TUESDAY'S SCORES
Jacksonville State 3, @Tennessee Tech 0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-22)
Eastern Illinois 3, @SIUE 2 (25-22, 15-25, 25-14, 22-25, 15-8)
@Eastern Kentucky 3, Morehead State 2 (20-25, 25-18, 25-21, 19-25, 15-11)
@Southeast Missouri 3, UT Marin 0 (26-24, 26-24, 25-9)
Austin Peay 3, @Murray State 2 (17-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-18, 15-7)
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, TENNESSEE TECH 0
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - – The Jacksonville State volleyball team used a balanced offensive attack to help complete the season sweep over Tennessee Tech on Tuesday with the 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-22) sweep over the Golden Eagles at the Eblen Center in Ohio Valley Conference action.
Freshman Liza Pflugradt led JSU with 12 kills on a .323 attack percentage while junior Nicole Merget finished with 11 kills and six blocks to help the Gamecocks improve to 12-18 overall and 5-10 in conference play. The Golden Eagles were limited to a .170 attack percentage while falling to 5-20 overall and 1-14 in conference play.
The Gamecocks were limited to a .085 attack percentage in the first set before hitting .350 in the second set and .333 in the third set to finish the night hitting .242 as a team. Setter Abbey Heredia finished with a double-double of 35 assists and a team-high 15 digs while freshman Kacy Clinkenbeard added nine kills
Defensively, sophomore Samantha Bohne finished with 12 digs while senior Kelly Cole added 11 digs.
Audrey Lewis led TTU with 11 kills while setter Ashleigh Hancock finished with 33 assists and nine digs. Defensively, the Golden Eagles were led by Courtney Smith with 21 digs while Ellen Conti added 11 digs.
Trailing 10-6 in the opening set, the Gamecocks forced six errors by the Golden Eagles to tie the match at 12-12. Merget combined with Clinkenbeard for one block before the junior combined with Heredia for two more blocks to help JSU complete the 6-2 run.
Merget recorded a kill to keep things tied at 18-18 before the Gamecocks used six more Golden Eagle errors to go with another kill from Merget to pull out the 25-22 victory. For the set, JSU limited TTU to a .094 attack percentage while Merget finished the game with five kills and four blocks.
Pflugradt recorded six kills in the second set while helping JSU build a 17-13 lead. The Golden Eagles then used a 7-0 run to take a 20-17 lead. Following a JSU timeout, three TTU errors and a kill from Clinkenbeard helped the Gamecocks reclaim the lead at 21-20.
Clinkenbeard would then add two more kills while helping JSU build a 24-22 lead before back-to-back kills by Audrey Lewis and Cody Dodd helped TTU tie the match back up at 24-24. The Gamecocks then rallied behind kills from Merget and Heredia to claim a 2-0 lead with the 26-24 victory.
The Golden Eagles opened the third set on a 7-2 run that was fueled by four straight points to open the set. TTU would then build a 22-19 lead before the Gamecocks rallied after a Golden Eagle attack error cut the lead to 22-20. Merget, Rutherford, and Pflugradt then pulled off consecutive kills to give JSU a 23-22 lead.
Following a timeout by Tech, Merget rolled off her 11th kill of the set before an attack error by the Golden Eagles gave the Gamecocks a 25-22 match clinching victory.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 3, MOREHEAD STATE 2
RICHMOND, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky snapped Morehead State’s 36-match Ohio Valley Conference winning streak with a 3-2 victory Tuesday at McBrayer Arena. It was the nation’s longest active conference regular season winning streak and one short of tying the OVC record.
EKU won by scores of 20-25, 25-18, 25-21, 19-25, and 15-11. The Colonels (17-14, 9-6 OVC) had not beaten the Eagles (23-7, 14-1 OVC) since Nov. 8, 2006, a streak of 15 straight.
Alexis Plagens and Ashley Edmond were the team leaders with 15 kills and 16.5 points apiece. Sophomore Rachel Vick was second best for the Colonels with nine kills, four blocks and 11 points. Junior Dena Ott also contributed 23 digs to the victory over MSU.
Eastern had 12 kills on 39 attempts, recording a .103 attack percentage, while the Eagles recorded a .237 in the first set. The Colonels came out fighting, leading 4-0 early in the match. The Eagles fought right back to tie the score 16-16 mid-match. Morehead State went on to take the set over Eastern Kentucky, 25-20.
Vick led the team in points recording four, also making four kills in the Colonels attempt to take the first set.
Eastern took an early lead over MSU, 7-4, in the second set. The Colonels continued their powerful momentum over the OVC leader compliments of Edmond recording four kills and Plagens contributing two kills and three points. EKU controlled the remainder of the set to give the Colonels a 25-18 win.
The Colonels came out swinging to open the third set. EKU took an early 7-2 lead. Despite the Morehead State’s efforts to rally back mid-match the Colonels took the set, 25-21. The set point was won on an attack error by sophomore Courtney Smith to push Eastern to a 2-1 lead.
Plagens added four more kills and scored a total 8.0 points.
MSU led the majority of the fourth set. The set point was won on a kill by redshirt junior Laura McDermott giving the Eagles the set, 25-19, and sending the match into a decisive fifth set.
The fifth and final set saw a thrilling battle back and forth between EKU and MSU. Kills by Edmond and Plagens brought the Colonels to match-point, 14-11. The match was won on an attack error by McDermott giving the Colonels the win.
Sophomore, Courtney Smith led the Eagles with 20 kills and 20.5 points. Aryn Bohannon added 15 kills.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, UT MARTIN 0
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Senior outside hitter Colleen Yarber recorded her 1,000th career kill in Southeast Missouri's three-set sweep over UT Martin (9-22, 3-12 OVC) (26-24, 26-24, 25-9). Southeast improves to 16-15 overall, 8-7 in Ohio Valley Conference play.
Besides Yarber's 1,000th career kill, senior setter Julie Shives tallied her 4,500th career set assist.
In the first set, the Redhawks and Skyhawks could not have fought a closer set. The score was tied 12 times as the lead changed six times. UT Martin tied the score one final time to tie it up at 24 all. Emily Coon jumped into action with two-straight kills to seal the close set, 26-24. Shives came across her milestone assist in the opening stanza with 15 assists in all. Coon and Yarber each tallied five kills.
It was close to a first set repeat in the second set as both teams once again fought hard and close. With UT Martin serving set point at 24-21, Southeast went on the offensive with five-straight points to steal the set away from the Skyhawks, 26-24. Yarber tallied her 1,000th kill late in the second set.
It was all Southeast Missouri in the third set as they shut down the Skyhawks, 25-9. Southeast opened the set with an 11-1 run. Emily Coon sealed the match as she stuffed a Skyhawk attack to close her amazing blocking career at Houck Field House.
Southeast's 16-point margin of victory in the third set was the largest Southeast has recorded since Oct. 4, 2011 against Eastern Illinois as they beat the Panthers 25-9 in the first set of the match.
Yarber totaled 16 kills, a .302 hitting clip, and 10 digs against the Skyhawks. Andrea Baylin and Coon each added eight kills apiece with Baylin adding 12 digs. Berkley Idel dug 22 balls on the night.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, SIUE 2
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - -- Three Eastern Illinois volleyball players nailed double-digit kills as the Panthers completed the season sweep of SIU Edwardsville on Tuesday following a 3-2 (25-22, 15-25, 25-14, 22-25, 15-8) road victory over the Cougars in Ohio Valley Conference West Division action.
The win improves EIU to 18-10 overall and 12-3 in league play as the Panthers now enjoy a nine-match win streak, while SIUE fell to 11-17/7-8.
Senior outside hitter Reynae Hutchinson led Eastern with a 14 kill, 16 dig performance, as she tallied her 40th career double-double.
Classmate Amy Martin and sophomore Chelsea Lee both chipped in 11 additional kills via the middle and outside attack, respectively, as Martin also paced the EIU net defense with five blocks.
Reigning OVC 'Setter of the Week', Marah Bradbury, secured her own double-double behind 40 assists and 13 digs, as she now owns 20 duo-duo performances in just her sophomore campaign. She also tallied eight kills off a team-high .368 attack.
Senior middle Stephanie Arnold came one put-down shy double-digit kills as well as she fired off nine put-a-ways.
The backrow trio of juniors Dakota Springer and Kelsey Brooke and sophomore libero Stephanie Wallace combined for 53 total digs, led by Springer's career-high 22 ups. Wallace and Brooke added 20 and 11 digs, respectively.
Bradbury and Wallace each drilled three aces apiece, as Wallace tied a career mark and the Panthers led the Cougars in total aces, seven-to-five.
In other team stats, EIU held the advantage over SIUE in kills (60-to-56), attack (.216-to-.162), assists (55-to-51), digs (91-to-83), blocks (eight-to-six), and total points (75.0-to-67.0).
SIUE also had three players nab double-digit kill numbers, led by Kristen Torre's 15 kill output, while Cori Harris and Taylor Held each added 14 kills, with Harris earning her own double-double with 15 additional digs.
Cougar setter Mallory Mangun finished with her own duo-duo behind a 43 assist, 12 dig performance, and libero Chelsea Colclasure tallied 19 digs.
The match came down to multi-point runs by both squads, with EIU using a late 7-4 streak to break an 18-all tie in the opening frame, to earn the win, 25-22.
The host squad countered with nine straight points in the second set, riding the lead for the 25-15 victory to knot the match at 1-set all. The Cougars hit a match-high .469 in the frame.
The Panthers followed suit in the third set, as EIU captured eight straight points to take a sizeable 20-6 lead, eventually winning, 25-14, as Eastern hit .333 in the set.
Cougars once again countered with the fourth set win to push the match to five frames, as SIUE held onto for a 25-22 victory, despite the Panthers pulling to within 23-22 late in the set.
The final set started even with the contest tied at eight-all, but that's when the Panthers took over, earning the next seven points and the season sweep of their instate rivals.
Meeting for the ninth time, EIU now leads SIUE in the all-time series history, 5-4.
AUSTIN PEAY 3, MURRAY STATE 2
MURRAY, Ky. - The best team blocking effort since 1996 proved just enough as Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team scored a five-set (17-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-18, 15-7) Ohio Valley Conference victory at Murray State, Tuesday night, at Racer Arena.
Austin Peay (12-20, 9-6 OVC) posted 17.5 blocks in the victory, the second-best single match effort in program history and best since the record was set during the 1996 season. Junior middle blocker Hillary Plybon posted a career-high nine blocks while senior Lauren Henderson and setter Aubrey Marsellis each had seven blocks. Seven Lady Govs ended the night with a block.
Murray State (15-14, 5-10 OVC) won the first set in wire-to-wire fashion and controlled the first half of the second set, leading 15-5 at one point. However, Austin Peay used a 14-4 run to tie the set, 19-19, and scored four of the final six points to win 25-22.
The Racers took control of a see-saw third set with a 8-1 run, to build a 21-15 lead and didn’t look back to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Austin Peay dominated the fourth set, including an impressive 8-3 run to build an 18-13 lead they did not relinquish to tie the match.
The fifth set was all Austin Peay as they used a pair of 4-0 runs to take a 11-5 lead and exchanged points to win 15-7.
Freshman Sammie Ebright and Marsellis each had 12 kills to lead Austin Peay’s offense while Henderson and Plybon each added 10 kills. That quartet’s 44 combined kills accounted for the bulk of Austin Peay’s 56-kill performance.
Emily Schmahl and Taylor Olden each had 15 kills to pace the Murray State offense, which finished with 60 kills.