FRIDAY’S SCORES
@Butler 3,
Southeast Missouri 2 (25-19, 20-25, 18-25, 25-20, 15-11)
Louisiana 3,
Belmont 0 (27-25, 25-15, 25-18)
Duquesne 3,
Eastern Illinois 0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-18)
Morehead State 3, Youngstown State 0 (27-25, 25-8, 25-19)
Northern Illinois 3,
@SIUE 0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-16)
UT Martin 3, Jackson State 1 (27-25, 25-21, 16-25, 25-23)
North Texas 3,
UT Martin 1 (25-15, 25-21, 16-25, 25-23)
Gardner-Webb 3,
Tennessee Tech 1 (25-15, 26-24, 20-25, 25-20)
@Samford 3,
Tennessee Tech 0 (25-10, 25-17, 25-8)
@Purdue 3,
Jacksonville State 1 (25-16, 22-25, 25-19, 25-6)
Bowling Green 3,
Jacksonville State 1 (25-27, 25-10, 25-18, 26-24)
@Memphis 3,
Belmont 1 (25-21, 18-25, 25-18, 25-17)
BUTLER 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 2
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Southeast Missouri volleyball team dropped a 3-2 (19-25, 25-20, 25-18, 20-25, 11-15) decision to Butler in the opening match of the Butler Invitational on Friday afternoon at historic Hinkel Field House.
The Bulldogs improve to 9-3 on the season as the Redhawks drop to 6-6 overall.
Senior Brittney Kalinoski and junior Colleen Yarber added 16 kills apiece to lead. The pair also combined for 27 digs.
The Bulldogs took the opening frame 25-19 over the Redhawks. Butler used a 5-0 run to jump out to a 20-14 lead. Butler recorded six blocks on their way to the opening set win.
The Redhawks battled back and took the second frame 25-20. Southeast forced nine errors by the Bulldogs and held them to a match-low hitting percentage of .050.
Southeast took the third frame 25-18. Southeast hit .265 in the set. The Redhawks also added a match-high 14 kills in the frame as they took a 2-1 match lead.
Butler battled back and took the final two frames to take the match 3-2. Butler took the fourth set 25-20 and the fifth frame 15-11.
The Bulldogs combined for 33 kills in the final two frames and hit a match-high .478 in the final set with 14 kills.
Julie Shives dished out 47 assists and added 13 digs. Samantha Lowman added a team-high 16 digs.
Maggie Harbison added a match-high 17 kills to go along with 17 digs to lead Butler.
The Redhawks face Kent State on Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m.
DUQUESNE 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Eastern Illinois volleyball opened Penn State Classic action with a three-set loss to Duquesne (25-23, 25-17, 25-18). Panthers fall to 3-7 on the season.
Senior middle hitter Alison Berens paced the EIU offensie with a team-high 10 kills, three shy of her career mark, while also earning a .400 attack clip. She also registered four blocks.
Junior outside hitter Reynae Hutchinson added eight kills and three blocks of her own, while freshman Marah Bradbury ran the EIU offense with 19 assists.
Sophomore Kelsey Brooke had a fine match, leading EIU with two aces and led the backrow defense with 11 digs.
Panthers trailed the Dukes (9-4) in kills (44-to-35), attack (.358-to-.168), assists (42-to-31), aces (three-to-two), digs (44-to-36), blocks (nine-to-five), and points (56.0-to-42.0).
The match featured 13 ties and four lead changes, as the two squads met for only the second time on the volleyball court. With the DU win, the two teams are now 1-1 all-time in the series.
EIU was down 17-11 in the opening set before going on a nice late-run to tie it at 21-all, before the Dukes were able to push past the Panthers for the close 25-23 opening victory.
An early tie at nine-all in the second frame would eventually push to a 19-12 DU advantage, but a Berens kill would end the Duquesne run, yet DU squad would eventually win the set, 25-17.
The final set also started with even play at five-all, but again the Dukes would use a run to enjoy the seven-point advantage en route to the 25-18 victory.
Panthers return to tourney play on Saturday (Sep. 15), with a noon contest against Portland, followed by the premiere match to finish the event as EIU will face the host, and #4-ranked, Penn State squad at 7 p.m.
Both EIU skipper Kate Price and assistant coach Ryan Sweitzer will make their first appearance on the sidelines against their respecitve alma mater. Price earned an NCAA Championship at PSU back in 2007, while Sweitzer was a member of the Nittany Lion men's squad that won the national title in 2008.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, YOUNGTOWN STATE 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Senior middle blocker Annie Gruenschlaeger hit .476 with 11 kills and five blocks to lead the Morehead State volleyball squad to a 3-0 (27-25, 25-9, 25-19) sweep of Youngstown State Friday in the opening match of the UNC Greensboro Spartan Spiketacular at Fleming Gym.
The Eagles won their fourth straight match to even their record at 6-6, while YSU fell to 8-4. Following 12 errors in the opening set, the Eagles smashed 27 kills and committed only six attack miscues the rest of the way. MSU hit a combined .355 in sets two and three.
The Eagles set up Gruenschlaeger 21 times and she made only one error. She also had two aces, a solo block and four block assists. Junior outside hitter Aryn Bohannon topped MSU with 12 kills and a trio of aces, while junior libero Leslie Schellhaas tallied a match-best 14 digs. Senior setter Caitlin Clark dished out 36 assists. The Eagles notched 10 aces.
The Eagles grabbed an early 10-9 lead in the opening set following one of freshman middle blocker Hannah Sigala’s four kills. MSU had a 23-21 lead, but the Penguins scored four of the next five to take a 25-24 lead. A YSU attack error, followed by a successful spike by senior outside hitter Ellie Roberson, swung the victory in favor of the Eagles.
MSU raced out to a 13-1 advantage in the second set and were never challenged, winning 25-8. The Eagles landed 13 kills and committed just one attack error. The Eagle defense forced the Penguins into 10 attack errors in the frame.
Gruenschlaeger broke an 11-11 stalemate with a kill in the third set, and MSU used a 5-0 run to pull away. The Eagles smacked down 15 kills with just four errors in the deciding set.
Missy Hundelt and Jackie Carlisle had six kills each to pace the Penguins.
The Eagles face UNC Wilmington at 9:30 a.m. ET Saturday and finish the event against the host UNCG Spartans at 7 p.m.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 3, SIUE 0
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - MacKenzie Roddy led all players with 12 kills Friday as Northern Illinois upended SIUE in college volleyball action 25-18, 25-18, 25-16 at the Vadalabene Center.
SIUE dropped to 4-6 as it opened a five-match home stand at the Vadalabene Center.
SIUE Head Coach Leah Johnson said the Cougars had a good game plan but were not able to execute it against the 8-6 Huskies. The Cougars now will turn their focus to next week when the team plays three matches.
Freshman Kristen Torreled the team with 10 kills, no errors, and a .417 hitting percentage.
Northern Illinois finished with 40 kills in the match led by Roddy and 10 from Justine Schepler. SIUE, however, outblocked NIU with the Cougars' Kelsey Augustine leading the way with four.
UT MARTIN 3, JACKSON STATE 1; NORTH TEXAS 3, UT MARTIN 1
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team opened the Alabama State Invitational with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over defending NCAA Tournament participant Jackson State (27-25, 25-21, 13-25, 25-17). In the nightcap of the first day of action, the Skyhawks battled before falling 3-1 to Sun Belt Conference foe North Texas (15-25, 21-25, 25-16, 23-25).
Freshman Lynsey Hazelwood was the offensive leader for the Skyhawks today, recording 27 kills over eight sets – including a career-high 16 kills against Jackson State and a double-double against North Texas (11 kills, 12 digs). Both Brandy Dennis (first career double-double against Jackson State) and Amanda Crask handed out 36 assists apiece this afternoon.
Defensively, freshman Chelsea Bowles scooped up a team-high 34 digs (career-high 28 against Jackson State) while Jackie Harter amassed a team-best six blocks.
UT Martin will return to action tomorrow, Sept. 15, when it takes on tournament host Alabama State at 1 p.m.
Jackson State
The Skyhawks jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before the Lady Tigers scored five straight points to take a lead. Jackson State would hold a 14-9 advantage until UT Martin scored four straight points – including a pair of kills by Hazelwood – to get within one point. A Hazelwood service ace evened the score at 15-all, but Jackson State would keep the lead and eventually take a 22-19 advantage. Coming out of a Skyhawk timeout, back-to-back kills by Hazelwood made the score 22-21, however UT Martin would soon face a 24-22 deficit. That didn’t faze the Skyhawks, as UT Martin closed out the set on a 5-1 run, capped off by consecutive kills by Taylor Simons.
Hazelwood accounted for six of UT Martin’s 15 kills in the first set, while Dennis (11 assists) and Bowles (10 digs) also guided the Skyhawks.
The Skyhawks shook off a slow start in the second set to take a 7-6 advantage after a Hazelwood kill completed a 5-1 UT Martin run. Jackson State briefly reclaimed the lead before back-to-back kills by Hazelwood tilted the score in the Skyhawks’ favor at 9-8. That ignited a streak of eight unanswered points by UT Martin, including three straight service aces by Shelby Hoskins. An ace by Hazelwood gave the Skyhawks their biggest lead of the set at 19-11, but the Lady Tigers got within three points on four different occasions (including 24-21). However, a kill by Harter ended the set and gave UT Martin a 2-0 lead in the match.
UT Martin hit .250 in the second set, led by six kills by Hazelwood and five by Hoskins. Dennis tallied 15 assists in the second set alone while Bowles led the team with seven digs.
Although Jackson State began the third set on a 5-0 run, the Skyhawks cut their deficit to four thanks to early kills by Hoskins and Simons. UT Martin would trail 11-7 before the Lady Tigers would run off four straight points to take a 15-7 lead. A Jackson State service error and kill by Hazelwood made the score 20-13, but the Lady Tigers wrapped up the set by scoring five unanswered points.
The Skyhawks quickly put the third set behind them and played strong down the stretch in the fourth set. UT Martin trailed 6-4 before a 5-0 run was capped off by a Simons service ace gave the Skyhawks a three-point lead. A stretch of four straight points gave UT Martin a 15-9 advantage, but Jackson State would score three straight to pull within 15-12. The Skyhawks responded with a brief 3-0 run of their own to expand their lead out to 18-12. Jackson State would get within four points (20-16) but that was as close as it would get, as a Simons service ace sealed UT Martin’s victory.
Bowles’ seven digs and Harter’s three blocks in the fourth set proved to be the difference for UT Martin, as the staunch Skyhawk defense held Jackson State to a -.08 attack percentage (nine kills, 12 errors in 35 attempts).
North Texas
The Mean Green took leads of 5-0 and 7-1 to begin the first set, but the Skyhawks whittled that deficit down to four (8-4) thanks to consecutive kills by Emily Keaton and Crask. Another kill by Crask would get the Skyhawks within three at 10-7, but North Texas would soon put together a 5-0 run that resulted in a 17-8 lead. A late Keaton service ace made the score 22-15 but that was ultimately as close as UT Martin would get the rest of the way.
The Skyhawks turned the tables in the second set, grabbing leads of 5-1 and 7-2 behind service aces by Bowles and Keaton. UT Martin would hold a lead for the majority of the match, pushing its lead out to four points on a half-dozen occasions – including a 20-16 lead off a Crask kill. However, North Texas would score five straight points – taking its first lead of the set at 21-20. A Dallas Zimmerman kill evened the score at 21-all but the Mean Green would tally the final four points of the set.
A total of six Skyhawks had multi-kill performances in the second set, as UT Martin tallied 15 kills. Crask amassed a dozen assists while Kasey Elswick’s eight digs paced the Skyhawks defensively.
UT Martin found itself down 4-2 in the third set, but followed that with a 7-1 run that resulted in a 9-5 advantage. Back-to-back kills by Hazelwood and Keaton pushed the Skyhawk lead out to 11-6, while Harter and Zimmerman also registered consecutive kills to give UT Martin a 14-8 advantage. North Texas pulled within three at 15-12 and 16-13, but the Skyhawks put the set away with a 5-0 run that included a pair of kills by Hazelwood. The Mean Green crept within six at 22-16 before UT Martin was responsible for the final three points of the set.
Hazelwood tallied four kills in the third set for the Skyhawks, who hit .273 in 22 attempts (10 kills, four errors).
Back-to-back kills by Keaton evened the score at 3-all in the fourth set, which featured 12 ties and six lead changes. North Texas led by four points as late as 13-9 before the Skyhawks reeled off four straight points to take a 15-14 advantage. The Skyhawks led as late as 21-20 but the Mean Green scored three straight points to take a two-point lead. UT Martin would slice its deficit to 23-22 and 24-23 but couldn’t extend the set beyond that point.
Keaton had four kills to lead UT Martin, while Crask racked up 12 assists in the fourth set.
LOUSIANA 3, BELMONT 0; MEMPHIS 3, BELMONT 0
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Belmont dropped a pair of matches on the first day of the Tiger Invitational, falling to Louisiana and host Memphis.
Belmont volleyball (3-8) dropped its first match of the Tiger Invitational to Louisiana-Lafayette (6-6) Friday afternoon, 27-25, 25-15, 25-18.
In the opening set, Louisiana took an early 4-1 lead, but redshirt freshman Maddison Croft (Edwardsville, Ill.) sparked a 6-0 Belmont run. Following Croft's kill, sophomore Alex Martin (Ooltewah, Tenn.) tallied a kill and back-to-back blocks to give Belmont a 9-7 lead.
The set remained close as Belmont and Louisiana exchanged points, tying the score 12 times. With the set tied at 25, the Ragin' Cajuns scored consecutive kills to take 27-25 win.
Freshman Jocelyn Youngdahl (Stillwater, Minn.) paced the Bruins with five kills in the first set, with Martin and junior Jen Myer (New Braunfels, Texas) each adding six.
In the second set, Louisiana went on a 5-0 run to lead the Bruins, 6-1, but Belmont scored three unanswered points to pull within three of the Ragin' Cajuns. Louisiana continued to put together runs, leading by as many as eight, en route to taking a 2-0 lead into the break, following a 25-15 second set win.
After the break, Myer put Belmont on the board first before Louisiana responded with a 3-0 run. Martin scored back-to-back kills tying the set at three.
Louisiana continued to create runs extending their lead to as many as nine. With the score 24-15, a block by freshman Regan Kennamer (Huntsville, Ala.) and Croft blocked a Louisiana kill and sparked a 3-0 run, but the Ragin' Cajuns closed out the set, 25-18.
Myer led the Bruins with eight kills, with Youngdahl adding seven. Junior libero Jamie Lundstrom (La Grange, Ill.) paced the defense with 17 digs and Myer added 14. Junior setter Hannah Miranda (Covington, La.) dished out 24 assists.
Sophomore Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.) recorded two aces while Lundstrom added one.
Belmont volleyball (3-9) fell to Memphis (4-8) in four sets, 21-25, 25-18, 18-25, 17-25, Friday evening in the Tiger Invitational.
Memphis got on the board first, but a kill from sophomore Alex Martin (Ooltewah, Tenn.) sparked a 4-0 run to give Belmont a 5-3 lead. The Bruins continued to extend their lead until the Tigers tied the set at 12 and took over a lead they would not relinquish.
A kill from junior setter Hannah Miranda (Covington, La.) put Belmont back within one, 21-20, but the Tigers took the set, 25-21.
Redshirt freshman Maddison Croft (Edwardsville, Ill.) put Belmont on the board first as the Bruins jumped out to a 6-0 lead. The Tigers brought the score within two points before a kill from Miranda sparked a 4-0 run, giving Belmont a 10-4 lead.
The Tigers put together a few short runs, but it wasn't enough to hold off the Bruins en route to a 25-18 second set win.
Jen Myer (New Braunfels, Texas) and Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.) each tallied five kills in the second set.
After the break, Memphis went on with a 4-0 lead until Myer silenced their run with a kill. Belmont came within four points, and a kill from Croft started a short run, bringing the score to 24-18, but the Tigers took the set, 25-18.
In the fourth set, Memphis took control early. A kill and an ace from Martin brought the Bruins within one, 12-11 before a run gave the Tigers a four point lead.
Belmont came within three, 16-13 behind a kill from Miranda but Memphis continued to extend their lead and took the set 25-17.
Martin, who recorded a .750 hitting percentage, led Belmont with 13 kills and two aces. Myer tallied nine kills while Miranda added seven kills and dished out 35 assists. Junior libero Jamie Lundstrom (La Grange, Ill.) paced the defense with 16 digs and Gable added 15.
Belmont will be back in action tomorrow against UIC for a 2 p.m. match.
GARDNER-WEBB 3, TENNESSEE TECH 1; SAMFORD 3, TENNESSEE TECH 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - In their first four-set match of the season, the Golden Eagles harnessed their defense, and senior Kelsey Gray created a wall at the net, blocking nine balls, five of them solo blocks. Gray also led the Tech offense with 11 kills on 30 swings, hitting at a .300 clip, just shy of a double-double performance. Outside hitter Ellen Conti was the only other Golden Eagle to record double-digit kills, tallying 10 terminations on 37 swings.
Libero Courtney Smith turned in a 19 dig performance, just two digs shy of her career high. She also handled 34 of Tech's serve receptions with 100% efficiency, taking 34 balls and no reception errors. Madi Comperry and Conti sprawled for six digs apiece. Katrina Dvorkenwas a presence at the net, assisting in two blocks and turning away two balls on her own. Cody Dodd also added two solo blocks and assisted in one. Tech's blocking effort accumulated 14 total blocks, six blocks more than the Runnin' Bulldogs.
Set one went to the Runnin' Bulldogs, despite being out blocked by Gray. Tech knocked down three team blocks, well above their season average of 1.96 blocks per set. Gray had a hand in two of those blocks, while Gardner-Webb was only able to get a piece of one of Tech's attacks.
The Runnin' Bulldogs ran to an early 10-4 lead before Madison Keyes went back to the service line and rattled off two aces. Tech gained back a few points, but couldn't overcome the early deficit. Tech's outsides Conti and Audrey Lewis terminated five of Tech's seven kills.
Set two was far from perfect. An early rotation error provided the Golden Eagles with a challenge as Tech gave away three free points to Gardner-Webb with rotation errors. Gray continued to post a wall at the net, blocking the outside. Dvorken and Dodd assisted on the right side, nearly eliminating the threat of an outside attack. The Golden Eagles forced eight attack errors, including three from GW's top offensive player Tyler Cockrell.
The 10 minute break between sets two and three settled the Golden Eagles after a hectic second set. A brand new team entered the gym, and Tech's defense elevated to a whole new level. The score was tied at 8-8 before Tech went on a four-point run and never looked back.
A solo block by Gray at 14-10, sparked another run by Tech, and despite a late run by the Runnin' Bulldogs, Tech never lost the lead. A decisive kill by freshman outside Dodd elevated the Eagles to a 20-17 advantage. Another late run by Gardner-Webb threatened to end the match, but Gray answered with a kill just outside the 10-foot line. Tech went on to win the match 25-20.
Gardner-Webb started a different line-up in the fourth set, but the change didn't phase the Golden Eagles. Tech jumped to an early 4-2 lead thanks to another block by Gray and Dvorken. A controversial call allowed the Runnin' Bulldogs to pull within one, but Keyes crushed a ball into the center of the court.
With the momentum in the Golden Eagles favor, an ace by Conti and another kill by Keyes forced a GW timeout. The attempt to "ice" Conti failed, as she countered with another ace. Gardner-Webb then went on a 10-point run to take the lead at 15-13 before Tech called a timeout. A rattled Tech returned to the court, and couldn't regain a lead. Tech fell 25-20.
Set scores for Gardner-Webb were 25-15, 26-24, 20-25, 25-20.
In Tech's second match of the night, the Golden Eagles faced a whole different dog, the Bulldogs of Samford. The hosts of the Bulldog Invitational were coming off a 3-0 sweep of Alcorn State, and used the momentum from the win to surge to their second 3-0 victory. Set scores for Samford were 25-10, 25-17, 25-8.
Tech was led by Gray with three kills and Dvorken and Lewis each had two. Smith turned up 15 digs.
The Golden Eagles return to the court Saturday at noon and take on the Alcorn State Braves for the second time this season. Tech defeated the Braves in three sets earlier this season. Saturday's match will complete Tech's tournament play for the season, with Ohio Valley Conference matches beginning Sept. 21 at Murray State.
PURDUE 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 1; BOWLING GREEN 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 1
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Jacksonville State volleyball team dropped it's first two matches of the Purdue Active Ankle Challege Friday against 14th ranked Purdue (25-16, 22-25, 25-19, 25-6) and Bowling Green (25-27, 25-10, 25-18, 26-24).
After dropping the first set to Purdue, the Gamecocks (6-7) rallied to win the second set 25-22. The 14th ranked Boilermakers responded by winning the next two sets to improve to 7-2 on the year.
Emily Rutherford led the Gamecocks with eight kills and Hivya Leite added seven kills. Kaley Sierawski finished with six kills while Jen Meyer and Nicole Merget added five kills apiece.
Trailing 23-20 in the first set against Bowling Green (4-6), the Gamecocks rallied to tie the match at 25-25 after Kelsey Anderson's kill. Merget added a kill to give JSU the lead and Kelly Cole recorded an ace to give the Gamecocks the first set victory.
The Falcons took control after that and fought back for the victory. Rutherford led the Gamecocks with 13 kills while Merget and Meyer added seven kills apiece.
Abbey Heredia recorded 33 assists and nine digs for the Gamecocks.
JSU will look to get back on track on Saturday as the Gamecocks face UAB at 4 p.m.