TUESDAY’S SCORES
@Tennessee State 3, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-11)
Austin Peay 3, @Middle Tennessee 0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-20)
Belmont 3, @Evansville 2 (22-25, 25-18, 28-30, 25-22, 17-15)
@Marshall 3,
Eastern Kentucky 0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-15)
@Southern Illinois 3,
Southeast Missouri 2 (25-17, 22-25, 23-25, 27-25, 15-6)
AUSTIN PEAY 3, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 0
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - For the first time since 2001, Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team claimed a victory against in-state rival Middle Tennessee with a three-set sweep (25-22, 25-23, 25-20), Tuesday night at Alumni Memorial Gymnasium.
In a tightly fought match, Austin Peay (6-9) gained control late in each set. The Lady Govs pieced together a 4-0 run – thanks two kills by sophomore Jada Stotts and junior Lauren Henderson posting two service aces – to turn an 18-18 tie into a 22-18 lead they would hold to a 25-22 win.
Middle Tennessee (3-9) broke out to the early lead in Set 2, leading 6-4. The set ultimately featured 13 ties and five lead changes. Austin Peay only took the lead with the final two points, a kill by sophomore Cami Fields and a block by sophomore Liz Landon and senior Nikki Doyle, to win 25-23.
The third set was another battle with seven ties and four lead changes. The last of those changes coming courtesy a 6-1 Austin Peay run, which was helped along with three kills by Doyle, to turn a 16-16 tie into a 22-17 lead. Austin Peay would hold on to that advantage to win the set 25-20.
Stotts led Austin Peay with 19 kills, a .311 attack percentage and added 12 digs for a double-double performance. Henderson added nine kills, four service aces and four blocks.
Ashley Adams led Middle Tennessee with 12 kills, but also had 11 errors to finish with an .028 attack percentage.
Austin Peay outhit Middle Tennessee, 41-40, but posted a dominating .216 to .152 edge in attack percentage.
The Lady Govs begin a 10-day break before returning to action with a 7 p.m., Friday, Sept. 21 contest against Jacksonville State that will be their home and Ohio Valley Conference opener.
MARSHALL 3, EVANSVILLE 0
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Eastern Kentucky was beaten 3-0 by Marshall on Tuesday.
The Thundering Herd won by scores of 25-14, 25-19 and 25-15.
Sophomore Alexis Plagens led the Colonels (3-7) with 10 kills. She made only two errors in 22 attempts for a .364 attack percentage. Kelsey Kuehner had seven kills and a block. Dena Ott and Mallori Moffat both recorded double digit dig totals, finishing with 11 and 10 respectively.
Laura Der led Marshall (8-4) with 19 kills and a .457 hitting percentage. Jillian Shemanski had four block assists.
BELMONT 3, EVANSVILLE 2
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Belmont volleyball (3-7) won a five-set thriller over Evansville (3-8), 22-25, 25-18, 28-30, 25-22, 17-15 Tuesday evening.
Belmont played in five matches last season that went into five sets. The last time the Bruins saw a match go into five sets was against East Tennessee State in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Semifinals, where the Bruins won, 3-2.
Evansville took an early 3-1 lead over Belmont and the Bruins trailed early on in the set, but a back-to-back kills from freshman Jocelyn Youngdahl (Stillwater, Minn.) gave Belmont an 11-10 lead.
A kill from junior setter Hannah Miranda (Covington, La.) put the Bruins up by two but the Purple Aces came back to retake the lead of the set, 23-20. Youngdahl and sophomore Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.) put Belmont within two, but Evansville took the set, 25-22.
In the second set, Belmont took at three-point lead over the Purple Aces. Evansville put together short runs, but they were silenced and the Bruins continued to extend their lead. A kill by Youngdahl sparked a 4-0 run, which gave Belmont a 17-12 lead.
Junior libero Jamie Lundstrom (La Grange, Ill.) scored two consecutive service aces and a kill from junior Jen Myer (New Braunfels, Texas) gave Belmont a 24-17 lead. Sophomore Alex Martin (Ooltewah, Tenn.) closed out the set with a kill, 25-18.
After the break, Belmont took an early lead, but the Purple Aces continued to battle back and come within one point, but the Bruins continued to extend their lead.
Redshirt freshman Maddison Croft (Edwardsville, Ill.) sparked a 2-0 run to give Belmont a 24-20 lead, but Evansville answered back scoring three straight points and eventually tying the set at 24. Evansville took a 25-24 lead before back-to-back kills from Myer and Miranda gave Belmont a 26-25 lead.
The two teams battled back-and-forth, but Evansville was able to hold off the Bruins and close out the set, 30-28.
Belmont took charge of the fourth set early, taking a 16-9 lead. Myer allowed the Bruins to take a five-point lead over Evansville. The Purple Aces came within two, 24-22, but a kill from Myer gave Belmont the win of the set, 25-22, pushing the match to a deciding fifth set.
In the deciding set, Belmont came out with an early 7-4 lead. Myer sparked a short run, but the Purple Aces silenced it. A kill from Croft gave Belmont the set point, but Evansville was back within one, 14-13 until the Purple Aces tied the set at 14.
Belmont and Evansville saw the set tied at 15 before Myer put the Bruins up 16-15 and a kill from Lundstrom gave Belmont the 17-15 win.
Gable led the Bruins with 22 kills. Miranda dished out a season-high 56 assists, while Lundstrom paced the defense with 26 digs.
Myer and Youngdahl each recorded their first double-doubles of the season. Myer tallied 16 kills and 20 digs, while Youngdahl had 10 kills and 11 digs.
Belmont will compete in the Tiger Invitational this weekend in Memphis, Tenn. The Bruins face Louisiana first in the tournament on Friday at 2 p.m.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 2
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southeast Missouri volleyball team lost a 3-2 (17-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-27 6-15) decision to rival Southern Illinois Tuesday evening at Davies Gymnasium. Head coach Julie Folliard made her return to SIU as she was an associate head coach for the Salukis from 2006-10.
The Salukis improved to 9-1 on the season as Southeast falls to 6-5.
Brittney Kalinoski led the Redhawks on the night with 15 kills and a career-high 19 digs.
The host Salukis came out firing in the first frame with 15 kills as SIU hit at a .222 clip. The Redhawks struggled offensively in the opening frame with six kills and six errors dropping the frame 25-17.
The Redhawks bounced back in the second frame grabbing the set 25-22. Southeast pounded out 19 kills in the set as Southeast hit .273.
Kalinoski was impressive in the second frame with nine kills as she hit .421 through two sets. Shives dished out an impressive 15 sets in the frame
Redshirt Freshman Taylor Masterson lifted the Redhawks in the third frame with three blocks as Southeast took the set 25-23.
The Salukis tied the match with a 27-25 win in the fourth frame. The Redhawks had a chance to seal the match late, but Southeast could not overcome 11 errors in the frame.
The Salukis took the final frame 15-6 after finishing the set on a 6-1 run as they took the match 3-2.
Masterson recorded a career-high 12 kills and added five blocks. Emily Coon led the Redhawks with seven blocks on the night and Kelsey Keeve added a career-high six blocks.
Shives finished the night with 40 assists. Berkley Idel added 27 digs, a season-high.
Jessica Whitehead led the Salukis with 21 kills on the night. Alysia Mayes added 17 for the Salukis.
The Redhawks return to action this weekend at the Butler Invitational.
TENNESSEE STATE 3, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -The Tennessee State volleyball team won its first home match of the season in a 3-0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-11) victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
The Tigers had a season-high .430 hitting percentage in the match, and held the Lady Lions to a .073 clip.
Sophomore outside hitter Sherryce Butler led TSU (5-7) in kills for the first time this season with 15. Fellow sophomore Naomi Wells was not far behind with 13 kills of her own.
Junior setter Erika Moss also had a strong home opener, recording 32 assists and five digs.
Moss's five digs were good enough for fourth on the team, but senior defensive specialist Calasia Williams led the Tigers in the category with eight.
In set one, the teams traded points early and the score was tied at six. TSU head coach Kathy Roulhac called a timeout and her team responded by going on a 12-4 run. A handful of errors and a pair of kills from Wells highlighted the charge. Butler had four kills down the stretch including an emphatic slam to give TSU a one set to none advantage.
The Tigers came out strong to open the second period and leapt out to a 9-2 lead on the heels of more UAPB errors. The Lady Lions won the following two points, but TSU would quickly extend its lead with another long run. Up by 12, the Tigers forced two Lady Lion errors before Wells sent back a potential kill to make the score 22-8. Three points on three straight kills from Wells ended the second game, meaning the Tigers would need just one more set victory to win the match.
Butler smashed an assisted kill over the net for the first point of set three, making it clear that a fourth fame would not be needed. TSU raced out to a 9-4 start to begin the match and didn't look back. Midway through the period, Moss had two outstanding assists that Wells promptly killed to give the Tigers a 16-7 lead. A UAPB timeout couldn't save the Lady Lions and Butler finished them off with three straight kills to end the match.
TSU will have the weekend off before returning to the court on Sept. 21 at Eastern Kentucky and Sept. 22 at Morehead State. The two matches mark the first OVC contests for the Tigers this season.