SATURDAY’S SCORES
Belmont 3, @Eastern Kentucky 0 (30-28, 25-23, 26-24)
UT Martin 3, @Eastern Illinois 1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-21)
Jacksonville State 3, @Murray State 0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-14)
Southeast Missouri 3, @SIUE 1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-19, 25-21)
@Austin Peay 3, Tennessee Tech 1 (25-19, 25-27, 25-18, 25-17)
BELMONT 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0
RICHMOND, Ky. - None of the three sets were decided by more than two points, but Belmont came out on top in all three and beat Eastern Kentucky 3-0 on Saturday at McBrayer Arena.
The Bruins won by scores of 30-28, 25-23 and 26-24.
In the first set, the Colonels (3-9, 0-2 OVC) had a 24-23 lead and appeared to have put the set away on a kill by Ashley Edmond, but the shot was ruled an error and Belmont tied the set. The teams battled back and forth until a kill by Jocelyn Youngdahl and an Eastern attack error ended the set in favor of the visitors.
In an effort to stay alive, a kill by EKU’s Rachel Vick gave the Colonels a 24-23 lead in the third set, but Belmont scored three straight to take the set and the match.
Edmond finished with a match-best 15 kills to go along with 11 digs and a block. Alexis Plagens added 10 kills. Dena Ott led all players with 23 digs.
Scarlet Gable led Belmont (5-11, 1-1 OVC) with 13 kills. Alex Martin added 11 for the winning team.
UT MARTIN 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - -Eastern Illinois volleyball dropped their second consecutive four-set match to open Ohio Valley Conference action this weekend, as visiting UT Martin out-lasted the Panthers (20-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-21) on Saturday afternoon.
With the loss, EIU falls to 3-11 overall and 0-2 in OVC play.
Freshman Abby Saalfrank nabbed her fourth career triple-double as the right-side attacker/setter tallied 16 kills, 16 assists and 10 digs, as well as adding an ace to pace all players with 17.0 points.
Junior outside hitter Reynae Hutchinson chipped in 13 kills behind a team-best .303 attack clip, while also adding two blocks.
Senior Alison Berens finished with nine kills in the middle attack, while leading the net defense with three blocks and tying sophomore Kelsey Brooke with two aces.
Freshman setter Marah Bradbury dished out a game-high 34 assists as EIU actually out-hit the Skyhawks (5-10/1-1), .177 to .170.
In other defensive numbers, sophomore libero Kelsey Brooke paced the EIU back row with 22 digs with senior Emily Franklin upping a career-high 20 UTM attacks as well.
Just like last evening versus SEMO, the Panthers actually led UTM in a variety of other stat categories, just didn't earn the victory.
Besides leading in the attack, EIU also topped the Skyhawks in total kills (57-to-45), assists (51-to-41), digs (83-to-73), and points (67.0-to-66.0). UTM did out-pace Eastern in aces (10-to-six) and dominated the net defense for a 11.0-to-four advantage in the blocking game.
UTM was led by Lynsey Hazelwood's 12 kill and 10 dig double-double, while Emily Keatan added 11 kills and Kasey Elswick nabbed 27 digs to lead all players on the court. Shelby Hoskins was a force at the net with eight stuffs.
Playing for the 35th time during the Division I era, EIU still maintains a 21-14 all-time series advantage.
EIU came out with energy in the first set and after an early tie took control for the 25-20 win as EIU out-hit the visitors, .256-to-.056.
The Panthers enjoyed a 21-13 lead in the second frame, but UTM countered with a 12-1 run to burn the Panthers for the 25-22 victory and knot the match at one set apiece. That set featured 12 ties and three lead changes.
The third set had seven ties and three changes of lead as UTM held on for the 25-20 win, then enjoyed an early fourth set lead en route to the 25-21 victory, although the Panthers did counter with a couple of multi-point runs, but could never overtake the Skyhawks.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, MURRAY STATE 0
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State volleyball team dropped a three-set OVC match to Jacksonville State, 25-20, 25-18, 25-14, on Saturday afternoon at Racer Arena.
The Racers (3-8, 1-1 OVC) matched the Gamecocks (8-8, 2-0 OVC) point for point in the early part of the first set. However, a 6-1 run in the middle portion of the set was just the push Jacksonville State needed to take the opening frame, 25-20.
In the second and third sets, the Gamecocks used extended runs and big leads to take away any momentum by Murray State. With the second set knotted at 10, Jacksonville State won the next eight points en route to a 25-18 victory. In the third set, the Racers struggled to get any offense going and allowed the Gamecocks to end the game on a 15-6 run, securing secure the match sweep in the process.
Sophomore Beth Mahurin (Rockville, Ind.) posted a season-high nine kills to lead the MSU offense, while senior Lia Havili (Haltom City, Texas) also made a significant contribution with 25 assists. Defensively, junior Katlyn Hudson (Columbus, Ind.) had 10 digs, while freshman Alyssa Lelm (Mackinaw, Ill.) had two blocks.
For Jacksonville State, senior Jen Meyer (Maineville, Ohio) had match-highs of 12 kills and six blocks, while senior Kelsey Anderson (Louisville, Ky.) had 12 digs, also a match-high.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Seniors Ellie Roberson and Annie Gruenschlaeger combined for 24 kills and just two attack errors as the Morehead State volleyball team hit .384 Saturday afternoon en route to a 3-0 (25-11, 25-21, 25-22) sweep of visiting Tennessee State at Wetherby Gym.
The Eagles won their eighth straight match to improve to 10-6 overall and 2-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference. MSU has now won 38 of its last 40 league contests in the last three seasons, and the Eagles have defeated TSU nine consecutive times. TSU dropped to 6-8 overall and 1-1 in the league.
Roberson smashed 14 kills and did not make an error, hitting a career-best .737. She also added three blocks. Gruenschlaeger tallied 10 winners on 16 swings with only two miscues for a .500 attack efficiency. She notched three block assists and is now just seven shy of the MSU career mark of 369.
The Eagles also got nine kills via a .467 hitting afternoon, plus three blocks, from sophomore middle blocker Laura McDermott. Senior setter Caitlin Clark recorded 37 assists as the Eagles smacked down 45 kills and committed only 12 errors.
Tennessee State's Sherryce Butler and Lindsay Hornsby picked up nine kills apiece to lead the Tigers. TSU had 34 kills but was errant on 20 swings for a .159 attack percentage.
MSU landed 14 kills with only one error in racing past the visitors 25-11 in the opening set. The Tigers committed errors on five of their first six attempts, and the Eagles opened the match on an 8-1 scoring flurry.
The Eagles trailed 8-7 in the second following a TSU service ace, but junior outside hitter Aryn Bohannon's kill ignited a 6-1 run and MSU never trailed again.
The Tigers scurried to a 5-1 lead in the third frame and led for a majority of the set. The Eagles tied it four times before two straight blocks by Gruenschlaeger, along with freshmen Courtney Smith and Hannah Sigala, pushed MSU ahead 22-21. MSU got kills from Gruenschlaeger and Sigala, and a final TSU attack error, to score the deciding three points.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, SIUE 1
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Southeast Missouri's Colleen Yarber led all players with 22 kills Saturday as the Redhawks defeated SIUE 25-22, 22-25, 25-19, 25-21.
SIUE Head Coach Leah Johnson was upbeat after the match.
The Cougars dropped to 5-8 overall and 1-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Southeast Missouri left with a 10-6 record and a 2-0 mark in OVC play.
Brianne Graunke led the SIUE offense with 12 kills and a team-leading .375 hitting percentage.
Emma Anderson added 11 kills as the Cougars finished with 52 kills overall.
SEMO led off the match with 18 kills in the first set led by the hot hand of Yarber. Brittney Kalinoski and Kelsey Keeve added 10 kills for the Redhawks.
The Cougars fought back in the second set. SIUE won the first three points of the set and SEMO made it a back-and-forth set with seven ties and four lead changes. Tied 22-22 in the set, SIUE would win the final three points to even the match at one set apiece.
Johnson said the slate was clean as the two teams returned to the court tied going into the third set.
SIUE hit .217 for the match and picked up eight blocks, including four from Kelsey Augustine. SEMO hit .247 as a team and had four players in double-digit digs. Taylor Masterson finished with nine blocks for the Redhawks, including one on match point.
AUSTIN PEAY 3, TENNESSEE TECH 1
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team returned to its regular home and opened it with a victory, downing Tennessee Tech in four sets (25-19, 25-27, 25-18, 25-17) in an Ohio Valley Conference contest at the Dunn Center.
Austin Peay (7-10, 1-1 OVC West) had little trouble with Tennessee Tech when its offense was running well, easily scoring victories in the first, third and fourth sets. The Lady Govs opened the match with an impressive 20-kill performance in the first frame. They added 13 and 14-kill efforts in the third and fourth sets while hitting .281 and .273 respectively each time.
Tennessee Tech (2-12, 0-2 OVC East) put forth a steely defensive effort in the second set, recording five of its 12 blocks in the set. The Golden Eagles defense caused the Lady Govs to record 11 of its 27 attack errors in the match in the second set. Still, it took a 7-2 set-ending run by Tennessee Tech to take a 27-25 win.
Sophomore Jada Stotts led Austin Peay with 18 kills, but also was charged with 13 attack errors and was held to a .104 attack percentage. She was picked up by senior Nikki Doyle and sophomore Liz Landon who had 13 kills each. Senior Alex Sain also was impressive with 10 kills and 13 digs.
Natalie Penrod led Tennessee Tech with 14 kills. Kelsey Gray added nine kills and finished with a .500 attack percentage.