SATURDAY’S SCORES
Eastern Illinois 3, @Murray State 1 (25-18, 17-25, 27-25, 25-17)
@Southeast Missouri 3, Tennessee State 2 (25-16, 23-25, 21-25, 25-20, 15-10)
@Austin Peay 3, SIUE 0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-19)
Morehead State 3, @Tennessee Tech 1 (25-13, 22-25, 25-17, 25-15)
@UT Martin 3, Belmont 2 (19-25, 22-25, 29-27, 25-19, 16-14)
@Jacksonville State 3, Eastern Kentucky 2 (25-23, 22-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-3)
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, MURRAY STATE 1
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State volleyball team dropped a 3-1 OVC west division decision to Eastern Illinois on Saturday afternoon at Racer Arena.
In the first set, Eastern Illinois jumped out to an early 6-1 lead and despite the small margin; the Racers were never able to recover from the loss of momentum right out of the gate. Late in the frame, Murray State pulled within two at 20-18, but the Panthers closed out the set on a 5-0 run for the 25-18 win. Freshmen Taylor Olden (Lincoln, Ill.) and Emily Schmahl (Edgewood, Ky.) led MSU in the stanza with three kills each.
In the second set, the Racers found the momentum that escaped them in the first. Murray State opened the frame on 12-4 run went on to lead by as many as 10. From there, instinct took over and senior Wendi Zickfield (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) helped close out the set with two big kills to give MSU its final two points of the frame, as well as the 25-17 victory. Zickfield and Schmahl led the Racers in the frame with a team-high three kills.
In the third set, the two teams battled to the very end, with neither team ever gaining a clear advantage. Despite the Panthers having the first set point at 24-23, the Racers battled back to have their own set point at 25-24. However, Eastern Illinois was able to keep the Racers at bay and take a 2-1 match lead with a 27-25 extra point victory. Freshman Alyssa Lelm (Mackinaw, Ill.) led MSU in the set with three kills, while also notching four block assists.
In the fourth set, both teams continued to battle and traded points back and forth, eventually tying the set at 10. However, from there the Panthers went on an 8-2 run and never gave the Racers a chance to recover. Easter Illinois ended the set on a 4-1 run to take the set, 25-17, and match, 3-1.
Eastern Illinois was led by Alison Berens and Abby Saalfrank with 12 kills each. Kelsey Brooke paced the Panther defense with 17 digs while Reynae Hutchinson added 12.
Olden led Murray State in the match with 11 kills, while freshman Sam Bedard (Breese, Ill.) tallied 33 assists and 12 digs for her second consecutive double-double and fourth of the season. Freshman Jodie Klein (Louisville, Ky.) led the Racer defense on the afternoon with 18 digs, while Lelm notched seven total blocks. Lelm was just three blocks off of her own double-double, as finished the match with 10 kills.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, TENNESSEE STATE 2
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - The Southeast Missouri volleyball team added another comeback win to their resume with a 3-2 (25-16, 23-25, 21-25, 25-20, 15-10) win over Tennessee State Saturday afternoon at Houck Field House.
The Redhawks and Tigers have played five straight five-match contests dating back to 2010. The Redhawks improve to 8-0 in the OVC with the win and 16-7 overall. TSU drops to 10-10 overall and 5-3 in the conference.
Colleen Yarber carried the Redhawks offense on the day with a career-high 23 kills. She hit an outstanding .404 on the night as she also added two service aces.
The Redhawks took the opening frame in impressive fashion 25-16. Southeast forced nine errors for the Tigers as Southeast capitalized on their opportunities with 10 kills and one error.
Kelsey Keeve was impressive in the opening stanza as she recorded five kills hitting 1.000 in the frame.
TSU responded with a 25-23 win in the second set as the second frame was balanced with eight tied scores and three lead changes.
The Redhawks attempted to make a late run on the Tigers late in the set, but TSU held strong as they took the frame on the kill from Lindsay Hornsby.
Tennessee State used six blocks to take the third frame from the Redhawks 25-21. The Redhawks offense struggled around the TSU middle blockers committing eight errors.
Yarber took control in the fourth set with 10 kills in the frame as the Redhawks took the set 25-20. Yarber also added a service ace as she had 11 of the Redhawks points in the frame.
In the fifth frame the Redhawks jumped out to a 9-1 lead. The Tigers responded with a run to cut it to 9-7. The Redhawks regrouped after the run and Emily Coon put an exclamation point on the match with the game-winning kill as the Redhawks took the set 15-10.
Keeve finished the match with 12 kills hitting .526. Julie Shives surpassed 3,000 career assists with 46 on the afternoon.
Berkley Idel and Yarber led Southeast with 14 digs apiece. Taylor Masterson added four blocks in the middle.
Lindsay Hornsby led the Tigers with 16 kills.
AUSTIN PEAY 3, SIUE 0
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Senior outside hitter Nikki Doyle scored 21 kills to lead Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team to a three-set Ohio Valley Conference victory (25-20, 25-22, 25-19) against SIU Edwardsville, Saturday at the Dunn Center.
Austin Peay (12-12, 5-3 OVC) was untroubled most of the match, trailing only three times the entire match and not by more than a point each time. The Lady Govs dominance was demonstrated in the first and third sets as they recorded 17 kills in each frame with an attack percentage above the .400 mark.
Doyle’s 21-kill performance included an eight-kill, no-error performance in the opening set (.667 attack percentage). She added five kills in the second period and eight kills in the third set. Doyle finished the match with a .410 attack percentage and had two blocks.
Sophomore outside hitter Jada Stotts added 11 kills and two service aces. Junior setter Cami Fields continued her impressive week with a 31-assist, 15-dig double-double that included two kills and a block.
SIU Edwardsville (7-12, 3-5 OVC) was held to 43 kills at a .224 attack percentage. Kelsey Augustine led the Cougars with 12 kills and a .333 attack percentage.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, TENNESSEE TECH 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Senior right side hitter Ellie Roberson erupted for a career-high 32 kills while hitting .500 on the day, and senior middle blocker Annie Gruenschlaeger established the Morehead State career block assist record with four today as the Eagle volleyball team raced past Tennessee Tech 3-1 (25-13, 22-25, 25-17, 25-15) at the Eblen Center.
Morehead State won its 14th straight match to improve to 16-6 overall and 8-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference East Division. TTU dipped to 2-18 overall and 0-8 in the league. The Eagles also claimed their 21st straight OVC road victory.
Gruenschlaeger entered the contest tied with former teammate Emma Keough with 369 career assisted blocks. She got her first one in the opening set and finished with five total blocks while also adding nine kills via a .412 attack efficiency. The Eagles went to Roberson early and often though as the Louisville native eclipsed the previous career mark of 28 spikes she set Friday at Jacksonville State. She took a team-high 54 swings and only misfired on five.
Senior setter Caitlin Clark guided MSU's offense to a .268 hitting efficiency and collected her team-best ninth double-double (46 assists, 10 digs). The Eagle defense won the dig battle, 70-57, with junior libero Leslie Schellhaas' 18 scoops paving the way. Junior outside hitter Aryn Bohannon added 15 digs.
MSU also totaled 10 team blocks and limited the Golden Eagle offense to a .132 hitting percentage. Freshman middle Hannah Sigala tallied four blocks, while Roberson and freshman outside hitter Courtney Smith contributed three each. Kelsey Gray, the OVC leader in blocks, paced the hosts with 12 kills and eight total rejections.
Morehead State opened the match with 12 successful put-aways in the opening set while hitting .290 and finished with 19 kills via a .359 efficiency in the fourth. Tech won the second frame on the strength of 16 kills and just a .108 hitting performance by the Eagles.
UT MARTIN 3, BELMONT 2
MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team trailed two sets to none this afternoon against Ohio Valley Conference rival Belmont, but the Skyhawks stormed back to take the next three sets to claim a 3-2 victory (19-25, 22-25, 29-27, 25-19, 16-14) at Skyhawk Fieldhouse.
Emily Keaton hit .320 with a career-best 21 kills this afternoon, while also scooping up 14 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Shelby Hoskins posted career-high totals in kills (18) and blocks (nine) while hitting .433 today, while Amanda Crask reached career-highs of 51 assists and 14 digs for UT Martin (8-14, 4-4 OVC).
The Skyhawks also received a lift from Allie Whimpey (season-best eight kills and four blocks) and Taylor Simons (career-best 13 digs on her 19th birthday) this afternoon. Kasey Elswick compiled a match-high 31 digs for UT Martin, who limited Belmont to a .102 attack percentage over the final three sets today.
UT Martin battled back from a 4-2 deficit to take a 7-4 advantage in the first set. The Bruins responded with a brief 4-0 run to reclaim the lead, but an assisted block by Whimpey and Hoskins gave the Skyhawks the lead back at 9-8. Soon thereafter, Belmont accounted for 12 of the next 15 points to take a 21-13 lead. UT Martin would get within five points on three more occasions from that point on before the Bruins closed out the set.
Hoskins had four kills on six swings in the first set to lead the Skyhawks.
Keaton helped UT Martin keep a lengthy lead to begin the second set, as her fifth kill of the set gave the Skyhawks a 10-7 advantage. After yet another Keaton kill gave UT Martin an 11-10 lead, Belmont went on a 6-2 run to go ahead by three points. Keaton evened the score at 17-all with another kill, but the Skyhawks could not surge back ahead the rest of the set.
Keaton tallied eight kills in the second set alone, while Crask handed out 11 assists and Elswick registered six digs to pace UT Martin defensively.
A Simons kill and Hoskins service ace put the Skyhawks on top 7-4 in the third set. UT Martin would keep the advantage but Belmont sliced its deficit to 16-15 before a key Simons kill made the score 17-15. After the Bruins tied the score at 19-all, eight more ties followed for the rest of the set. Belmont took its first lead of the set at 26-25 but Keaton immediately followed to extend the match at 26-all. Whimpey then came up with three clutch plays to close out the set. Whimpey and Hoskins teamed up for an assisted block to tilt the score 27-26 in the Skyhawks’ favor, then Whimpey slammed down back-to-back kills to close out the set.
Keaton, Crask and Simons each had four kills in the third set, as the Skyhawks hit .268 with 19 kills.
In the fourth set, Hoskins helped UT Martin erase an early 4-2 deficit – as her third kill of the set gave the Skyhawks a 6-4 lead. UT Martin pushed its lead out to 10-7 but Belmont quickly tied the set at 10-all. A dual block by Hoskins and Whimpey extended the Skyhawk advantage out to 14-11 but the Bruins would soon come back to take a one-point lead (16-15). UT Martin then hit its stride, accounting for five of the next six points to take a 20-17 lead. Belmont pulled within two at 20-18 but the Skyhawks would close out the set with another 5-1 run to force a fifth set.
Hoskins was a perfect 7-for-7 in kills in the fourth set, while Crask totaled 13 assists to lead a UT Martin offense that hit .311. Elswick amassed 11 of the Skyhawks’ 32 digs in the set.
Back-to-back kills by Hoskins gave UT Martin a 4-2 lead in the fifth set but Belmont came back to tie the score at 6-6 and 7-7. However, two straight kills by Harter capped off a 4-0 Skyhawk run (11-7). The Bruins closed in – eventually tying the score at 14-all – before UT Martin completed the comeback with a Belmont service error and solo block by Hoskins.
Keaton had three of UT Martin’s nine kills in the abbreviated fifth set, while Elswick led the way with six digs.
Jocelyn Youngdahl lead the Bruins with 14 kills while Scarlet Gable and Jen Myer added 11 kills each. Junior Hannah Miranda (Covington, La.) dished 50 assists and 16 digs. Junior libero Jamie Lundstrom (La Grange, Ill.) paced the defense with 19 digs.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 2
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Hivya Leite recorded her first career double-double and Nicole Merget finished with a career high in kills to lead the Jacksonville State volleyball team to a 3-2 come from behind victory over Eastern Kentucky Saturday afternoon at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
Merget led the Gamecocks with 18 kills on a .359 hitting percentage while Leite finished with 18 kills and 14 digs as JSU improves to 11-11 overall and 5-3 in OVC play. The Colonels fall to 5-13 overall and 2-6 in conference play.
The Gamecocks won the first set 25-23 behind Taylor Long's six kills. In the second set it was the Colonels Ashley Edmond leading the way, finishing with five kills in the set to give EKU the 25-22 victory to even the match at one game apiece.
The Colonels hit .308 in the 25-22 third set victory. Ashley Edmond came up with two big kills down the stretch to give EKU the 2-1 edge in the match. In the fourth set Merget and Leite rolled off five consecutive kills to give the Gamecocks a 10-5 lead. JSU then held off a late EKU rally to pull off the 25-23 victory to to tie the match at 2-2.
It was all Jacksonville in the decisive 15-3 fifth set victory. The Gamecocks held the Colonels to a -.150 hitting percentage while hitting .316 to clinch the match.
Meyer finished with 16 kills on a .406 hitting percentage while Alina Agamy added with a career high 54 kills and nine digs. Defensively, the Gamecocks were led by Kelsey Anderson's 33 digs while Abbey Heredia added 14 digs.
Edmond led the way for the Colonels with 19 kills and 20 digs. Mallori Moffat finished with 33 assists while Dena Ott recorded 15 digs.