SATURDAY’S SCORES
Morehead State 3, UNC Wilmington 0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-20)
Southeast Missouri 3, Kent State 0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-23)
Cleveland State 3,
Murray State 0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-14)
Portland 3,
Eastern Illinois 2 (21-25, 25-18, 25-16, 26-28, 15-11)
Tennessee Tech 3, Alcorn State 0 (25-5, 25-15, 25-12)
UT martin 3, @Alabama State 0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-22)
UAB 3,
Jacksonville State 0 (25-17, 25-19, 26-24)
Morehead State 3, @UNC Greensboro 2 (25-19, 25-17, 16-25, 19-25, 15-13)
@Penn State 3,
Eastern Illinois 0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-16)
CLEVELAND STATE 3, MURRAY STATE
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The Murray State Volleyball team was held to a season-low attack percentage of .046 on Saturday as the Racers fell, 3-0, to Cleveland State in their opening match of West Virginia’s Gold and Blue Classic in Morgantown.
Cleveland State (8-4) posted its second victory of the season over Murray State by tallying 44 total kills for an attack percentage of .238. Lengthy runs by the Vikings in each set proved to the Racers undoing in the match, as well as 23 total attack errors, the second-highest total season this season.
However, it was not all bad news for MSU (2-6), as freshman Taylor Olden (Lincoln, Ill.) led her team for the fourth time in as many matches with eight kills. Junior Katlyn Hudson (Columbus, Ind.) led the Racers defensively with 15 digs, while freshman Sam Bedard (Breese, Ill.) notched her second collegiate double-double with 19 assists and 10 digs.
For Cleveland State, senior Kara Koch (West Salem, Ohio) upped her average of 4.88 kills per set, the fifth highest in the nation, by finishing the match with 15.
After the match head coach David Schwepker, talked about the changes the team made heading in to today and how it affected the outcome.
The Racers will wrap-up play in the Gold and Blue Classic on Sunday when they take on host West Virginia at 1 p.m.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, ALCORN STATE 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Golden Eagle volleyball squad rebounded from Friday's matches and picked up their second win of the season. Tech soared to a 3-0 sweep of Alcorn State in their final match of the Bulldog Invitational Saturday afternoon.
Set scores for the Golden Eagles were 25-5, 25-15, 25-12.
The Golden Eagle offense hit at a .284 clip for the match. In the first set, Tech swung at .538, tallying 16 kills on 26 total attacks, only recording two errors as a team. Senior middle hitter Kelsey Gray turned in a 14 kill performance, and recorded only two errors averaging a .462 attack percentage. Ellen Conti put away eight balls on 16 attacks hitting at .312.
Tech's defense commanded the court, registering eight blocks, and turning up 45 digs. Courtney Smith sprawled for a match high 19 digs, turning in her second 19 dig performance of the Bulldog Invitational. Smith averaged 5.30 digs per set at the Invitational, well above her season average of 4.52 digs per set. Hancock just missed a double-double performance, with 28 assists and nine digs.
Blocking was again the name of Tech's game as the Golden Eagles out-blocked the opponent 8.0-2.0. Gray led the blocking effort assisting in five blocks and added a solo block. Freshman Cody Dodd assisted in four blocks, with Conti and Madison Keyes each assisting in two block-assists.
Tech was able to control the pace of the game from behind the service line acing the Braves 11 times. Madi Comperry dished out five aces, a match high, with Audrey Lewis and Hancock each adding two. Hancock spent the most time behind the line, rattling of 25 serves throughout the match, including a seven-point run to open the first set, giving Tech a 7-0 lead and then closing the third set with an 11 point stretch to end the match at 25-12.
The first set was dominated by Tech as the Golden Eagles forced Alcorn State to hit -.125. After Hancock's seven-point serving spree, a Tech error handed the Braves a point, but back-to-back kills from Dvorken sparked another five-point run spearheaded by Lewis from behind the service line. Tech only allowed four points before Comperry got the ball at 17-4. Comperry went on her own eight point stretch, highlighted by a service ace at 22-4. Tech finished the set 25-5.
In the second set, the Braves tried to match Tech's serving, opening the set with their own five-point serving spree, but the Golden Eagles quickly regained the lead, as Comperry provided two more service aces in the middle of the set. Several errors by the Braves sealed the second set 25-15.
In an effort to focus on closing out the match the Golden Eagles looked to Hancock to guide the Eagles to their second win of the season. Hancock quarterbacked an offense that hit .262 in the third set with a 50% sideout percentage as the Golden Eagles flew to a 25-12 victory.
Ohio Valley Conference action begins Sept. 21 when the Golden Eagles travel to Murray State. They travel to Austin Peay on Sept. 22 before finally returning home Sept. 25 to take on Jacksonville State.
BELMONT 3, UIC 1
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Belmont volleyball (4-9) defeated UIC (6-8) in four sets, 25-22, 25-21, 23-25, 25-11 Saturday afternoon in the Tiger Invitational.
UIC took control early, but the Bruins tied the set at six with a service ace from junior libero Jamie Lundstrom (La Grange, Ill.).
The opening set remained close, with Belmont and UIC each putting together short runs. The set witnessed seven ties.
Belmont led the set by as many as five points and allowed to the Flames to come within two, but held them off taking a 25-22 win.
In the second set, the Flames led early before Belmont went on a 4-0 run to take a 7-5 lead. UIC battled back to regain their lead, 14-10.
The Flames' lead was short lived as the Bruins scored eight unanswered points sparked by junior Jen Myer (New Braunfels, Texas). Sophomore Alex Martin (Ooltewah, Tenn.) sparked another Belmont run to give the squad a 22-16 lead before UIC pulled within three points.
An attack error from the Flames and a kill from Myer allowed the Bruins to win the set, 25-21 and take a 2-0 lead into the break.
The third set remained close early, until the Flames ran away with the set, putting together short runs to take a 20-15 lead.
Belmont went on a 4-0 run to tie the set at 22, but UIC took the win, 25-23.
In the fourth set, the Bruins took control with an 8-2 lead; the run was sparked by a Martin kill. The Flames silenced some of Belmont's runs but the Bruins continued to extend their lead, leading by as many as 11.
A kill from sophomore Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.) started a 4-0 run to close out the set, 25-11.
Myer tallied a season-high 18 kills while Gable added 11. Lundstrom paced the defense with 26 kills. Gable and Myer each recorded double-doubles each adding 17 digs. Junior setter Hannah Miranda (Covington, La.) dished out 39 assists.
Belmont will return to the Curb Event Center Tuesday evening against Western Kentucky for the annual Dig for the Cure game. The match is slated for 6 p.m.
UAB 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 0
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Jacksonville State volleyball team was swept by UAB (25-17, 25-19, 26-24) in Mackey Arena to close out the Purdue Active Ankle Challenge on Saturday.
The Gamecocks lost their third match of the tournament and fall to 6-8 on the season while the Blazers finish the tournament with a 1-2 record to improve to 5-8 on the season.
The Blazers jumped out control early in the first and second sets and pulled away for easy 25-17 and 25-19 victories. JSU look control of the third set and found themsevles leading 17-10 before UAB went on a 9-2 run to tie the set at 19-19. The two teams then swapped points until the Blazers were able to post consecutive points to clinch the set and the match at 26-24.
Emily Rutherford led the Gamecocks with 11 kills. Defensivley, Kelsey Anderson led the Gamecocks with 13 digs while Alina Agamy led the team with 14 assists. Jen Meyer finished wiht seven kills as well.
The Gamecocks will begin Ohio Valley Conference play next weekend as they travel to Clarksville, Tenn., to face Austin Peay at 7 p.m. on Friday and then Murray State in Murray, Ky. at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, UNC WILMINGTON 0; MOREHEAD STATE 3, UNC GREENSBORO 2
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Morehead State won two matches to take the Spartan Spiketacular title on Saturday. The Eagles defeated UNC Wilmington and host UNC Greensboro.
Freshman outside hitter Courtney Smith recorded a career-high 11 kills to help lead the Morehead State volleyball squad to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-20) sweep of UNC Wilmington Saturday morning.
The Eagles picked up their fifth straight win and improved to 7-6. The Seahawks fell to 6-7.
Smith stepped into the starting rotation and responded with her career high in kills on a .304 hitting percentage. She also added two blocks. Junior outside hitter Aryn Bohannon led the team with 12 kills, while senior middle blocker Annie Gruenschlaeger contributed nine kills and a team-best five blocks. The Eagles had 10 team blocks.
Senior setter Caitlin Clark posted a double-double with a match-best 34 assists and 14 digs. Sophomore Laura McDermott totaled four blocks.
Christi Laite led UNCW with seven kills. The Eagles forced the Seahawks into a -.010 attack efficiency while hitting .264 themselves.
Morehead State's volleyball team saw a 2-0 lead slip away against UNC Greensboro Saturday night, but the Eagles responded with a 15-13 fifth-set victory to defeat the host school 3-2 (25-19, 25-17, 16-25, 19-25, 15-13) and win the Spartan Spiketacular team title at Fleming Gym.
MSU won its sixth consecutive match and swept all three contests in a tournament-setting for the second straight weekend as the Eagles improved to 8-6. UNCG fell to 5-6.
The Eagle offense struggled through the first four sets, committing 34 attack errrors, but a 12-kill, zero-error (.545 hitting percentage) effort in the fifth paved the way for the win. Freshman outside hitter Courtney Smith led MSU in kills for the second straight match, nailing a career-best 17 winners. Junior outside hitter Aryn Bohannon landed 16 spikes and had 12 digs, and senior middle blocker Annie Gruenschlaeger tallied 15 kills, including the final point for her squad.
MSU's net defense chalked up 11 blocks, highlighted by sophomore Laura McDermott's six, freshman Hannah Sigala's five and Gruenschlaeger's four. Senior setter Caitlin Clark recorded her second straight double-double with 42 assists and 11 digs, and junior libero Leslie Schellhaas notched 18 digs.
Karrian Chambers blasted down 17 kills to lead UNCG, and Katherine Santiago picked up a match-high 23 digs. The hosts out-dug the Eagles, 74-66.
The Eagles only trailed once in the first two sets, 6-3 in the second. MSU never trailed in the opening set and used a 9-2 run in the second to pull back ahead and take a 12-8 lead it never relinquished. The Spartans broke a 2-2 tie in the third frame with a 6-2 run and eventually pushed out by as much as 11. In the fourth, MSU trailed early but pulled to within 17-14 following a McDermott kill. Another 6-2 Spartan scoring flurry gave the hosts an insurmountable seven-point lead.
The momentum shift in the fifth came with the set tied at seven. Kills by Bohannon and Smith, plus two UNCG errors, lited MSU to an 11-7 lead. The Spartans pulled to within one twice, including 14-13, but Gruenschlaeger slammed the door on the triumph with a kill.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, KENT STATE 0; SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, UC DAVIS 0
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Southeast Missouri volleyball team earned a pair of wins Saturday at the Butler Invitational in Indianapolis, Ind. The Redhawks picked up sweeps over Kent State and UC Davis.
Colleen Yarber and Taylor Masterson recorded career days for the Redhawks. Yarber recorded 19 kills in the win over UC Davis. Masterson added 12 kills and hit .550 against Kent State.
Southeast 3 UC Davis 0 - Box Score
The Southeast Missouri volleyball team swept UC Davis (25-22, 25-21, 27-25) Saturday afternoon at the Butler Invitational.
Yarber led Southeast with a career-high 19 kills. She also hit .349 in the match making only four errors in 43 attempts.
The Redhawks took the opening frame against the Aggies 25-22. Southeast used an 8-3 run in the middle of the frame to pull away from the UC Davis.
Southeast hit .217 in the frame and forced nine errors by UC Davis.
The Redhawks took the second set 25-21. The Redhawks were impressive hitting .378 in the frame with 15 kills and only one error.
The Aggies looked to take the third set, but the Redhawks battled back to take the frame 27-25.
Southeast recorded 21 kills in the third and final frame. Yarber clinched the victory with here 19th kill of the match, a new career-high.
Julie Shives added 42 assists and Berkley Idel added a team-high 19 digs.
Southeast 3 Kent State 0 - Box Score
Southeast Missouri redshirt freshman Taylor Masterson hit a career-high .550 in the Redhawks sweep (25-21, 25-21, 25-23) of Kent State on Saturday morning at the Butler invitational.
The Redhawks improved to 7-6 on the season as the Golden Flash fall to 3-8.
Masterson also tied a career-high with 12 kills. The Alabama transfer recorded 12 kills on Tuesday night against SIU.
Southeast took the opening frame 25-21. Southeast hit .229 in the frame as they held the Golden Flash to .206 hitting percentage with six errors.
The Redhawks used a five-point run to expand their lead to 21-15. Kent State made three of their six errors during the Southeast run.
Kent State outslugged the Redhawks .367 to .314 in the second frame, but the Redhawks' 17 kills were enough for Southeast to take the set 25-21.
The Redhawks used a four-point run to expand their lead to 16-9 in the middle of the frame. The Golden Flash made a three point run late to cut the Southeast lead to 24-21, but Brittney Kalinoski finished the frame with her fifth kill of the match.
Southeast once again struggled in their offensive attack in the third frame hitting a match-low .146. The Redhawks managed to recorded four service aces and three blocks as they took the frame 25-23.
Emily Coon had a strong match in the middle adding 10 kills to go along with her five blocks.
Julie Shives dished out 37 assists to go along with three kills. Kalinoski and Colleen Yarber each added a team-high 10 digs.
PORTLAND 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 2; PENN STATE 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Eastern Illinois dropped its final two matches of the Penn State Classic on Saturday. The Panthers fell to Portland and host Penn State.
EIU lost to Portland in five sets (21-25, 25-18, 25-16, 26-28, 15-11) to 3-8 on the season.
Sophomore middle Kelsey Roggemann had a career day behind a new personal high 16 kills and a .375 attack.
Freshman Abby Saalfrank had her own fine match as she nailed her second career triple-double behind 10 kills, 21 assists and 10 digs.
Senior Emily Franklin and junior Reynae Hutchinson chipped in 12 and 11 kills, respectively, while Hutchinson nabbed her 20th career duo-duo performance with the addition of 13 digs.
Sophomore Kelsey Brooke, who played as the starting libero the entire match, earned a career-high 16 digs behind her fine defensive play. Both Saalfrank and junior Stephanie Arnold each registered three blocks.
Portland was led by Autumn Wedan's 21 kill and 12 dig match, while Ariel Usher and Bea Loper added 16 and 11 kills, respectively.
Panthers trailed the Pilots (6-7) in kills (65-to-63), attack (.305-to-.229), blocks (eight-to-six), and points (77.0-to-75.0), but Eastern won the stat line for aces (six-to-four) and digs (63-to-60).
The match featured an amazing 27 ties and 13 lead changes, with the most coming in the tight fourth set 28-26 win by the Panthers to extend the match. The two squads met for only the second time, with the Pilot win the first in the series.
Eastern Illinois volleyball finished up action at the two-day Penn State Classic on Saturday night, falling to the host and fourth-ranked Nittany Lions in straight sets (25-14, 25-14, 25-16). EIU drops to 3-9 on the season.
Freshman right-side attacker and setter Abby Saalfrank led the EIU attack with eight kills and a .429 clip, she added nine assists.
Seniors Alison Berens and Emily Franklin each chipped in five kills.
Franklin also led the Panther defense with eight digs, while both Berens and sophomore Kelsey Roggemann, who earned her first career All-Tournament selection honor, added a pair of blocks, with both combining for a stuff and also earning solo roofs.
PSU was led by a trio of players with nine kills each, while Katie Slay led with zero errors and a .692 attack. Megan Courtney led the defense with 12 blocks, while Micha Hancock not only dished out 36 assists but led with three blocks.
Both EIU skipper Kate Price and assistant coach Ryan Sweitzer made their first appearance on the sidelines against their respecitve alma mater. Price earned an NCAA Championship at PSU back in 2007, while Ryan Sweitzer was a member of the Nittany Lion men's squad that won that also won the national title in 2008.
The #4-PSU team marks the highest ranked opponent that the Panthers have played since the 2001 EIU squad also battled the fourth-seeded Arizona Wildcats in the first round of the NCAA Regional. PSU is now 3-0 all-time versus the Panthers.
EIU will return home to prepare for Ohio Valley Conference and home openers against Southeast Missouri and UT Martin on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
UT MARTIN 3, ALABAMA STATE 0
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team boasted a season-high .278 attack percentage and generated 49 kills in three sets this afternoon in a 3-0 victory over Alabama State (25-19, 25-15, 25-22).
The victory was the second in as many days at the Alabama State Invitational, as the Skyhawks improve to 3-9 on the season.
Sophomore Jackie Harter registered a career-best 12 kills while hitting .500 in 18 attempts to lead UT Martin offensively. Emily Keaton collected a double-double (10 kills, 12 digs), while freshmen Dallas Zimmerman and Shelby Hoskins tallied nine and eight kills, respectively. Amanda Crask (35 assists) and Kasey Elswick (17 digs) also posted strong numbers today.
UT Martin accounted for at least 15 kills in all three sets this afternoon, beginning with a 16-kill, .333 performance in the first set. The Skyhawks scored four of the first six points before Alabama State closed its deficit to one at 5-4. UT Martin responded with four unanswered points and would eventually pad its lead out to six before Alabama State made the score 17-13. That would be as close as the Hornets would get the rest of the set, as a Zimmerman kill gave UT Martin an early 1-0 advantage.
Keaton and Hoskins each tallied four kills apiece in the first set, while Crask handed out 13 assists.
The Skyhawks fell behind 3-0 in the second set but quickly battled back, as the set featured six ties in the earlygoing. With the score knotted at 8-all, UT Martin scored four unanswered points – including a pair of Harter kills – to take a four-point lead. The Hornets would soon get within one point at 14-13, but the Skyhawks created some separation with a 6-0 run, capped off by a Crask kill that made the score 20-13. An attack error would end the set and give UT Martin its biggest lead of the set (10 points).
Harter dropped six kills in the second set alone, while Crask added 10 assists for a Skyhawk offense that hit .300 with 15 kills. Elswick scooped up eight digs in the set to help UT Martin limit Alabama State to a .000 attack percentage (seven kills, seven errors in 33 attempts).
UT Martin accounted for 18 kills in the third set, including a pair by Harter that gave the Skyhawks a 3-0 lead. Alabama State would tie the match at 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6 before UT Martin received back-to-back service aces by freshman Lucy Martin. A Keaton kill expanded the Skyhawk advantage to 11-7, but the Hornets quickly made the score 15-14 thanks to four unanswered points. UT Martin answered back with two straight kills by Keaton and after back-to-back Zimmerman kills moments later, the Skyhawks found themselves leading 20-17. Zimmerman put the finishing touches on UT Martin’s sweep with a kill to end the third set.
Zimmerman (five kills), Keaton (four), Hoskins (three), Taylor Simons (three) and Harter (three) all enjoyed outstanding individual performances in the third set, while Crask was responsible for a dozen assists.
UT Martin returns home on Tuesday, Sept. 18 to take on Alabama A&M in its final non-conference match on the 2012 home slate. First serve from Skyhawk Fieldhouse is set for 6 p.m.