SATURDAY’S SCORES
@Austin Peay 3, UT Martin 0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-12)
Eastern Illinois 3, @Jacksonville State (25-20, 25-18, 23-25, 25-18)
Southeast Missouri 3, @Murray State (25-22, 23-25, 25-20, 25-22)
Morehead State 3, @Tennessee State 1 (25-13, 18-25, 25-20, 26-24)
@Belmont 3, Eastern Kentucky 1 (25-15, 27-25, 18-25, 25-20)
@Tennessee Tech 3, SIUE 1 (25-23, 24-26, 29-27, 25-13)
AUSTIN PEAY 3, UT MARTIN 0
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Junior middle blocker Lauren Henderson had 13 kills and five blocks as Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team clipped Ohio Valley Conference foe UT Martin in three sets (25-19, 25-20, 25-12), Saturday, at the Dunn Center.
Austin Peay (15-14, 8-5 OVC West) put forth a dominating effort, trailing only after match’s opening point. Henderson recorded five kills in Set 1 and six kills in Set 2 to pace the offense. She finished with only one attack error in 22 attempts to post a .545 attack percentage.
UT Martin (10-17, 6-7 OVC West) won the match’s opening point then watched Austin Peay piece together a 9-2 run to take control of the opening set. The Lady Govs made the second set a no-doubter, building a 10-point, 17-7 lead they would not relinquish. The Skyhawks rallied to tie the third set at 3-3 only to watch Austin Peay use a 10-2 run to build a 13-5 lead en route to the match win.
The Lady Govs recorded 36 kills in the win, Henderson’s 13-kill outing making up the bulk of the offense. Senior opposite Alex Sain posted eight kills on an errorless night to post a match-best .800 attack percentage. Senior outside hitter Nikki Doyle and sophomore outside hitter Jada Stotts – the Lady Govs leading hitters entering the night – posted just four kills each.
UT Martin finished the night with 32 kills, but was held to a .089 attack percentage as it recorded 23 attack errors. Dallas Zimmerman led the Skyhawks with eight kills.
Austin Peay returns to action with a 4:30 p.m., Saturday contest against OVC West Division leader Southeast Missouri.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 1
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Jacksonville State volleyball team could not shake a slow start, falling 3-1 (25-20, 25-18, 23-25, 25-18) Friday night to Eastern Illinois at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
With the loss the Gamecocks fall to 12-15 on the season and 6-7 in conference play. The Panthers improve to 12-15 and 6-7 in Ohio Valley Conference play.
The Gamecocks started off slow in the first game, hitting just .103 while recording seven errors in the set. With the match tied at 3-3, the Panthers went on a 5-0 run fueled by three Gamecock errors and never looked back during the 25-20 first set victory.
The Gamecocks got off to a better start in the second set, jumping out to an early 8-3 lead. The Panthers would then fight back behind a .351 hitting percentage and a balanced offensive attack to claim the 25-18 come-from-behind victory.
Trailing 13-11 in the third set, the Gamecocks used three errors and two kills from Jen Meyer to fight back into the match. The two teams would then find the match tied five times down the stretch. With the match tied at 23-23, seniors Hivya Leite and Meyer recorded back-to-back kills to give the Gamecocks the thrilling 25-23 victory in the third set.
The Panthers opened up with a 5-1 lead in the fourth set while jumping out to a 10-point lead at 19-9. The Gamecocks hit just .041 for the set as the Panthers pulled out the 25-18 match clinching victory.
Meyer led the Gamecocks with 12 kills on the night. Alina Agamy recorded a double-double with 30 assists and 12 digs. Defensively, the Gamecocks were led by Kelsey Anderson with 21 digs.
The Panthers had four players finish with double-digits in kills, led by Allison Berens with 16 kills. Reynae Hutchinson finished with a double-double with 14 kills and 19 digs while Stephanie Arnold also added 14 kills. Abby Saalfranks chipped in 12 kills while setter Marah Bradbury finished with 54 assists.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, MURRAY STATE 1
MURRAY, Ky. - On Friday night at Racer Arena the Murray State volleyball team stayed with division-leading Southeast Missouri every step of the way, but in the end the Redhawks proved to be too much for the Racers, escaping with a 3-1 decision.
The match was a tale of two halves. In the first and second set, the Racers (4-19, 2-11) hit .324 and .278, respectively, narrowly losing the first, 25-22, and taking the second, 25-23. Despite close scores in the final two sets, 25-20 and 25-22, Murray State hit just .094 in the third set and .020 in the fourth set.
Despite hitting at .020 in the frame, the Racers had a chance to force a decisive fifth set right until then end, trailing by just two at 22-20. The Redhawks then pushed the score to 24-20; however it would take them three match points to finally put away MSU at 25-22.
Despite the loss and being eliminated from playoff contention, it was a night of personal bests for the Racers. Senior Lydia Orf notched a career-high 25 digs in the match, while freshman Emily Schmahl also turned in a career best with a match-high 20 kills.
Senior Wendi Zickfield turned in season-highs of 16 kills and 17 digs and in doing so recorded her second double-double in as many matches. Freshman Kristen Besselsen also had a big night as she rounded out three Racers in double-digit kills with 10.
Freshman Alyssa Lelm notched one solo block and a block assist on the night to officially put her in a tie with Danielle Sutterer (2003) for the 10th best single-season block assist total in MSU history. Last week, Lelm moved in to sole possession of 10th place in total blocks and needs just six to catch ninth-place Katie Kemezys (2006).
Southeast junior Emily Coon (Imperial, Mo.) notched 16 kills and tied a school record with 12 total blocks to lead the Redhawks and leave Murray a double-double.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, TENNESSEE STATE 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Senior right side hitter Ellie Roberson connected on 23 kills and hit .333 to lead the Morehead State volleyball team to at least a share of its third consecutive Ohio Valley Conference title with a 3-1 triumph at Tennessee State Friday night at Kean Hall.
The Eagles remained perfect in OVC matches at 13-0 and are three matches ahead of current second place Southeast Missouri (10-3) with three regular season contests to play. MSU won its 19th straight match to improve to 21-6 overall and remain tied with No. 19 Western Kentucky for the nation's longest Division I winning streak. The Eagles, who have now won 49 of their last 51 league tilts, also won their 22nd straight OVC road match.
MSU earned the right to host the conference tournament for the third straight year as well. The event will be contested Nov. 15-17 at Wetherby Gym.
Roberson, who leads the league in kills, smashed 23 winners on 48 attempts, reaching the 20-kill mark for the seventh time this year. Her effort was complemented by senior middle blocker Annie Gruenschlaeger with 10 kills and three blocks. Junior outside hitter Aryn Bohannon served in four of MSU's eight aces and had a team-best four blocks.
Defensively, junior libero Leslie Schelhaas dug up 24 Tiger attacks, while sophomore setter and defensive specialist Colbey Cameron tallied 12 digs. Senior setter Caitlin Clark notched 44 assists and seven digs, and sophomore middle Laura McDermott turned in four blocks.
Naomi Wells pounded down a team-high 17 kills and had 10 digs to lead the hosts. TSU edged the Eagles in digs, 72-68.
MSU nailed 13 kills and committed just two errors in the opening set as it cruised to a 12-point advantage. TSU cooled off the Eagle attack in the second frame as MSU landed only nine winners and goofed on seven attacks for a .051 efficiency.
While the visitors made 14 errors in the final two sets, MSU smacked in 28 kills - 14 in each set - to hold off TSU. The Eagles led the entire fourth set, but a Tiger block evened it at 24 late in frame. Gruenschlaeger finished off the league-clincher with a kill and a dual block with Clark.
BELMONT 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont volleyball (13-14, 9-4) defeated Eastern Kentucky (9-16, 5-8) in four sets Friday night in the Curb Event Center.
Belmont got on the board first scoring two unanswered points. The opening set remained close; until the Bruins took a 14-8 lead behind a 5-0 run sparked by junior setter Hannah Miranda (Covington, La.). Eastern Kentucky responded with a short run, but it was silenced by the Bruins, as they took the first set, 25-15.
Belmont, who hit .224 in the opening set, held the Colonels to a .062 hitting percentage.
The Colonels answered first in the second set and the two teams exchanged points. Behind a run from sophomore Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.) the Bruins scored seven unanswered points to take an 11-5 lead.
Eastern Kentucky put together several runs, but the Bruins continued to extend their lead. Behind two service aces from Junior Jen Myer (New Braunfels, Texas) Belmont extended their lead, 22-14.
The Colonels overcame an eight-point deficit as they scored eight consecutive points to tie the set at 22-all, before taking 23-22 lead. The set was tied three times before Belmont took a 2-0 lead at the break, winning the second set, 27-25.
After the break, Eastern Kentucky jumped out to an 8-3 lead. Myer scored back-to-back service aces to bring the Bruins within three points, 9-6. The Colonels extended their lead, 17-10 before the Bruins started to close the gap.
Behind kills from Gable and freshman Jocelyn Youngdahl (Stillwater, Minn.), Belmont came within four-points, 19-15. Eastern Kentucky took the third set, 25-18.
Belmont took a 3-0 lead in the fourth set, before the Colonels took a 5-4 lead. The two teams exchanged points back-and-forth, tying the set six times before the Bruins took a 21-19 lead.
The Bruins closed out the set, 25-20 behind a kill from Miranda.
Myer and Gable each recorded 13 kills for the Bruins. Miranda dished out 44 assists, while junior libero Jamie Lundstrom (La Grange, Ill.) paced the defense with 28 digs.
Junior Ashley Edmond recorded 13 kills and freshman Rachel Vick added 12 kills for the Colonels. Edmond also had 12 digs and four blocks for the Colonels (9-16, 5-8 OVC). Vick made only three errors in 31 attempts for a .290 attack percentage. Dena Ott posted 35 digs.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, SIUE 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Golden Eagle volleyball team kicked off homecoming weekend in style, downing the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Cougars 3-1 in Ohio Valley Conference action Friday night. Tech won the first set and third set before ambushing the Cougars in the fourth set to sending them back to the mountains.
Set scores were 25-23, 24-26, 29-27 and 25-13.
The match was led by freshman pinhitters Cody Dodd and Audrey Lewis, providing a glimpse of what the future of Tech volleyball has in store. Dodd had a match and career high 14 kills on 26 swings, recording just one error, giving her a career best .500 attack percentage. Lewis also turned in a career high performance talling 12 kills with just three errors on 28 swings and a .321 attack perccentage.
Two other hitters totaled double-digit kills, Ellen Conti had 12 kills and Kelsey Gray swung .297 for 11 kills on 30 swings and three errrors. Madison Keyes and Elise Robertson each chipped in with six kills.
Junior setter Ashleigh Hancock digshed out 31 assists and fellow setter Madison Comperry handed out 23 assists. The pair ran an offense that had an attack percentage of .243, the highest percentage the Golden Eagles have hit in OVC action. Tech also collected a total of 61 kills, the most terminations in the 2012 season.
Courtney Smith sprawled for a match high 31 digs, also marking the third time she has recorded 30+ digs this season, tying her career high. Conti added 18 digs, giving her a double-double for the match.
Tech again out-blocked its oppontent, gathering 10 team blocks, with the 10th best blocker in the NCAA, Gray, leading the match with six blocks, two solo and four block assists. Dodd collected three blocks of her own with Keyes, Lewis and Robertson each adding two blocks.
The match was an exciting one, with 28 tie scores and 10 different lead changes throughout the four sets. The Golden Eagles picked up their first win in the first set 25-23. The second set went to the Cougars in extra points. After the break, the Golden Eagles jumped back out to another victory again in extra points, but the fourth set proved that Tech was the better team.
Tech jumped to an early 10-1 lead in the fourth set, going on to a 24-9 lead. SIUE was able to hold off match-point for four points before finishing the set 25-13.
The Cougars' Cori Harris led the offense with 12 kills. Brianne Graunke finished with nine, including five in the first set. Brooke Smith came off the bench for a team-leading .368 hitting percentage with eight kills and one attack error.