sept. 5, 2009. Incidently, that was the fifth match of Gruenschlaeger's and Roberson's collegiate careers. Roberson's stat line, which also included a hitting percentage of .431, pushed her into the top 10 in career kills at MSU as well.
Several other Eagle players totaled season or career-best numbers. Junior outside hitter Aryn Bohannon recorded season-bests of 19 kills and 15 digs and led the Eagles with a .444 attack efficiency. Junior libero Leslie Schellhaas notched her third career 30+ dig match with a season standard of 32, and senior setter Caitlin Clark tied her season best with 56 assists while hitting a season-high .429. She added 12 digs to tie Bohannon for the team lead in double-doubles with eight.
Gruenschlaeger also chipped in with 10 kills, and junior defensive specialist Lindsey Roth dotted double figures in digs with 10.
The Eagles held statistical advantages in every category except blocks, where JSU had eight team rejections, but MSU was simply outscored in the first two frames to fall behind. The defending OVC champions landed 18 spikes in the third and fourth frames and then smacked in 12 kills with no errors to pull out the six-point win in the deciding set. MSU also out-dug the Gamecocks 85-73 and hit .262 for the night.
The battle featured 19 ties and nine lead changes. JSU was paced by Hivya Leite with 14 kills, while Nicole Merget led all players with five blocks. Kelsey Anderson totaled 19 digs.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, BELMONT 2
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - The Southeast Missouri volleyball team earned a 3-2 (25-18, 23-25, 18-25, 25-23, 15-13) comeback victory over Belmont Friday evening at Houck Field House. It was the first meeting between the respective schools as members of the Ohio Valley Conference.
The Redhawks improve to 15-7 overall and an impressive 7-0 in the OVC as the Bruins fall to 8-13 overall and 4-2 in the league.
Senior Brittney Kalinoski had a career-high 19 kills for Southeast and she added 20 digs. Junior Colleen Yarber led the Redhawks with 20 kills and 17 digs.
The Redhawks took the first frame by a score of 25-18, the Redhawks were impressive from the get go hitting .302 in the frame with 16 kills.
The Bruins took the second and third sets from the Redhawks as Southeast combined for 15 errors in the two stanzas.
Southeast tied the match at 2-2 in the fourth frame taking the set 25-23. The frame saw 10 tied scores as the set went down to the wire, but Kalinoski sent it to a fifth set with a kill.
Yarber took over from there in the fifth frame recording five kills and a blocking assists lifting the Redahwks (who never trailed in the set) to a 15-13 win and a 3-2 match victory.
Junior Julie Shives also had a career-night recording 53 assists, breaking her record of 52 set in 2010. She also added 11 digs to recording a double-double.
Berkley Idel tied a career-high with 28 digs in the match, it is the third time in her career she has reached that number.
Taylor Masterson recorded 12 kills and six blocks for Southeast. She also hit a match-high .360.
Jen Myer led the Bruins with a match-high 22 kills. Setter Hannah Miranda added 59 assists.