FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Kentucky 3, Tennessee Tech 0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-19)
@Morehead State 3, Jacksonville State 0 (26-24, 25-17, 25-23)
@Belmont 3, Southeast Missouri 1 (25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 25-14)
@SIUE 3, Murray State 1 (25-20, 28-30, 25-20, 25-20)
@Eastern Illinois 3, Austin Peay 2 (23-25, 26-28, 25-22, 25-16, 15-11)
@Tennessee State 3, UT Martin 1 (25-23, 25-19, 22-25, 25-23)
EASTERN KENTUCKY 3, TENNESSEE TECH 0
RICHMOND, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky defeated Tennessee Tech 3-0 Friday at McBrayer Arena.
Eastern Kentucky won by scores of 25-16, 25-14 and 25-19.
With the score tied at three in the first set, Dena Ott posted two consecutive service aces to spark a 5-0 run for the Colonels, forcing a Tennessee Tech timeout. Tennessee Tech (5-12, 1-6 OVC) battled back and drew within three, 13-10, before Eastern Kentucky answered with a 12-6 run to take the first set 25-16.
Junior Alexis Plagens and sophomore Rachel Vick led the Colonels in the first set with four kills each, as the team finished the set with an attack percentage of .500.
The Golden Eagles took the first two points of the second set, before Eastern Kentucky exploded on a 13-2 run. Freshman Johanna Boyer got the Colonels on the board with her fourth kill of the match. Trailing 2-1, Plagens followed with a service ace to begin the 11 point swing in favor of the Colonels.
The Colonels (10-12, 3-4 OVC) posted seven service aces in the second set. Ott (3), Plagens (2), senior Marissa Tashenberg (1) and junior Abbey Cvelbar (1) had service aces in the set. Eastern Kentucky’s defense was stingy holding Tennessee Tech to a .130 attack percentage in the set.
Vick posted the Colonels’ first three points of the final set to give the Colonels an early 3-2 edge. Eastern Kentucky maintained the lead for much of the final set, before the Golden Eagles tied it at 15. Senior Ashley Edmond posted four kills late in the set to defeat the Golden Eagles, 25-19.
Edmond finished the match with a match-best 12 kills. Plagens and Boyer added eight kills of their own for the Colonels. Cvelbar tallied 34 assists and Ott contributed 12 digs in the win.
Junior Courtney Smith led Tennessee Tech with a match-best 13 digs. Junior Madison Keyes posted a team-high six kills and senior Ashleigh Hancock recorded 27 assists.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 0
MOREHEAD, Ky,. - The Morehead State volleyball team extended the nation's longest conference-winning streak in Division I to 29 matches with a 3-0 (26-24, 25-17, 25-23) victory over visiting Jacksonville State Friday at Wetherby Gym.
The Eagles improved to 16-6 overall and 7-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference with their sixth consecutive win over JSU (11-11, 4-3 OVC).
Junior right-side hitter Alex Fitzmorris led the Eagles with 13 kills, while senior outside hitter Aryn Bohannon chipped in 12.
Senior libero Leslie Schellhaas led three players in double-figure digs with 19. Junior setter Colbey Cameron notched her ninth double-double on the year, tallying 37 assists and 15 digs.
MSU held JSU to a .116 hitting percentage. The Eagles also commanded a 45-28 kill advantage over the Gamecocks.
In the first set, neither team held a lead of more than three, and it featured 13 ties. The Eagles notched the final two points to grab a 1-0 lead.
Morehead State opened the second set with a 5-1 spurt and never trailed. JSU cut the lead down to 18-15, but MSU ended the set with a 7-2 run.
The Gamecocks built a 17-12 lead in the third set, but it was erased with a 7-1 Morehead State run. JSU grabbed its final lead at 21-20, but MSU sealed the match outscoring the Gamecocks 5-2.
The Eagles had 15 kills in each set. They committed 15 errors in the first set and only nine in the last two.
BELMONT 3, SOUTEHAST MISSOURI 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - – Belmont volleyball (11-12, 4-3) defeated Southeast Missouri in four sets Friday night in the Curb Event Center.
In the opening set, Belmont struck first, but Southeast Missouri took the lead. The Bruins fought back to go on a 4-0 run and take a 14-8 lead over the Redhawks. Both teams exchanged points with the Bruins maintaining their lead.
A pair of kills from senior Jen Myer (New Braunfels, Tex.) and junior Alex Martin (Ooltewah, Tenn.) ended the set, 25-20.
The second set was a very competitive one as both teams battled back and forth throughout with the largest lead being by three.
With the set tied at 14-14, a kill from sophomore Jocelyn Youngdahl (Stillwater, Minn.) sparked a Belmont run that would result in a four-point lead, 18-14. Senior Allison McCoy (Huntington Beach, Calif.) recorded two kills in the run.
Southeast Missouri responded and came within two points, but a pair of kills from junior Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.) extended the Bruins' lead, 22-17. Belmont took the set point, but SEMO kept the set alive scoring two straight points. Behind a kill from Gable, the Bruins won the set, 25-20 to take a 2-0 advantage at the break.
Belmont took an early 5-2 lead in the third set, but the Redhawks came back to tie the set at 5-5.
Southeast Missouri had a 20-17 lead, but the Bruins fought back to tie the set at 20-20. An ace from Myer put Belmont ahead 21-20 and the Redhawks responded with two straight points to regain a 23-21 lead. A kill from Martin kept set four alive as SEMO recorded the set point, but the Redhawks won the set, 25-23.
The Bruins went on a 6-0 run to take an 8-2 lead in the fourth set. Southeast Missouri responded, but Belmont continued to extend their lead. The Bruins went on to end the set, 25-14.
Myer and Martin both registered season-high kills at 17 and 16, respectively. Myer paced the defense with a career-high 40 digs, which ties the Curb Event Center record for digs in a single match. Youngdahl also recorded a season-high 20 digs.
Kelsey Keeve led the Redhawks with a .385 hitting clip, five kills, three digs, and a block at the break. Taylor Masterson added three blocks of her own in the first two sets.
SIUE 3, MURRAY STATE 1
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE volleyball posted season highs in kills (70) and hitting percentage (.287) in a four-set victory over Murray State Friday night at the Vadalabene Center.
The Cougars improved to 8-12 overall and 4-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 25-20, 28-30, 25-20, 25-20 triumph over the visiting Murray State Racers. Murray State dropped to 12-9 overall and 2-5 in OVC play.
SIUE's 70 kills was the most by a Cougar team since 2011 when Jacksonville State allowed 74 against the Cougars.
Held, a freshman, set a career high with 11 kills and a .250 hitting percentage.
Cori Harris turned in another career-best effort with a team-leading 22 kills. She also was efficient with a .298 hitting percentage.
Kelsey Augustine joined Harris and Held in double figures with 11 kills.
SIUE finished with 10 blocks. Kristen Torre matched her career high with eight for the Cougars.
Mallory Mangun controlled the net in more ways than one. The Cougar freshman setter posted a personal best with eight kills with no errors. She added 53 assists, one shy of her season best.
SIUE got off to a strong start in the opening set with 17 kills and holding Murray State to just seven.
Despite as much as a five-point lead in the second set, Murray State rallied to tie up the set. The trio of Alyssa Lelm, Taylor Olden, Scottie Ingram paced the Racers as all three finished the match with 12 kills.
SIUE left little doubt after the second set by winning the first six points off the serve of Kasey Schumacher and rallying to an 8-1 lead in set three. Murray State cut the lead to 20-19 late, but Harris recorded three kills in SIUE's final three points of the set.
The fourth set was tied just once at 11-11, and then the Cougars methodically closed out the match. SIUE had 18 kills with three errors for a .417 hitting percentage in the set. Taylor Held ended the match with a kill on match point.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, AUSTIN PEAY 2
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Down two-sets to none, Eastern Illinois volleyball delivered consecutive set wins to earn a 3-2 come-from-behind home victory over fellow Ohio Valley Conference West Division rival Austin Peay (23-25, 26-28, 25-22, 25-16, 15-11) on Friday (Oct. 18) evening at Lantz Arena.
The key Homecoming weekend victory improves the Panthers to 10-10 overall and 4-3 in league action.
A trio of Panthers paced EIU with double-digit kills as senior Reynae Hutchinson led all players on the court with a 22 kill, 11 dig double-double, which improves her career duo-duo tally to 35 all-time.
Sophomore Chelsea Lee and newcomer Lexi Brown added 14 and 10 kills, respectively, as the Panthers out-hit the visiting Lady Govs (8-15/5-2) .217-to-.172 in the match.
Sophomore setter Marah Bradbury nabbed her own double-double behind 52 assists and a team-high 15 digs. She now has 14 duo-duo performances under her belt in her Panther career as she also finished with seven kills and four blocks.
Senior Stephanie Arnold added six put-downs via the middle attack, while her counterpart, senior Amy Martin, had a nice night, coming off the bench to secure six kills off a team-high .455 attack. Junior Dakota Springer led Eastern behind the service line with a pair of aces.
Arnold led the net defense with seven blocks as both squads roofed 13 attacks. Lee followed with five blocks of her own, including the lone solo stuff.
Meeting for the 35th time, the win helped the Panthers hold onto a 18-17 all-time series lead between the two league rivals. The match featured 33 ties and 17 lead changes.
Besides leading APSU in attack, EIU also earned the team stat advantage over the visiting Lady Govs in kills (69-to-62), assists (66-to-61), digs (75-to-71), and total points (85.0-to-78.0). Both squads also had three aces.
The Lady Govs were led by Liz Landon’s 17 kill performance, while Lauren Henderson and Sammie Ebright both chipped in 13 kills. Jada Stotts earned her own 10 kill, 17 dig duo-duo, with Henderson leading the net defense with seven stuffs.
APSU earned two consecutive close wins in sets one and two as the visitors used late-match runs to win 25-23 and 28-26, respectively. In the second set, EIU actually had multiple set-point opportunities, but could not earn the two-point win as APSU out-hit EIU in both frames.
Set three went EIU’s way thanks to 25-22 win, but not before the Lady Govs put some pressure on the Panthers, but a late 5-2 EIU run would help Eastern extend the match.
Set four was all Panthers as EIU enjoyed an early 8-3 lead, but consecutive points by APSU would force a Panther timeout up just 14-10. But the home squad would enjoy a 11-6 scoring run to take the set, 25-16, and even the match at 2-all.
The fifth set started tight as both squads used multi-point runs to eventually tie at 7-all. A Bradury kill and consecutive APSU miscues would eventually give EIU a three-point cushion up 12-9, forcing a Lady Gov timeout. With the Homecoming crowd on their feet, the Panthers would eventually earn their first five-set win of the season (1-4 on the year) thanks to a slide kill by Martin
TENNESSEE STATE 3, UT MARTIN 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - After an emotional five set win over Memphis earlier in the week, the Tigers carried the momentum in to their OVC weekend, flying past UT Martin, 3-1, on Friday.
Naomi Wells continued to show her hot hand as the reigning OVC Offensive performer of the week racked up 16 kills on the night combined with six digs. Wells was joined by freshman Arjiana Anderson posting 14 kills with a game high .414 hitting percentage.
Senior setter Erika Moss posted 41 assists against UT Martin and now sits just 41 assists away from 4,000 in her career. The Fort Wayne, Ind. native already holds the career record for the Tigers.
Moss paired her assists with a game high 17 digs for a double-double performance. Junior libero Ileanushka Maldonado posted 15 digs to round out the Tigers defensive effort.
On the block TSU had four rejections, including two apiece from juniors Taylor Swayzer and Sherryce Butler
The night began with UT Martin connecting on the first two points to grab the early lead. Tennessee State and the Skyhawks would trade points but the visitors maintained the slim lead. TSU took the lead at 7-6 after an ace from junior Jamie Cooper, but the Skyhawks charged back and regained the lead.
With UT Martin on top 14-12 junior Naomi Wells took matters in to her own hands leading the Tigers on a 6-0 run with Wells picking up three kills and an ace. The span gave TSU an 18-14 lead, but the Skyhawks rallied back with a 5-0 run to take the 19-18 lead.
In the closing moments of the first frame both teams rallied for long points, with the set tied at 20-20 the Tigers used the longest rally of the set to gain a 21-20 lead after an Erika Moss block. TSU would go on to close the opening frame, 25-23.
Tennessee State started off the second frame with a bang as they raced out to a 9-3 lead. The Skyhawks cut in to the Tigers lead trimming it to 9-5, but the home team used a 5-2 run to extend their lead to seven, at 14-7. Three straight points from UT Martin brought the Tigers lead back to four, at 14-10.
The lead swelled back up to eight, 20-12, with a kill from Naomi Wells. UT Martin didn’t go down without a fight as start performer Emily Keaton took to the service line rallying the Skyhawks to five straight points to cut the Tigers lead to just three, 20-17. Tennessee State proved to be too much late winning the second set 25-19, and hold the 2-0 set advantage.
Each team traded runs to start the third. With TSU holding a slim 10-9 lead, UT Martin used a 5-1 run and grabbed the 14-10 advantage. The Tigers would get as close as one on two different occasions but the Skyhawks held off TSU to win the third set 25-22, with the Tigers holding the 2-1 set advantage.
A 10-0 run to start the fourth set gave the Tigers a 10-1 advantage, the stretch was capped by an attack error by UT Martin. A 4-0 Skyhawks span trimmed the TSU lead down to 16-9, but the Tigers answered back, exchanging points with UT Martin to maintain the large lead.
Martin used a 4-0 run to trim the Tigers lead to just three, 21-18. A Taylor Swayzer kill ended the run with a kill to make the score 22-18, and leave the Tigers just three points away from taking the match.
The Skyhawks rallied to close within one, 24-23, but the Tigers finished out the match with a Zoe Sostre kill giving them the set, 25-23. With TSU picking up the win 3-1.