FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Belmont 3, Tennessee Tech 1 (25-13, 25-20, 24-26, 25-20)
SIUE 3, @Austin Peay 0 (25-22, 29-27, 25-13)
Eastern Kentucky 3, @UT Martin 1 (16-25, 25-14, 15-17, 25-20)
Morehead State 3, @Southeast Missouri 2 (25-19, 25-17, 22-25, 15-25, 15-6)
@Tennessee State 3, Jacksonville State 0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-22)
Eastern Illinois 3, @Murray State 0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-15)
BELMONT 3, TENNESSEE TECH 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont volleyball (13-12, 6-3) defeated Tennessee Tech in four sets on Friday in the Curb Event Center for the teams fifth straight win.
Belmont struck first in the opening set with a kill from senior Allison McCoy (Huntington Beach, Calif.). The Bruins went on a 6-0 run to take a 13-5 lead before Tennessee Tech silenced their run. Belmont continued to extend its lead, winning the first set 25-13, following a 3-1 run.
The Bruins opened set two with a 3-0 lead before the Golden Eagles responded. Behind a kill from junior Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.), Belmont put together a 6-1 run to take an 11-3 lead. Tennessee Tech went on a 5-0 run to come within two, 17-15, before a kill from senior Jen Myer (New Braunfels, Tex.) silenced them. The Golden Eagles continued to fight, keeping the set close, but Belmont ended the set, 25-20, behind a kill from sophomore Jocelyn Youngdahl (Stillwater, Minn.) as the Bruins took a 2-0 lead at the break.
Belmont hit .258 in the first two sets, holding TTU to a .071.
After the break, Belmont jumped out a 5-1 lead. Tennessee Tech battled and tied the set at 7-7, before taking their first lead of the match, 8-7. Both teams exchanged points back and forth with the Golden Eagles holding onto the lead.
Tennessee Tech went on a 4-0 run to take a 16-11 lead. A TTU attack error sparked a short run for the Bruins to close the gap.
A kill from Youngdahl sparked a run for the Bruins to continue to cut the lead. TTU reached a set point, but Belmont fought to keep the set alive. A kill from Myer tied the set at 24-24, but a Belmont attack error let TTU regain the lead and take the set, 26-24.
In set four, Tennessee Tech jumped out a 9-6 lead before Belmont began to chip away at their lead. A TTU attack error allowed Belmont to tie the set at 14-14 and a kill from Youngdahl gave the Bruins a 15-14 lead.
Both teams exchanged points before the Bruins closed out match on a block from Myer and a service ace from sophomore Marissa Hine (Noblesville, Ind.), 25-20.
Youngdahl led the team with 12 kills, while Gable added 11.
SIUE 3, AUSTIN PEAY 0
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team could not hold onto leads in the first two sets and dropped a three-set Ohio Valley Conference decision (22-25, 27-29, 13-25) to SIU Edwardsville, Friday night, at the Dunn Center.
Austin Peay (9-16, 6-3 OVC) got to 21 points first in both the opening two sets. However, they could not hold a 21-17 lead in the first frame or a 21-18 lead in the second set.
SIUE (9-13, 5-4 OVC) wiped out the Lady Govs 21-17 advantage in the opening set with a 6-0 run to gain set point, 24-21. The Lady Govs would fend off the first set-point chance, but could not deny the Cougars a second time and fell 25-22.
The Lady Govs 21-18 second set lead was erased by a 6-1 Cougars run to again setup set point at 24-22. This time Austin Peay leveled the set with kills by junior Jada Stotts and freshman Sammie Ebright. However, they could not gain their own set point. Instead, SIUE would get to set point four more times with Austin Peay able to level each time until the Cougars block ended the set in a 29-27 victory.
Following the break, SIUE took control of the third set quickly. The Cougars used a 4-0 run to build a 5-2 advantage. However, it was a 13-0 run with Cori Harris on serve that sealed the set. The Lady Govs were their own worst enemy during the run, committing four attack errors and surrendering three service aces. Austin Peay would piece together a 4-0 run late in the set, but could not recover and fell 25-13.
Austin Peay was held to 36 kills and a meager .181 attack percentage. Ebright posted eight kills and no errors en route to a .471 attack percentage. Senior Lauren Henderson had a team-best nine kills and chipped in seven blocks. Stotts suffered another uneven night at the net, recording eight kills but was charged with five errors.
SIUE finished with 47 kills and a .222 attack percentage, but also scored eight service aces. Kelsey Augustine and Kristen Torres each had 13 kills to pace the Cougars offense. Cori Harris and Chelsea Colclasure each a three service aces.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 3, UT MARTIN 1
RICHMOND, Ky. - After having its five match winning streak snapped on Thursday, the Eastern Kentucky volleyball team returned to the win column on Friday with a 3-1 victory at UT Martin.
The Colonels won by scores of 16-25, 25-14, 25-17 and 25-20. EKU improves to 13-13 overall and 5-5 in Ohio Valley Conference play.
Ashley Edmond led Eastern Kentucky with 19 kills. She made only five errors in 56 attempts and had a .250 attack percentage. The senior also contributed 13 digs, two blocks and an ace. Rachel Vick had nine kills, a .333 hitting percentage and three blocks. Marissa Tashenberg finished with four blocks and Dena Ott tallied 25 digs.
Eastern rebounded from losing the first set by taking control early in the second. Trailing, 4-3, the Colonels went on a 7-1 run to go on top by five, 10-5. A kill by Vick and a UTM attack error made it 16-8. A kill by Abbey Cvelbar, followed by an ace from Edmond and another Skyhawk error ended the set and tied the match.
EKU scored nine of the first 10 points of the third set. An ace by Alexis Plagens capped the quick start and put the visitors in front 9-1. A kill by Edmond stretched the margin to 10, 14-4. A kill by Johanna Boyer gave the Colonels a 20-7 advantage. A late 6-1 Skyhawk run cut the margin to seven, before a kill by Edmond ended the set and gave her team a 2-1 lead.
UT Martin scored three of the first four points in the fourth set, but Eastern took the lead for good with a 6-2 run. Cvelbar's ace finished the spurt and put EKU ahead 7-5. After a kill by Emily Keaton brought the Skyhawks to within one, 10-9, the Colonels put the set away with an 8-1 run. Vick had two kills during the run. A UTM error made it an 18-10 lead. A kill by Plagens ended the set and the match.
Allie Whimpey had a team-best 12 kills for UT Martin (8-17, 2-7 OVC).
Eastern hit .210 as a team and made just 17 errors. UTM finished with 24 errors and a .144 attack percentage.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 2
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - The Morehead State volleyball team earned 11 of its 15 points via kills in the final set Friday night as the Eagles extended the nation's longest conference regular-season winning streak to 31 with a 3-2 (25-19, 25-17, 22-25, 15-25, 15-6) victory at Southeast Missouri.
Senior libero Leslie Schellhaas keyed an 85-dig night for MSU (18-6, 9-0 Ohio Valley Conference) with a match-best 24. Schellhaas became just the third player in program history to eclipse the 2,000-dig mark for her career. Senior outside hitter Aryn Bohannon recorded a season-best 21 kills, including six via a .556 attack efficiency in the deciding frame, and completed a double-double with 10 digs.
The Redhawks fell to 13-12 overall and 5-5 in the league. MSU has now won six straight against SEMO and owns 29 consecutive OVC regular-season road wins since 2010.
Morehead State also saw senior outside hitter Courtney Smith (16 kills, 15 digs) and junior setter Colbey Cameron (52 assists, 16 digs) tally double-doubles. Juniors Alex Fitzmorris (12) and Laura McDermott (11) contributed double-digit kills.
The Eagles nearly doubled the hosts in kills (68-35) and had a significant margin in digs (85-67). MSU held the Redhawks to .121 hitting.
SEMO grabbed a 4-3 advantage in the fifth set, but McDermott and Bohannon keyed a 9-0 run with a trio of kills apiece.
MSU broke an 11-all stalemate in the first set with a 10-2 run keyed by four Fitzmorris winners. The Eagles landed 17 kills in the second set and used a 9-3 start to distance themselves.
Southeast Missouri never trailed in the third frame and relinquished the lead just once in the fourth set. The Redhawks jumped to a 5-0 lead to set the tone in the third and wiped out a 7-1 Eagle lead in the fourth with a 15-2 run.
Colleen Yarber and Emily Coon had 10 kills apiece for SEMO. Berkley Idel came up with 21 digs.
TENNESSEE STATE 3, JACKOSNVILLE STATE 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - After a straight sets win over Tennessee Tech on Tuesday, the Tigers continued to roll in an impressive performance over Jacksonville State.
Offensively the Tigers were paced by a double-double performance from junior Naomi Wells (15 kills and 13 digs). Wells hit .324 from the floor committing just four attack errors. Freshman Arijana Anderson posted 10 kills to finish as the second Tiger with double-digit kills.
Senior Erika Moss was the catalyst of the offense passing out a game high 37 assists to go along with 13 digs for a double-double performance.
On the defensive side of the action, Tennessee State had four players reach the double-digit plateau in digs. Junior Ileanushka Moldanado lead the way with 20 digs, followed by 19 from Moss, 13 from Wells and 11 from junior Jamie Cooper.
On the block the Tigers posted seven team blocks and junior Zoe Sostre finished with a career high four blocks.
Much like the first match-up between the two OVC foes the game began with both clubs trading points. A 9-4 run propelled Tennessee State (9-12, 5-5) from being knotted at 7-7 to having a 16-11 lead. The run gave TSU a five point advantage after a Moldanado ace, which forced Jacksonville State (11-13, 4-5) to call timeout.
Out of the timeout, Tennessee State continued to roll and connected on four of the next six points; including two kills from Sherryce Butler. With TSU leading 20-13 the Gamecocks used a 7-2 run to close within two, 22-20. Three consecutive points from the Tigers closed out the set; including a set winning ace from Erika Moss.
In the frame Tennessee State hit .308 from the field and both Wells and Butler recorded four kills apiece. Wells posted a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage converting on all of her attack attempts.
Tennessee State got out to a slow start in the second set and fell behind, 5-0. A well-used timeout by coach Kathy Roulhac ignited a fire behind the home team. Out of the stoppage in play, TSU took a 9-6 lead with the help of 9-1 run. In the stretch Butler picked up three points for the Tigers with two kills and a block.
After the run, the action went back-and-forth between the teams. The Gamecocks got within a single point on four occasions, the last time being 18-17. From there TSU closed on a 7-2 run, with three kills from freshman Arijana Anderson.
In the second stanza, Anderson tallied five kills with no errors to pace the attack. Swayzer (4), Wells (3), junior Zoe Sostre (3) and Butler (3) all recorded multiple kills. As a team the Tigers produced 18 kills with senior Erika Moss producing 16 assists.
The third set was tight from the onset with five lead changes to get the score 10-9 in favor of the Gamecocks. Tennessee State grabbed the 15-12 lead by way of a 6-2 run which was highlighted by two kills from Sostre.
Jacksonville State countered with a 5-2 run of their own to lock the match at 17 all and causing Roulhac to use a timeout. After the timeout TSU used a 3-0 span to regain the lead, 20-17. The Gamecocks responded with three consecutive points of their own, evening the match at 20 apiece.
With Jacksonville State leading 22-21 the Tigers used a 4-0 run to close out the set and the match 25-22. Sostre contributed two points in the span with a kill and a block to lead the charge. Wells connected on the match winning point with a cross-court kill.
In the final set Sostre finished with five kills, two blocks and a dig.
Abbey Heredia paced the Gamecocks offense with 12 assists, she also contributed a team high 14 digs to finish with a double-double.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, MURRAY STATE 0
MURRAY, Ky. - -- Three Panthers delivered double-digit kill totals as Eastern Illinois volleyball hit past Ohio Valley Conference rival Murray State in a three-set affair (25-21, 25-22, 25-15) on Friday (Oct. 25) evening.
With the EIU sweep of the Racers, plus Austin Peay's three-set home loss to SIU Edwardsville, the Panthers now tie for first place in the West Division standings behind a 6-3 league mark and 12-10 overall record. Murray State, meanwhile, falls to 12-11 and 2-7, respectively.
Senior middle hitter Stephanie Arnold nailed a match-high 17 kills, as she set a personal-best attack of .810, as she registered zero errors behind 21 attempts.
That mark ties the third best Panther hitting in school history, as she finished one put-down shy her career-high.
Classmate Amy Martin added 12 kills of her own, also via the middle attack, as she tied her all-time kill tally and hit .360 in the win. Sophomore Chelsea Lee chipped in 11 kills as EIU out-hit the host squad, .346-to-.171, to maintain the top team attack in the OVC.
Sophomore setter Marah Bradbury dished out 47 assists and upped a match-high 20 Racer attacks to nab her 16th career double-double in a Panther uniform.
Earning her first start of her sophomore season, Kayla Nesbitt finished one kill away from her own double-digit mark, as she floored nine hits and earned the lone Panther solo block.
Reigning OVC 'Offensive Player of the Week' Reynae Hutchinson finished with seven kills and tied junior defensive specialist Dakota Springer with an ace apiece.
Sophomore libero Stephanie Wallace and junior defensive specialist Kelsey Brooke earned 14 and 12 digs, respectively, via the backcourt defense, while Arnold earned a pair of blocks at the net.
Besides out-hitting the Racers, EIU also held the advantage in kills (58-to-34), assists (54-to-30), digs (68-to-55), and total points (64.0-to-38.0).
Racers were led by Alyssa Lelm's 11 put-downs and .429 attack, as the contest featured 20 ties and just eight lead changes as the Panthers hit a match-high .417 in the final frame.
The win also ups Eastern's series lead over Murray State to 23-17 all-time, as the Panthers have now won four consecutive matches over the Racers.