SATURDAY’S SCORES
Oral Roberts 3,
Austin Peay 0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-20)
UTSA 3,
Belmont 1 (25-20, 25-15, 22-25, 25-22)
@Morehead State 3, Alabama A&M 0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-22)
@UT Martin 3, Wright State 1 (25-21, 25-11, 21-25, 25-12)
@Aubrun 3,
Jacksonville State 0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-23)
Milwaukee 3,
Southeast Missouri 0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-22)
UAB 3,
Eastern Kentucky 0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-21)
St. Francis (Pa.) 3,
Murray State 2 (25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 20-25, 15-7)
Ole Miss 3,
Tennessee Tech 0 (25-1, 25-12, 27-25)
UNLV 3,
Tennessee State 0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-14)
@Oakland 3,
Eastern Illinois 0 (25-22, 25-12, 25-23)
Toledo 3,
Eastern Illinois 2 (25-16, 25-21, 21-25, 25-26, 15-10)
Western Illinois 3,
SIUE 2 (17-25, 25-19, 25-17, 23-25, 15-18)
Idaho State 3,
Tennessee State 0 (25-23, 25-14, 25-16)
@Missouri State 3,
Austin Peay 0 (25-21, 25-20, 26-24)
SIUE 3, @Indiana State (23-25, 25-16, 20-25, 25-17, 15-12)
Murray State 3, @Radford 0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-16)
DePaul 3,
UT Martin 2 (24-26, 25-19, 19-25, 25-22, 15-9)
UTSA 3, BELMON 1
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Belmont volleyball (1-5) fell to UTSA in four sets, 20-25, 15-25, 25-22, 22-25, Saturday afternoon in UTSA Invitational.
Belmont went on a 3-0 run early in the first set to take a 4-2 lead over the Roadrunners. Attack errors by UTSA allowed the Bruins to regain the lead and short runs gave them a three point lead.
Belmont's wasn't able to maintain their lead as UTSA evened the set and the two teams exchanged points back and forth. The Roadrunners closed out the opening set, 25-20.
In the second set, Belmont got on the board first because of an attack error, but UTSA scored seven unanswered points before junior Allison McCoy (Huntington Beach, Calif.) responded with a kill, which sparked a Belmont run.
The Roadrunners again seven unanswered points giving them a 23-13 lead, they were able to end the second set, 25-15, taking a 2-0 lead at the break.
After the break, the Bruins took a 7-1 lead over UTSA and eventually won the set, 25-22. The Roadrunners put together short runs, but Belmont continued to extend their lead.
The Bruins allowed UTSA to come within one at 21-20 but Roadrunner attack errors and a kill from McCoy gave Belmont the win.
McCoy and freshman Jocelyn Youngdahl (Stillwater, Minn.) led Belmont with three kills apiece in the third set. Sophomore Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.) and junior setter Hannah Miranda (Covington, La.) each added two.
In the fourth set, UTSA jumped out to an early 4-0 start and the Bruins put together a 3-0 run to come within one. The set would see three ties before Belmont took the lead.
Belmont led by as many as four points, before UTSA tied the set at 20 and a kill gave them a one-point lead, but a kill from redshirt freshman Maddison Croft (Edwardsville, Ill.) evened the set at 21.
Despite controlling the set, the Bruins couldn't hold off UTSA as they took the fourth set, 25-22 and won the match.
McCoy, who recorded da .345 attack percentage, led Belmont with 11 kills. Gable added 10 kills. Miranda paced the defense with 22 digs while junior libero Jamie Lundstrom (La Grange, Ill.) recorded 20 digs.
Belmont will be back on the road in Athens, Ohio, as the team competes in the Ohio Invitational. The Bruins will face Montana State at 9:00 a.m. Friday, August 7.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, ALABAMA A&M 0
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State volleyball team hit a season-best .354 on Saturday afternoon at Wetherby Gym en route to a 3-0 win (25-17, 25-18, 25-22) over Alabama A&M in the final match of the Comfort Inn and Suites Invitational.
The Eagles improved to 2-5 on the season with their second consecutive victory, while the Bulldogs slipped to 0-7. MSU ended up winning seven of 11 sets in the weekend tournament against A&M, Evansville and Northern Kentucky.
Morehead State junior outside hitter Aryn Bohannon tied her season high with 15 kills on Saturday, while senior outside hitter Ellie Roberson added 13 winners and senior middle blocker Annie Gruenschlaeger hit a match-best .500.
Morehead State collected 47 kills with just 12 errors in 99 total attacks. The Eagles hit .419 in the first set and bettered that mark with a .471 clip in the second stanza. MSU also registered nine aces in the match.
Junior defensive specialist Leslie Schellhaas recorded 14 digs to pace the Morehead State defense. Senior setter Caitlin Clark handed out 24 assists, while sophomore setter Colbey Cameron chipped in with 14.
There were six ties and one lead change early in the opening set. The Eagles led sets two and three from start to finish.
Junior outside hitters Mariah Brown and Clarissa Brown tallied 11 kills apiece to lead A&M, while sophomore setter Ashley Forman posted a match-high 31 assists.
Gruenschlaeger and Schellhaas were Morehead State’s representatives on the seven-person all-tournament team.
MSU continues its non-conference slate on Wednesday when it travels to Conference USA foe Marshall for a Noon ET match.
The Eagles return to Wetherby Gym on Friday and Saturday for the four-team MSU Eagle Challenge, which includes Savannah State, Missouri and Valparaiso. Live stats for all home matches this season will be available on MSUEagles.com.
AUBURN 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 0
AUBURN, Ala. - The Jacksonville State University volleyball team closed out the Auburn Invitational with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-23) loss to host Auburn on Saturday.
With the loss, the Gamecocks drop to 4-3 on the season while the Tigers improve to 6-0. JSU senior Jen Meyer was named to the all-tournament team.
JSU got off to a slow start in the first set, recording 10 errors in the 25-15 loss. Meyer finished with four kills in the set. In the second set, the Gamecocks jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, but the Tigers responded by going on an 8-0 run and never looked back during the 25-18 victory. Senior Hivya Leite led the Gamecocks with seven kills in the set.
The Gamecocks once again found themselves leading early in the third set as JSU raced out to a 5-2 lead. The Tigers once again fought back and pulled out a narrow 25-23 victory to complete the sweep.
Leite led the Gamecocks with 12 kills for the set. Meyer added eight kills, while junior setter Abbey Heredia recorded a double-double with 26 assists and 13 digs.
The Gamecocks will travel to Conway, Ark. next weekend to participate in the Central Arkansas Invitational. JSU will play four matches in the two-day tournament.
MILWAUKEE 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 0
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Southeast Missouri volleyball team dropped their Panther Invitational finale against host UW-Milwaukee 3-0 (21-25, 21-25, 25-22) on Saturday afternoon in Milwaukee, Wisc. The loss drops the Redhawks to 4-3 overall.
The Panthers, who were picked to win the Horizon League hit .267 on the afternoon and held the Redhawks to a .152 hitting percentage.
The Panthers took the first set 25-21 using a late 8-2 run to take the frame. UW-Milwaukee hit .333 in the set with 15 kills. The Redhawks pounded out 16 kills hitting .225.
UW-Milwaukee took the second frame 25-21 holding off a late Redhawk rally. Southeast struggled in the frame with eight attacking errors hitting .125.
The Panthers took the third set with a late 7-2 run taking the frame 25-22 and the match 3-0. Southeast hit a match-low .120 with nine errors in the stanza.
Emily Coon led the Redhawks with 12 kills on the afternoon. Julie Shives added 35 assists and seven digs. Berkley added a team-high 15 digs to pace the Redhawks defense.
Julie Kolinske led all players with 16 kills for the Panthers.
The Redhawks head to St. Louis next weekend to take part in the Saint Louis University Tournament.
UAB 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Eastern Kentucky suffered a 3-0 loss to Alabama-Birmingham on the second day of the Shamrock Invitational hosted by Notre Dame.
The Blazers won by scores of 25-14, 25-16 and 25-21.
Kelsey Kuehner led the Colonels (2-3) with 10 kills. She made only one error for a .346 attack percentage. Freshman Rachel Vick had eight kills and a .429 attack percentage.
EKU was out-hit .275 to .154 and out-blocked 10-1.
Kate Morrell posted a match-best 13 kills for UAB (2-4).
The Colonels will close out play at the Shamrock Invitational on Sunday against host Notre Dame. The match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
ORAL ROBERTS 3, AUSTIN PEAY 0; MISSOURI STATE 3, AUSTIN PEAY 0
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Austin Peay dropped a pair of matches on the final day of the University Plaza Invitational. The Lady Govs fell to Oral Roberts (23-25, 21-25, 20-25) and host Missouri State (21-25, 20-25, 24-26).
Austin Peay Sgot another outstanding effort from sophomore outside hitter Jada Stotts and stuck close to Oral Roberts before falling in three sets.
Austin Peay sophomore outside hitter Jada Stotts followed her career-best 22-kill performance against UALR with a more impressive 19-kill outing against Oral Roberts. She has 54 kills (4.90 kills per set) in the first three matches with a .309 attack percentage.
The Lady Govs (2-6) kept each of the three sets close throughout – the five-point deficit at the end of the third set was their largest deficit at any point in the match.
Oral Roberts (4-2) only won the first set with three straight points, turning a 23-22 deficit into a 25-23 victory. The second set turned the Golden Eagles way with a set-ending 8-3 run for a 25-21 victory. Austin Peay held a 13-11 lead in the final set but Oral Roberts pieced together a 7-1 run to build an 18-14 lead that they would maintain to win the match.
Senior outside hitter Nikki Doyle joined Stotts in double-digit kill territory, posting 14 kills and a .343 attack percentage against Oral Roberts. However, the Doyle-Stotts duo combined for 33 of the Lady Govs 45 kills in the contest.
Tatum Fredeen led Oral Roberts with 16 kills. Jessica Pancratz added 14 kills. The Golden Eagles finished the match with 57 kills and posted a .342 attack percentage against Austin Peay.
Once again Austin Peay (2-7) was within striking distance in each set, but saw a small Missouri State (3-4) run create enough separation to secure the win.
In the first set, it was a 3-0 Missouri State burst that provided a 22-19 lead en route to the 25-21 victory. The run came earlier in the second set, the Bears scoring five straight points providing a 15-10 advantage, but the Lady Govs were unable to string together enough points of their own to close the gap.
The Lady Govs may take the ride back to Clarksville to think about what could have been in the third set. Austin Peay battled back from an 18-14 deficit, using a 5-1 run to tie the set at 19-19. The Lady Govs would actually get to set point first, 24-23, on senior outside hitter Nikki Doyle’s kill, but the Bears called timeout and Austin Peay’s ensuing serve was out of bounds. Missouri State’s Christine McCartney took advantage of the opening, scoring back-to-back kills to give Missouri State the match victory.
Sophomore outside hitter Jada Stotts wrapped up her stay in Springfield with a fourth-consecutive double-digit kill outing, leading Austin Peay with 11 kills, and was named to the all-tournament team. Doyle finished with 10 kills and sophomore Liz Landon chipped in nine kills.
Andrea Beaty led Missouri State with 16 kills and a .462 attack percentage. McCartney ended the match with 14 kills.
Austin Peay returns home and will continue its season-opening 15-match road trip with a 7 p.m., Tuesday contest at Lipscomb.
OAKLAND 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0; TOLEDO 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 2
ROCHESTER, Mich. - Eastern Illinois volleyball finished Oakland Invitational action on Saturday, losing in three to the host Grizzilies (25-22, 25-12, 25-23) before dropping a five-set heartbreaker (25-16, 25-21, 21-25, 24-26, 15-10) to Toledo.
After dropping all three weekend matchups in tourney play, the Panthers fall to 2-4 on the early season.
Freshman setter/right side hitter Abby Saalfrank finished her fine weekend play with consecutive double-digit kill performances on Saturday as she nailed 10 kills and dished out 12 assists in the loss at Oakland and 13 put-aways and 18 assists versus Toledo.
Last night versus Iowa, Saalfrank notched the first EIU triple-double since 1998 and came just one dig shy of accomplishing the same feat against the Rockets. She also hit .333 against Toledo with just four errors to end up representing all Panthers on the all-tourney squad.
Junior outside hitter Reynae Hutchinson chipped in 10 kills in the five set thriller with Toledo and added 11 digs to nab her 18th career double-double and second of the season.
The Panther blocking game came alive versus Toledo as junior Stephanie Arnold led all players with seven stuffs, while Saalfrank tied seniors Alison Berens and Emily Franklin with five blocks apiece.
In other defensive numbers, freshman libero Stephanie Wallace came one dig shy of tying her early career high with 24 ups against Toledo after registering 14 digs against Oakland earlier in the day.
Classmate Marah Bradbury tied Wallace with two service aces against Toledo,while the setter also dished out 22 and 27 assists against the Grizzlies and Rockets, respectively, this afternoon.
Earlier versus Oakland, sophomore Kelsey Roggemann led all Panthers with an impressive .636 attack off seven kills with zero miscues, while she also tallied eight kills against Toledo.
For the weekend, EIU was out-hit .264 to .186, and also trailed the stat mark for aces (15 to 17), digs (177 to 181), blocks (22.0 to 24.), and points (185.0 to 217.0).
Panthers will next prepare for next weekend's Marquette Classic in Milwaukee, Wis., as EIU is set to face Wake Forest, #22-Michigan and the host Golden Eagle squad.
OLE MISS 3, TENNESSEE TECH 0
CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Tennessee Tech volleyball wrapped up play at the Xavier Invitational, falling to Ole Miss in three sets (10-25, 12-25, and 25-27) Saturday afternoon.
Tech fought back in the third set, trying to send the match to four sets, but the Rebels were too much, as they managed to sweep TTU in three.
Golden Eagle senior and Ohio native Kelsey Gray was named to the all-tournement squad after Gray led the team with 20 kills over the weekend.
Ole Miss errors kept the Golden Eagles in the first set early on but the Rebels, who where recently selected to finish fourth in the Southeast Conference in the SEC Preseason Poll, scored nine consecutive points to take a 17-6 advantage. The Golden Eagles proceeded with a three-point run, highlighted by a kill and service ace by Ellen Conti, but it wasn't enough as the Rebels went on another rally and took the opener by 15 points.
Tech rallied back in the second set, ramping up the offense to keep the score tight but at 7-3 Ole Miss went on a six-point run to take a 12-4 lead. Tech continued to rally, but ran out of time, losing 12-25.
The third set was a different story. Tech went point for point with the Rebels, not allowing more than two points to go unanswered. The Golden Eagles capitialized on Ole Miss attack errors, and held off match point at 24-23. A kill by Conti gave Tech the 25-24 advantage, but Mississippi's Allegra Wells had other plans. Wells knocked down two kills and added a block on the outside to end the match at 27-25.
Katrina Dvorken and Conti each had five kills for the Golden Eagles. Libero Courtney Smith led Tech with ten digs, and Conti sprawled for nine. Asheligh Hancock dished out twelve assists.
The Golden Eagles continue their four tournament road trip next weekend, traveling to Bowling Green to take on three teams in the Western Kentucky Tournement. Tech faces host Western Kentucky Friday before taking on IUPUI and Dayton on Saturday.
WESTERN ILLINOIS 3, SIUE 2; SIUE 3, INDIANA STATE 2
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. –Freshman Kristen Torre took advantage of her first career start with a season-high 20 kills Saturday as SIUE defeated host Indiana State 23-25, 25-16, 20-25, 25-17, 15-12 at the opening day of the Jessica Barkman Memorial Classic.
SIUE volleyball is now 2-3 after splitting its matches Saturday. The Cougars dropped a five-set match to Western Illinois earlier in the day 17-25, 25-19, 25-17, 23-25, 15-13.
Torre was told of her first collegiate start just minutes before the Indiana State match begun. SIUE Head Coach Leah Johnson gave her the news.
Torre hit .390 for the match and added three blocks.
Johnson said Torre kept hitting over Indiana State's front line, which made the Cougars want to give her more opportunities.
Kelsey Augustine finished with 16 kills. The junior middle blocker hit an astounding .469 against the Sycamores and equalled Toree with three blocks. Augustine's final block was on match point.
Sophomore Emma Anderson tallied 15 kills for the Cougars. .
Indiana State, 1-5, was led by 14 kills from Shea Doran.
ST. FRANCIS 3, MURRAY STATE 2; MURRAY STATE 3, RADFORD 0
RADFORD, Va. - Despite dropping a five-set match earlier on Saturday to St. Francis (Pa.), the Murray State Volleyball team took down host Radford in straight sets during the nightcap to claim the 2012 LaQuinta Inn & Suites Highlander Invitational tournament title on tie-breaker.
The Racers (2-4) opened play on Saturday by dropping the first two sets of their opening match with St. Francis (3-3). However, Murray State refused to go quietly and rallied to win the next two sets, knotting the game at two all. However, in the deciding set the Red Flash opened with a 7-0 run that the Racers were never able to recover, eventually handing MSU a 15-7 set loss and 3-2 (25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 20-25, 15-7) match defeat.
Freshman Taylor Olden (Lincoln, Ill) and senior Lia Havili (Haltom City, Texas) each notched double-doubles in the match, with 11 kills and 11 digs for Olden and 17 assists and 10 digs for Havili.
In the tournament final with the hosts, Murray State once again found its offensive stroke and took down the Highlanders (4-3) in three sets (25-12, 25-23, 25-16). It was one of the most impressive outings of the young season for MSU, as they turned in a 2012-high attack percentage of .279. The Racers ended the match of 43 kills, 55 digs and another season-high of 14.0 team blocks.
Olden and fellow freshman Emily Schmahl (Edgewood, Ky.) paced the Racers with 10 kills each, while junior Katlyn Hudson (Columbus, Ind.) and freshman Kristen Besselsen (St. Louis, Mo.) had a game-high 12 digs each. Havili helped power the Murray State offense in the match with 33 assists, while freshman Alyssa Lelm (Mackinaw, Ill.) contributed to the defense with two solo blocks and six block assists.
Following the match, Havili was named as the tournament's most valuable player, while Olden was named to the all-tournament team. Havili had 72 assists and 25 digs on the weekend, while Olden 29 kills, 23 digs and seven block assists.
The Racers will return to action on Tuesday in their lone outing of the week, a non-conference, regional match-up at Evansville. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m
UNLV 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0; IDAHO STATE 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0
PORTLAND, Ore. - On Saturday, The Tennessee State volleyball team dropped its last two games of the second day of the Nike Portland Invitational. The Tigers got swept in both games and lost to UNLV (15-25, 15-25, 14-25) and Idaho State (23-25, 14-25, 16-25).
The Tigers sported a season-low .019 hitting percentage in the match against UNLV, and followed that up with a .065 clip versus Idaho State.
The loss drops TSU's record to 3-4.
In the first match, Sophomore outside hitter Naomi Wells led the Tigers in kills and digs with 9 and 14, respectively. However, TSU had just two more kills than it did errors.
Junior setter Erika Moss had her lowest output of assists of the young season with 21.
For UNLV, Candice Thomas was the only Rebel in double figures in kills as she had 11 in the match. Kinsey Caldwell added 28 assists for UNLV (3-2).
Neither team held an advantage early in the first set and the score was tied 8-8. From that point, TSU committed 11 errors and UNLV finished the set on a 17-7 run.
In the second set, a pair of kills from Moss gave the Tigers the lead at 6-5. TSU couldn't hold its advantage, as more errors marred the offense. An 8-1 run by the Rebels midway through the set provided an insurmountable lead, and TSU lost the second set by 10 points.
The Tigers came out slow to start the final set, and UNLV quickly built a 6-1 lead. A kill from Wells and an error on the Rebels cut the lead to four, 17-13. That would be the closest to the lead the Tigers would get, and UNLV used an 8-1 to secure the match.
In match two, Wells and sophomore outside hitter Sherryce Butler led the Tigers with eight kills apiece. Moss recorded 22 assists and senior libero tallied a team-high 12 digs.
For Idaho State, Lori Mendenhall had 32 assists while Kylee Searle had a team-high 11 digs.
In the first set, TSU leapt out to a 3-1 lead on the back of two Wells's kills.The teams went back-and-forth throughout the frame and TSU called a late timeout with the score tied at 23. Two TSU errors gave the Bengals a pair of points and a first set victory.
Idaho State used its momentum gained in the first set and rolled to a 5-0 lead to start the second. An 8-4 Bengal run late in the period doomed and chance the Tigers had to tie the match.
Another slow start saw the Tigers down 10-4 to start the final set. A service ace midway through the period cut the lead to four, but a 9-4 highlted by a bevy of Bengal kills ended the match.
The volleyball team's next match will be Sept. 7 against Chattanooga in the KSU Owls Classic.
UT MARTIN 3, WRIGHT STATE 1; DePAUL 3, UT MARTIN 2
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team earned its first victory of the 2012 campaign this afternoon at the First State Skyhawk Invitational, defeating Wright State by a 3-1 margin (25-21, 25-11, 21-25, 25-12). The Skyhawks nearly pulled off a sweep of Saturday’s action before falling 3-2 to Big East member DePaul (26-24, 19-25, 25-19, 22-25, 9-15) in the two-day tournament finale.
Following today’s action, Shelby Hoskins was named to the First State Skyhawk Invitational All-Tournament team. The freshman out of New Albany, Ind. recorded 28 kills while hitting .333 in 57 attempts, while also amassing a team-high 10 blocks (two solo) in 13 sets over three matches.
Despite UT Martin’s 1-2 record in the tournament, both of the Skyhawks’ losses came in five sets (also falling 3-2 against tournament champion Troy on Friday).
Lynsey Hazelwood led UT Martin with 24 kills in the two matches today – including a team-high 15 in the victory against Wright State. Hoskins (22 kills) cracked double-figures in the kill column in both matches, while Emily Keaton racked up 21 kills amongst a pair of double-doubles today. Amanda Crask handed out 87 assists in nine sets today, including 45 in four sets against Wright State.
Defensively, Kasey Elswick tallied 53 digs, while Dallas Zimmerman and Jackie Harter each turned away a team-high seven blocks.
The Skyhawks return to action next weekend, taking part in the Saluki Invitational in Carbondale, Ill. UT Martin will face Arkansas-Little Rock, Nicholls State and Southern Illinois on Sept. 7-8.
Wright State
The Skyhawks jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the first set but quickly found themselves trailing 5-4. The lead would change hands three more times until back-to-back kills by Keaton and Harter knotted the score at 10-all. Neither side could open up more than a two-point lead until a late charge by UT Martin. A kill by Hazelwood gave the Skyhawks a 20-19 lead, but Wright State would score the next point to provide the 11th tie of the set. However, UT Martin then reeled off a 4-0 run – ignited by a Hoskins kill and service ace. The Raiders would end the run momentarily, but a Harter kill ended the set.
Hoskins (five kills), Keaton (four) and Harter (four) combined to hit .591 with zero errors in 22 attempts, while Crask tallied 15 assists to lead the Skyhawks, who hit .300 with 17 kills in the first set.
UT Martin rode the momentum into the second set, jumping out to a 4-0 and 6-1 advantage, forcing Wright State to burn a timeout. A kill by Zimmerman and service ace by Chelsea Bowles made the score 8-3, while Hazelwood collected a pair of service aces to cap off a 5-0 run and give the Skyhawks a 13-4 lead. UT Martin expanded its lead to double-figures at 19-9 before ending the set on a 6-2 run, thanks to stellar play by Hazelwood. The freshman out of Louisville, Ky. picked up a kill and back-to-back service aces to end the second set.
Hazelwood accounted for over half (8.5 of 16) of the team’s points in the second set, tallying four kills and four service aces. The Skyhawk defense held Wright State to a -.02 attack percentage in the set (eight kills, nine errors, 41 attempts).
Wright State led 7-4 in the third set before UT Martin reeled off four straight points to take its first lead of the match at 8-7. The Raiders would then snatch the lead back, but the Skyhawk deficit would not exceed three points until Wright State held a 22-18 lead. UT Martin bounced back with a Hoskins kill but wouldn’t get any closer than three points the rest of the way.
Zimmerman and Hazelwood each notched three kills apiece to lead the Skyhawks, while Elswick scooped up six of the team’s 10 digs in the set.
The Raiders led 2-0 in the fourth set but UT Martin pieced together a 5-0 run to take a lead it would not concede the rest of the way. Wright State would creep within three points at 8-5 but three consecutive points by the Skyhawks gave UT Martin a six-point advantage. With the score at 14-8, UT Martin accounted for the next six points to lead by a dozen. A solo block by Zimmerman ended the set and gave the Skyhawks their biggest lead of the set at 25-12.
Hazelwood’s six kills in eight attempts (.750) led UT Martin, who hit .417 in 36 attempts (17 kills against only two errors). Keaton, Hoskins and Harter also recorded three kills each to pace the Skyhawk offensive attack.
DePaul
The Skyhawks captured the first set, thanks in large part to a 6-2 start early on. However, DePaul would make a run and eventually take an 8-7 lead. The Blue Demons would lead by three points at 17-14 but UT Martin rallied for three straight points – the last two came on kills by Keaton. DePaul soon recaptured the lead and led 22-20 before the Skyhawks reeled off three straight points to take a 23-22 advantage. Ties would follow at 23-all and 24-all before a Keaton kill finished things off and gave UT Martin an early advantage.
Hoskins was red-hot in the first set, tallying four kills against zero errors in five attempts. Crask handed out a dozen assists while Elswick recorded 10 digs.
DePaul began the second set on a 4-1 run, but the Skyhawks got within one (5-4) thanks to an assisted block by Zimmerman and Crask. UT Martin stayed within one point until the Blue Demons scored five straight points to take a 12-6 lead. Midway through the set, the Skyhawks used a 3-0 run to get within three points but DePaul would soon open up a 20-15 lead. UT Martin sliced its deficit to three as late as 22-19 but the Blue Demons ended the set with three consecutive points.
Hazelwood and Hoskins each had three kills in the set, as the Skyhawks hit .250 in the set (12 kills, three errors, 36 attempts).
UT Martin led 3-1 early in the third set, setting the tone for a 7-2 start. DePaul whittled its deficit down to one at 9-8 but the Skyhawks distanced themselves with a 5-2 run to take a 14-9 lead. The momentum then shifted back-and-forth but UT Martin hung on to its advantage, not allowing DePaul to get within two points the rest of the way. The Skyhawks concluded the set by scoring four out of five points en route to the 25-19 victory.
The Skyhawks hit .219 as a team in the third set, as Hoskins’ three kills were a team-high. UT Martin accumulated 11 kills with only four errors in 32 attempts, while DePaul hit .000 (nine kills, nine errors) in 33 attempts.
DePaul led 6-1 to start the fourth set, but an assisted block by Zimmerman and Crask got the Skyhawks within two points at 8-6. Soon thereafter, a kill by Harter would even the score at 12-all, but the Blue Demons answered back with four straight points. UT Martin kept charging, eventually getting within one point on two different occasions (17-16, 18-17). However, the Skyhawks couldn’t take a lead and DePaul escaped with the victory to force the decisive fifth set.
Keaton fired off five kills against no errors (.417) in 12 attempts, while Crask registered 10 assists to lead the offense. Defensively, Elswick was responsible for half (seven of 14) of UT Martin’s kills in the set.
UT Martin led early in the fifth set, as kills by Crask and Hoskins led to a 2-1 advantage. A DePaul 3-0 run gave the Blue Demons a 6-3 lead, but the Skyhawks wouldn’t let up. A kill by Hoskins made the score 10-9, but DePaul ended the match with five straight points to claim the victory.