SATURDAY’S SCORES
@Eastern Kentucky 3, Austin Peay 0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-19)
@Belmont 3, SIUE 0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-15)
@Morehead State 3, Murray State (25-17, 29-27, 25-9)
UT Martin 3, @Tennessee Tech 2 (25-14, 19-25, 28-26, 20-25, 15-8)
Southeast Missouri 3, @Jacksonville State 0 (25-19, 30-28, 25-13)
EASTERN KENTUCKY 3, AUSTIN PEAY 0
RICHMOND, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky used a balanced attack to snap a four-match losing streak and picked up its first OVC victory of the season by beating Austin Peay, 3-0, on Saturday at McBrayer Arena.
The Colonels (4-10, 1-3 OVC) never trailed in the entire match and won by scores of 25-22, 25-23 and 25-19.
Five players recorded six or more kills for Eastern, two players had 10 or more digs and two players had 10 or more assists. Junior Ashley Edmond had 10 kills and 11 digs. Sophomore Alexis Plagens finished with nine kills. Rachel Vick had six kills and a game-high three blocks. Marissa Tashenberg had six kills and a .417 attack percentage. Freshman Mallori Moffat contributed 22 assists.
Austin Peay (8-11, 2-2 OVC) was led by Nikki Doyle with 14 kills. Cami Fields had a match-best 33 assists to go along with 10 digs.
As a team, EKU posted a .260 attack percentage, compared to .140 for the Lady Govs.
With Eastern Kentucky in front 23-21 in the first set, Tashenberg gave the home team set-point with a kill. Moments later a kill by Plagens finished off the set and put the Colonels on top 1-0.
After braking a 1-1 tie, Eastern would hold the lead until late in the second set. Back-to-back EKU errors allowed Austin Peay to tie the score at 22-22. After a kill by Hillary Plybon kept the set tied 23-23, Eastern Kentucky scored the next two points for a 2-0 lead. A Lady Gov attack error made it 24-23 before Vick followed with a kill.
The Colonels scored five of the first six points in the third set and led 8-2 after a kill by Plagens. EKU led by as many as eight twice before APSU made a late run. Consecutive service aces by Doyle brought the visitors to within three, 22-19. Edmond put an end to the rally with a kill and then back-to-back Lady Gov errors ended the set and the match.
BELMONT 3, SIUE 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont volleyball (5-12, 2-2) swept SIUE (6-9, 2-2), 25-17, 25-14, 25-15 on Saturday afternoon for their first OVC win in the Curb Event Center.
Belmont jumped out to a 5-2 lead over SIUE in the opening set, before the Cougars brought the score within one, 5-4. The Bruins continued to put together short runs and a kill from junior Jen Myer (New Braunfels, Texas) gave Belmont a six-point lead. SIUE responded with a kill, but sophomore Alex Martin (Ooltewah, Tenn.) allowed the Bruins to maintain their six-point lead.
Belmont took a 21-15 lead behind another kill from Myer. The Bruins scored two unanswered points and took a seven-point lead after an SIUE service error, 24-17, and Belmont closed out the first set, 25-17.
In the opening set, the Bruins held SIUE to a .061 hitting percentage.
Belmont took an early 2-0 lead before putting together a few short runs to take an 8-4 lead over the Cougars. Myer sparked a 4-0 run that led to the Bruins extending their lead to eight.
Sophomore Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.) sparked a run that led to four unanswered points and allowed the Bruins to take an eleven-point lead, 22-11.
A kill from feshman Jocelyn Youngdahl (Stillwater, Minn.) put Belmont within one of a set point, but SIUE went on a 2-0 run before Martin closed out the set with a kill and gave the Bruins a 2-0 lead at the half.
As a team, Belmont recorded five blocks in two sets.
After the break, SIUE got on the board first, but Belmont responded with three unanswered points. A kill from Myer sparked another run, giving the Bruins an eight-point lead, 15-5.
Belmont extended their lead to 12-points behind kills from Myer and junior setter Hannah Miranda (Covington, La.).
Youngdahl gave Belmont a 24-12 lead before the Cougars scored two points before Martin closed out the set, 25-15.
Martin led the Bruins with a .733 hitting percentage and 11 kills. Myer recorded 13 kills.
Junior libero Jamie Lundstrom (La Grange, Ill.), Miranda and Gable all tallied 12 digs. Miranda dished out 38 assists.
Kelsey Augustine led SIUE with 10 kills, a .304 hitting percentage and two blocks. Brianne Graunke added six kills as the Cougars hit .078 for the match.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, MURRAY STATE 0
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Junior outside hitter Aryn Bohannon totaled 11 kills and 11 digs, sophomore middle blocker Laura McDermott hit a team-best .381, and senior setter Caitlin Clark registered a career-best six aces to lead the Morehead State volleyball team to its 10th straight victory, 3-1 (25-27, 29-27, 25-9), over Murray State Saturday at Wetherby Gym.
After pulling away for the eight-point win in set one, the Eagles (12-6/4-0 Ohio Valley Conference) erased a 10-point deficit to rally and win the second set. Murray State (3-10/1-3 OVC) committed 13 attack errors in the final set.
The Eagles won their 40th OVC match in the last 42 tries since 2010 and picked up their eighth consecutive triumph over the Racers.
Bohannon led the team in kills and digs and also added four blocks. McDermott, who hit .400 Wednesday at Eastern Kentucky, landed nine kills with just one mistake, while collecting two blocks. Senior middle blocker Annie Gruenschlaeger turned back a team-high six blocks.
Clark landed five of her team-high six aces in the second set. She also had 33 assists, seven digs and two blocks. Junior libero Leslie Schellhaas tallied 10 digs as the Eagles had a slight advantage in ups, 43-41.
The Racers sprinted to a 20-10 lead in the second frame, but three Clark aces - plus four McDermott kills - were part of a 13-2 flurry that eventually culminated with a 23-22 Eagle lead. Morehead State had four opportunities to put the set to rest, but Murray State thwarted each with successful winners. A Racer attack error eventually handed the lead to the hosts, 28-27, and Clark served up another ace to win.
The Eagles used the second set momentum to cruise to the third set victory. The hosts trailed early 2-1 but the Racers only scored seven more with just two kills and five Eagle errors.
The opening set saw the Eagles open up a 7-2 lead early and a 15-7 advantage in the middle. But the Racers cut it to 19-16 following an Eagle error. Morehead State outscored the visitors 6-1 down the stretch. Bohannon had two kills and a block in the scoring run.
Taylor Olden topped the Racer offense with 11 kills. Alyssa Lelm had five blocks to lead the defense, which totaled eight blocks in the first two sets.
UT MARTIN 3, TENNESSEE TECH 2
COOKEVILLE, TENN. - The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team used several outstanding individual performances this afternoon to capture a 3-2 victory over Ohio Valley Conference foe Tennessee Tech (25-14, 19-25, 28-26, 20-25, 15-8) at Hooper-Eblen Center.
The Skyhawks (6-11, 2-2 OVC) set season-high totals in kills (67), attempts (217), assists (61) and digs (114) today.
Senior libero Kasey Elswick racked up 41 digs today – the second-most in a single match in school history. She wound up five digs shy of tying her own school record set last season against Eastern Kentucky.
Freshman Dallas Zimmerman hit .306 and tallied a career-best 15 kills today to lead a balanced UT Martin offensive attack. A trio of Skyhawks piled up double-doubles, led by a near triple-double by Amanda Crask (career-highs of 46 assists, 12 digs and nine kills). Lynsey Hazelwood (14 kills, 11 digs) and Emily Keaton (10 kills, season-best 16 digs) also recorded double-doubles for the Skyhawks, while Shelby Hoskins accumulated 12 kills.
The fifth UT Martin player to register double-figure dig totals was freshman Chelsea Bowles, who scooped up 18 digs. Hoskins and Jackie Harter each turned away two blocks to lead the Skyhawks at the net.
UT Martin hit .342 (16 kills against three errors in 18 attempts) and sided out at 80 percent (12-of-15) in the first set. After six ties and two lead changes midway through the set, the Skyhawks scored five straight points to go ahead 17-12. The Golden Eagles would get within four at 18-14 before UT Martin closed out the set on a 7-0 run, including a pair of kills by Harter.
Zimmerman piled up five kills against no errors in seven attempts in the first set. Crask accounted for 11 assists while Elswick amassed eight digs to help the Skyhawks jump out to a one-set lead.
Tennessee Tech led 4-2 in the second set until back-to-back kills by Zimmerman and Crask evened the score. The Golden Eagles used a four point run and led 14-10 before UT Martin fought back and got within one point on three different occasions (14-13, 15-14, 16-15). The Skyhawks trailed 21-19 late in the set but Tennessee Tech responded with four unanswered points to even the match at 1-1.
The trio of Hazelwood, Keaton and Zimmerman each had three kills to lead the offense in the second set, while Keaton and Elswick tallied six digs each.
UT Martin accounted for four of the first five points in the third set, but Tennessee Tech used a 5-0 run moments later to take a 9-6 lead. After the Skyhawks closed the gap to one point at 11-10, the Golden Eagles went back on top by a 15-10 margin. UT Martin kept chipping away, tying the match at 17-all thanks to a Hoskins kill. The score would be tied eight more times from that point on, as the Skyhawks fought off match point by Tennessee Tech to end the set on a 5-2 run.
Keaton (five kills), Crask (15 assists) and Elswick (eight digs) led UT Martin in the third set, as the Skyhawks accumulated 18 kills.
Just as they had done a set before, the Skyhawks led 4-1 in the fourth set, eventually opening up a 10-5 advantage off back-to-back service aces by Hazelwood. A Crask kill made the score 12-8 but the Golden Eagles pieced together a 4-0 run to tie the set at 14-all. Consecutive kills by Hoskins and Crask pushed UT Martin back on top 16-14, but Tennessee Tech followed with an 8-0 run on its way to the fourth set victory.
Elswick turned in another impressive performance in the fourth set with eight digs, while Crask’s three kills paced the Skyhawks.
In the decisive fifth set, UT Martin’s freshmen accounted for five early kills to help the Skyhawks take an 8-1 advantage. Tennessee Tech got within three points at 9-6 but UT Martin never conceded the lead, ending the set with back-to-back kills by Zimmerman as well as an assisted block by Harter and Zimmerman.
Elswick scooped up a total of 11 digs in the abbreviated fifth set, while Bowles chipped in with seven digs for the Skyhawks. Hazelwood’s four kills paved the way for the UT Martin offense.
The Golden Eagles recorded 12 team blocks, five of them solo. Madison Keyes lead the team with six blocks, two solo and four block assists. Kelsey Gray, who currently leads the OVC with 1.30 blocks per set, logged one solo block and three block assists while Dvorken, and Dodd had a hand in one block with one solo block respectively.
Courtney Smith continued her trend of breaking career highs, sprawling for 31 digs and a .960 serve reception percentage. Three other Golden Eagles contributed double digit digs, Outside hitters Natalie Penrod and Audrey Lewis recorded 17 and 12 digs, while setter Ashleigh Hancock chipped in with 11 digs.
Penrod led Tech with 14 kills with Lewis and Gray each adding 10.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 0
JACKSONVILE, Ala. - he Jacksonville State volleyball team dropped its home opener to Southeast Missouri Friday night by a score of 3-0 (25-19, 30-28, 25-13) to give the Gamecocks their first conference loss of the season.
The Gamecocks (9-9, 3-1) had won 13-straight home openers at Pete Mathews Coliseum prior to Friday night's loss. The Redhawks hit .263 for the match to improve to 4-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play and 12-6 overall.
SEMO fell behind early in the first set but used a persistent attack to climb back into the match. Brittney Kalinoski's four kills led the Redhawks to the 25-19 first-set victory.
The Gamecocks found themselves ahead 21-15 in the second set thanks to Hivya Leite's seven kills in the set. The Redhawks used a 6-0 run to tie the match and eventually pulled away for the 30-28 win. SEMO then dominated the third and final set to complete the sweep with the 25-13 victory.
Leite led the Gamecocks with 11 kills on the night. Nicole Merget and Jen Meyer added nine kills apiece while Emily Rutherford recorded eight kills. Alina Agamy recorded a double-double with 38 assists and 11 digs. Kelsey Anderson led the Gamecocks with 20 digs while Kelly Cole added 11 digs.
Emily Coon hit .393 for the Redhawks to go with 13 kills. Kalinoski added 11 kills. Julie Shives recorded a double-double with 37 assists and 14 digs.