SATURDAY’S SCORES
@Belmont 3, Gardner Webb 2 (26-24, 25-20, 8-25, 19-25, 15-10)
Tennessee Tech 3, Savannah State 0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-13)
Jacksonville State 3, Presbyterian 0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-20)
@UAB 3,
Jacksonville State 1 (25-23, 21-25, 25-18)
Eastern Kentucky 3, @Radford 2 (19-25, 24-26, 25-17, 25-17, 15-9)
Eastern Kentucky 3, North Carolina A&T 0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-18)
Tennessee Tech 3, Fordham 1 (25-21, 19-25, 25-18, 25-22)
Western Illinois 3,
UT Martin 1 (23-24, 25-18, 25-18, 25-16)
West Virginia 3,
Eastern Illinois 1 (25-17, 24-26, 25-20, 25-20)
Georgia Southern 3,
Tennessee State 0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-10)
Hampton 3,
Murray State 1 (24-26, 27-25, 25-20, 27-25)
Morehead State 3, Cincinnati 1 (25-21, 20-25, 25-12, 25-23)
@USF 3,
Austin Peay 1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-19, 25-12)
Austin Peay 3, The Citadel 0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-17)
Tennessee State 3, Southern Utah 1 (24-26, 25-17, 25-23, 25-20)
Murray State 3, NC Central 0 (25-14, 25-12, 25-13)
Miami (Ohio) 3,
Belmont 0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-17)
Akron 3,
SIUE 0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-17)
@Toledo 3,
Eastern Illinois 2 (21-25, 25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 15-10)
Southeast Missouri 3, @Mississippi State 1 (25-22, 26-24, 22-25, 25-21)
UT Martin 3, @Bradley 1 (17-25, 25-16, 26-24, 25-19)
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, PRESBYTERIAN 0; UAB 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Jacksonville State volleyball team split a pair of matches on Saturday, when the Gamecocks swept Presbyterian before falling to UAB on the final day of the UAB/Samford Volleyball Challenge.
The Gamecocks (1-3) opened the day with a 25-19, 25-14, 25-20 sweep over Presbyterian (1-3) before losing to host Blazers (3-1) 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 25-18, 25-16).
Sophomore Emily Rutherford led a balanced attack against Presbyterian, leading the Gamecocks with nine kills and 15 digs while freshman Kacy Clinkenbeard also added nine kills. Sophomore Taylor Long chipped in seven kills while junior Nicole Merget finished with six kills.
Junior Alina Agamy led JSU with 29 assists. Defensively, senior Kelly Cole recorded 21 digs.
The Blue Hose were led by Rachel Hall with seven kills while Ashtin Frank posted a double-double with 22 assists and 14 digs. For the match, the Gamecocks limited Presbyterian to a .008 hitting percentage.
Rutherford helped get JSU off to a fast start in the first set, posting seven kills in the 25-19 victory. The Gamecocks put up a strong defensive effort in the second set, limiting the Blue Hose to a -.167 hitting percentage. Clinkenbeard and Long led the way for the Gamecocks, posting four and three kills, respectively, while leading JSU to the 25-14 victory.
Four Presbyterian errors helped JSU open up a 7-0 run to start the third and final set. Long posted four kills in the set to lead a balanced Gamecock attack. Merget and freshman Liza Pflugradt both added three kills apiece to help JSU clinch the match with a 25-20 victory.
Rutherford then posted a double-double to lead three players in double figures in kills against UAB, recording 22 kills and 11 digs. Merget and Pflugradt then followed with 11 kills each.
Agamy again led the way with 39 assists while Cole led the defensive effort with 21 digs.
Trailing 18-10 in the first set, Merget recorded five kills during a JSU rally to tie the match at 23-23. The Gamecocks rally then came up short as Becca Howard and Sam Skinner posted back-to-back kills to clinch the 25-23 opening set victory.
The Gamecocks then bounced back to take the second set 25-21 behind eight kills from Rutherford. Pflugradt added six kills as JSU hit .359 for the set. The Blazers then opened up the third set on an 11-3 run and never looked back during the 25-18 victory. UAB limited the Gamecocks to a .103 hitting percentage in the set while offensively hitting .389.
The Blazers continued to display an aggressive offensive attack in the first set, hitting .548 in the set while jumping out to a 10-3 lead. Rutherford again led the way for the Gamecocks with five kills, but JSU came up short in the 25-16 match-clinching victory.
Sara Rishell led the way with 22 kills for the Blazers while Kiriana Hirini added 18 kills. Sam Skinner finished with 14 kills while Becca Howard also posted a double-double with 54 assists and 14 digs.
JSU will return to action next weekend in the Lipscomb Tournament in Nashville, Tenn. The Gamecocks will take on Lipscomb and South Alabama on Friday September 6 before closing the tournament against Samford at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday September 7.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 3, RADFORD 2; EASTERN KENTUCKY 3, NORTH CAROLINA A&T 0
RADFORD, Va. - Eastern Kentucky will return to Richmond for its first home match of the season with a perfect 3-0 record after concluding the La Quinta Inn and Suites Highlander Invitational with wins over host Radford, 3-2, and North Carolina A&T, 3-0.
EKU will play Marshall at 2 p.m. on Monday at McBrayer Arena.
Eastern beat Radford by scores of 19-25, 24-26, 25-17, 25-17 and 15-9, and North Carolina A&T by scores of 25-22, 25-18 and 25-18.
In the first match of the day, the Colonels overcame a 2-0 deficit to beat host Radford 3-2. Eastern fell behind 4-1 in the third set before using an 11-2 run to take control. Back-to-back errors by Radford ended the set and kept EKU alive.
Radford led 5-3 early in the fourth set before a 14-6 run turned that deficit into a six-point lead for the Colonels, 17-11. Consecutive kills by Ashley Edmond and Johanna Boyer ended the set and tied the match 2-2. Eastern Kentucky never trailed in the fifth. EKU led 9-8 before closing out the match with a 6-1 run.
Edmond led all players with 19 kills. She also had 16 digs, three aces, a block assist and a .295 attack percentage. Alexis Plagens finished with 15 kills and three blocks. Boyer contributed 13 kills. Dena Ott posted a match-best 26 digs.
Rachel Wiechecki had 14 kills to lead Radford.
Edmond led Eastern with 12 kills in the win over North Carolina A&T. Plagens had eight kills. Mallori Moffat had 28 assists and freshman Tori Anderson contributed three blocks.
The Colonels never led in the first set until a kill by Edmond and back-to-back North Carolina A&T errors turned a 21-20 deficit into a 23-21 advantage.
With a 24-22 lead, Plagens came of up with the set-winning kill. EKU used a 5-2 run in the second set to build a two-point cushion into a five-point lead. A kill by Ally Peters brought set-point and Ott finished it off with an ace.
A 12-5 run early in the third set kept the Colonels in control. Marissa Tashenberg finished off the match with back-to-back kills.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, CINCINNATI 1
CINCINNATI, Ohio - Senior outside hitter Aryn Bohannon smashed 16 kills and hit .538 to lead the Morehead State volleyball team to its first win in 2013, a 3-1 (25-21, 20-25, 25-12, 25-23) victory over host Cincinnati Saturday at the UC Invitational inside Fifth Third Arena.
MSU improved to 1-2 overall, while the Bearcats dipped to 0-3. Bohannon was named to the all-tournament team.
Bohannon also completed her second double-double of the season with 12 digs, while sophomore outside hitter Courtney Smith compiled her third career double-double with 15 kills and 15 digs. Junior Alex Fitzmorris, who sat out last season after transferring from Boston College, reached double figures in the kill column for the first time with 10 spikes.
Junior setter Colbey Cameron notched her third double-double with a career-high 47 assists and 11 digs. She also had eight kills via a .333 attacking efficiency and two blocks. Senior libero Lesllie Schellhaas produced her second 25-plus dig total with 26 today.
The Eagles nailed 31 kills and committed just six errors in the final two sets. MSU held overall leads in kills (61-38), digs (76-56) and blocks (8-5).
The squads battled to a 15-all tie in the first set before the Eagles scored the next four to gain a 19-15 advantage. The hosts only got within two the rest of the set and were whistled for a ball-handling error on the final play. MSU hit .225 in the frame and piled up 20 digs.
Cincinnati registered four blocks, and the Eagles committed 11 attack mistakes in the second set. MSU moved out to a quick 4-1 lead, but a 7-2 Cincinnati scoring flurry gave the Bearcats a lead they never relinquished.
The Eagles smashed 14 kills and hit .407 in the third stanza while holding UC to negative-.097 attacking. MSU vaulted to a 7-2 lead early and led by as many as 13 later in the set.
The hosts grabbed a 19-18 lead late in the final set, but the Eagles outscored their foes 7-4 down the stretch. Smith pounded three winners in the final victory push. MSU crushed down 17 kills and made only three errors in the frame.
Morehead State's home opener is set for Wednesday against Marshall at 7 p.m.
USF 3, AUSTIN PEAY 1; AUSTIN PEAY 3, THE CITADEL 0
TAMPA, Fla. - Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team stole a set from host South Florida in Saturday’s opening match before securing its season’s first win with a three-set sweep of The Citadel to conclude its stay at the USF Invitational.
In Saturday’s opener, Austin Peay (1-3) grabbed the second set from host South Florida in wire-to-wire fashion, leveling the match at a set a piece. The Bulls came out of the break and saw its defense step up with five blocks as part of 15 APSU attack errors in a 25-19 set win. South Florida closed the match with a wire-to-wire win in the fourth set.
Junior outside hitter Jada Stotts recorded 17 kills in against USF but committed 11 attack errors. Senior middle blocker Lauren Henderson and freshman outside hitter Sammie Ebright each had six kills, but were tagged for five and four errors, respectively.
The Lady Govs battled The Citadel early in each set of its sweep but pulled away late each time. In the first two sets, Austin Peay gained control at 8-7 and didn’t look back. The third set saw the Lady Govs trailing at 14-12 before they used a 5-2 run to take control.
Austin Peay posted 49 kills in the match, Stotts recording 20 kills and senior middle blocker Lauren Henderson checked in with nine kills.
Following the tournament, Stotts was named to the all-tournament squad. She recorded an impressive 71 kills – 5.07 kills per set – and shared the team lead with 48 digs in the four matches. It is her third all-tournament team honor.
BELMONT 3, GARDNER-WEBB 2, MIAMI (OHIO) 3, BELMONT 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont volleyball defeated Gardner-Webb in five sets on Saturday afternoon in the Curb Event Center.
Freshman Jessica Vestal (Concord, Calif.) registered a career high 19 kills.
The opening set was back and forth, with both teams keeping the score close. Vestal tied the set at 19, before giving Belmont a 20-19 lead. Gardner-Webb responded by tying the set at 20 and both teams continued to exchange points. Belmont took a two-point lead but the Runnin' Bulldogs tied the set at 23. Back-to-back kills from Hannah Miranda (Covington, La.) and Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.) secured the set win, 26-24.
In set two, the Bruins jumped out to an early lead that they wouldn't relinquish. Gardner-Webb tried to keep the set close, but were unable to stop Belmont.
Gable came on to serve with the score at 24-20 and a kill from Alex Martin (Ooltewah, Tenn.) won Belmont the set, 25-20.
Gardner-Webb took an early 9-3 lead in the third set and they continued to extend that lead. Allison McCoy (Huntington Beach, Calif.) recorded back-to-back kills, but a GWU ace allowed the Runnin' Bulldogs to win the set, 25-8.
Despite an early Belmont lead in the fourth set, Gardner-Webb battled back to score 10 unanswered points and win the set, 25-19 and force a deciding set.
Belmont took control of the fifth set, jumping out to an early lead behind an ace from Jamie Lundstrom (La Grange, Ill.). Gardner-Webb fought back to try and take the lead, but Belmont held them off winning the set, 15-10.
Vestal recorded her second double-double with 19 kills and 10 digs. Lundstrom registered 20 digs while Miranda dished out 51 assists.
Belmont volleyball (1-2) fell in three sets to Miami (OH) in the Belmont Invitational nightcap on Saturday night in the Curb Event Center.
Belmont got on the board first behind an ace from Jamie Lundstrom (La Grange, Ill.). The Bruins continued to lead early on, but Miami went on to score six unanswered points. Allison McCoy (Huntington Beach, Calif.) silenced their run and BU battled back. Despite a late 5-0 rally, sparked by a Miami error and a kill from Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.), Belmont brought the set within three; however, the Redhawks won the set, 25-21.
Both teams exchanged points early on in set two, with Miami having a small lead. Back-to-back kills from McCoy and Jen Myer (New Braunfels, Tx.) cut the Redhawks' lead to one, 7-6.
The Redhawks went on to score five unanswered points before a kill from Alex Martin (Ooltewah, Tenn.) sparked a short Belmont run and cut Miami's lead to two points. Miami responded by scoring four straight points to take a 18-11.
Belmont rallied late, scoring three straight points, but Miami took the 2-0 advantage at the break, winning set two, 25-20.
Miami opened the third set with a lead, but Belmont bounced back after an ace from Gable gave the squad a 5-4 lead. The Bruins proceeded to go on a 7-1 run to take a 9-5 lead over Miami. The Redhawks cut BU's lead to one, 12-11, before tying the set and taking a one point advantage.
Lundstrom, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, recorded 12 digs while setter Hannah Miranda (Covington, La.) dished out 31 assists.
Belmont will be back in action at Western Kentucky on Tuesday, September 3 for a 7:00pm start.
AKRON 3, SIUE 0
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Despite a team-leading nine kills from freshman outside hitter Alicia Streetar, SIUE dropped a three-set match to visiting Akron at the Vadalabene Center.
Akron took what would be the championship match of the Cougar Classic 25-17, 25-22, 25-17.
Streetar hit a team-leading .615 in just her second collegiate match. Seniors Cori Harris and Kelsey Augustine added seven kills each for the Cougars, now 0-2.
SIUE minimized its errors on day two of the tournament with only 12 in the match. As a team, SIUE hit .244 with 33 kills.
Alex Cocklin led Akron with 11 kills and a .556 hitting percentage. The Zips, 2-0, completed a sweep for the day after previously defeating Indiana State in five sets earlier Saturday. Akron hit .374 as a team against the Cougars.
The Cougars will look to rebound Sunday with a 12:30 matchup against Auburn. It will be the first-ever meeting against the Tigers, a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
WEST VIRGINA 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 1; TOLEDO 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 2
TOLEDO, Ohio - Eastern Illinois volleyball completed weekend action at the Toledo Blue/Gold Invitational with a pair of losses to West Virginia and the host Rockets in four and five-sets, respectively.
Individual match scores were 25-17, 24-26, 25-20, 25-20 against the Mountaineers and 21-25, 25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 15-10, as the Panthers drop to 1-3 overall on the early season.
Against WVU, a trio of EIU players recorded double-digit kill numbers, led by sophomore Abby Saalfrank's 12 put-downs. Senior Stephanie Arnold chipped in 11 kills behind a .474 attack while sophomore Chelsea Lee added 10 of her own.
In the nightcap versus Toledo, Lee and Saalfrank both drilled 14 kills apiece, while Arnold had an additional nine kills.
Setter Marah Bradbury registered a pair of assist-dig double-doubles on Saturday. Against WVU she dished out 38 assists and upped 10 attacks, while against the Rockets the sophomore assisted on 38 put-a-ways and nabbed 11 digs.
Sophomore libero paced the backcourt defense with 23 and 17 dig numbers against WVU and UT, respectively, while Arnold roofed ten total blocks over the course of the two matches.
In team numbers, the Panthers hit a low of .168 against WVU, while rebounding to earn a clip of .204 against the Rockets.
For the weekend, Lee led all Panthers with 60 kills (3.53 kps), a .290 attack, 11 blocks, and 67.5 total points.
Arnold finished with a nice team-high .400 attack, while leading the net defense with 18 total blocks (1.06 bps).
Wallace earned a 4.88 digs-per-set average in four matches with a tally of 83, while junior defensive and serving specialist Dakota Fanning fired off seven aces.
Team-wise, EIU out-hit the weekend competition via a .223-to-.198 average attack.
Eastern will now prepare for the second of four consecutive early-season tournaments, as the Panthers travel to Des Moines, Iowa next weekend to take part in the Drake Tournament, facing South Dakota on Friday (Sep. 6) and the host Bulldogs and DePaul on Saturday (Sep. 7).
TENNESSEE TECH 3, SAVANNAH STATE 0; TENNESSEE TECH 3, FORDHAM 1
ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Tennessee Tech volleyball team went 2-0 on Saturday, taking down both Savannah State and Fordham to give Dave Zelenock his first wins as a collegiate head coach.
Versus Savannah State
The Golden Eagles opened up in authoritative fashion Saturday morning as they beat Savannah State 3-0 in their second match of the Winthrop Invitational.
Sophomore Cody Dodd was lights out in set one, tallying eight kills on just nine attempts. Winning the opening set 25-18, the entire offense fed off Dodd's energy, hitting .389 in the first stanza.
Set two was won from the endline as the Tech servers were able to keep the Lady Tigers off balance, opening up on a 8-0 run. The Golden Eagles did not lay off from there, taking a 22-9 lead off an ace from redshirt junior Allison May. Tech won set two 25-15.
Offense was the story again in set three. Junior Ellen Conti led the Golden Eagles in the final game, tallying five kills. Tech as a unit hit .333, winning the set 25-13.
Dodd led the Golden Eagles with 13 kills while hitting .476. Conti and senior Natalie Penrod added eight kills apiece, and senior Elise Robertson added six more while hitting .556. Senior Ashleigh Hancock put up a career-high 32 assists and added eight digs. Junior Christine Maci led the defense with four blocks, followed by Conti who added three as well.
Versus Fordham
The Golden Eagles came out firing in their second match of the day, beating Fordham in four sets, 3-1.
Set one was tight as Tech and Fordham fought all the way through. After a 4-4 tie, Tech went on a six-point run and never looked back, despite the Rams' best efforts. Tech won the first set by a score of 25-21 behind senior Elise Robertson and Ellen Conti, who each had three kills.
Fordham gained the advantage in set two, winning 25-19.
Tech came firing back in set three. Hitting .310, Robertson and Conti added another three kills apiece. Junior Madison Keyes provided a huge spark off the bench racking up four blocks and two kills. The team defense was sparked by her blocks, resulting in six total team blocks in the set. Tech took set three 25-18.
The Golden Eagles continued its dominate presence at the front, netting four more blocks. Sophomore Cody Dodd, senior Natalie Penrod, and Conti added three kills each in the final set to put the Rams away. Dodd put the exclamation point on the match on set point with a kill blasted off the defenders face.
Conti led the team with 14 kills, adding 11 digs and four blocks. Robertson finished the game with 10 kills, hitting .471 while adding four blocks. Senior Ashleigh Hancock bested her career-high from earlier in the day by dishing out 38 assists.
Dodd finished a stellar weekend with eight kills, six blocks, four aces, and six digs against Fordham, hitting .471. The sophomore was named to the All-Tournament team. Junior Courtney Smith joined Dodd on the All-Tournament Team, tallying 15 kills in the final match. Tech finished the weekend 2-1.
The Golden Eagles return to action next weekend at the Akron Invitational where they open up with host Akron at 12 p.m. CDT.
HAMPTON 3, MURRAY STATE 1; MURRAY STATE 3, NC CENTRAL 0
DURHAM, N.C. - Murray State volleyball concluded their opening weekend tournament by splitting a pair of matches with Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opponents Hampton and North Carolina Central (NCCU). After losing a close battle with eventual tournament winners Hampton 3-1, (26-24, 25-27, 20-25, 25-27), the Racers easily picked up their first win of the season 3-0 over hosts NCCU (25-14, 25-12, 25-13).
Game Two vs. North Carolina Central (3-0 - 25-14, 25-12, 25-13)
MSU played the final two matches of the tournament and got stronger as the day went on. That the Racers were able to stay on the court following their match with Hampton, was an advantage for Coach Schwepker: "We played hard in the last match (with Hampton) and I wanted to make sure we came out and maintained that same aggressiveness".
The Racers jumped out to a commanding 8-2 lead in the first set and never looked back on their way to a 25-14 victory. The Racers hit a match best .393 in the set, connecting on 14 kills while committing only three errors.
Sets two and three were much the same as MSU opened up large leads early and never let the Eagles into back the match.
Alyssa Lelm led the Racers with a match-high 11 kills. Her .733 kill percentage (11-for-15) tied her for third all-time in MSU history (with at least 15 attempts). Following the tournament, Lelm was named to the All-Tournament team totaling 28 kills, ten digs, four blocks and two service aces.
After the match, Schwepker had this to say about Lelm, "She had a really good day. She's continuing to get stronger and her maturity is starting to show".
Scottie Ingram, Taylor Olden and Emily Schmahl each connected on seven kills in the match and Sam Bedard dished out a match-high 26 assists.
Game One vs. Hampton (3-0 - 26-24, 25-27, 20-25, 25-27)
MSU started the day taking on Hampton in a tightly contested matchup. The two teams were incredibly evenly matched, as evidenced by three of the four sets going into extra points.
The Racers were able to take the first set in a back-and-forth match. After the Pirates got to within match-point at 24-23, MSU came back to score the final three points and take the hard-fought set.
It seemed as the Racers were on the verge of going up 2-0 in the match, taking a 20-14 lead in the second set, but Hampton scored the next six points to even the set up. Sonja Maksimoviv landed three kills on the run, part of her 14 in the match.
After trading points the rest of the way, the Racers had a chance to end the set up 24-23 and again 25-24. But the Pirates were able to stave off defeat and scored three straight points, evening the match with a 27-25 victory.
The Pirates kept their momentum flowing in set number three, opening up a large 20-11 lead. They would go on to easily take the set 25-20.
Hampton again opened up a late lead in the fourth set 23-19, but Murray State fought back and tied the match on two occasions, 24-24 and 25-25. The comeback bid fell short though, as a pair of Petra Parros kills put MSU away 27-25.
Taylor Olden led the Racers with 15 kills and finished the tournament with a team-best 31.
Bedard recorded with her second double-double of the tournament, handing out a team-high 42 assists, while also tallying 12 digs.
Parros finished with 17 kills and was named to the All-Tournament team and teammate Vendula Strakova led the match with 25 kills, on her way to being named Tournament MVP.
The Racers will return to the court and the state of North Carolina next weekend at the Ashford-Suites Spartan/Aggie Invitational. MSU will battle tournament host UNC-Greensboro Friday night and Alabama State and North Carolina A&T on Saturday.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, MISSISSIPPI STATE 1
STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Tigers split on the day as they won their first game of the season on the final day of the Jaguar Invitational in Mobile, Ala. The Tigers fell 3-0 (19-25, 20-25, 10-25) to Georgia Southern before closing out the tournament with a 3-1 (24-26, 25-17, 25-23, 25-20) decision over Southern Utah.
TSU moved to 1-2 as Georgia Southern improved to 2-0 and Southern Utah fell to 0-3.
Against SUU, Sherryce Butler and Naomi Wells led the way with 17 kills each, but it was Butler who sparked the Tigers with her .464 hitting percentage. The junior committed just four errors in 28 attempts. Erika Moss recorded 48 assists and added eight kills against one error in 14 attempts.
In game one, Taylor Swayzer tried to single handedly keep the Tigers close as she recorded five of her ten kills during the first half of the set. Her fifth kill brought TSU to within two points at 13-15. The Thunderbirds stayed in control until the tigers were able to fight back to even the score at 24-24. Southern Utah would hold on and escape with a 26-24 win and take a 1-0 lead.
The Tigers were trailing 14-12 in game two when they exploded with nine kills, two aces and a block to close out SUU with a 13-3 run. Wells started the winning stretch with a kill and an ace that fueled two kills each for Swayzer, Butler and Jordon Piper. Katie Burnett delivered her fourth ace of the weekend as Wells and Moss closed out the 25-17 win with kills.
With the score tied 11-11 in game three, the Tigers took charge of the game jumping out to a 22-18 lead. The Thunderbirds rattled off four straight points to tie the game back up at 22-22. Piper delivered her third kill of the match to regain the lead, while Wells and Swayzer produced kills to secure the 25-23 win.
In the fourth game, TSU enjoyed an 11-4 lead before SUU stormed back to within one point at 14-13. The Big Blue continued their balanced attack as four separate players earned kills and Moss teamed up with Shauntia Carr on a block to extend the lead to 21-15. The Thunderbirds could only get as close as three points at 22-19 before Butler would end the match with her 17th kill.
Against Georgia Southern, TSU hit just .057 as they recorded 29 kills with 24 errors in 88 attempts. Wells once again led the team in kills with nine. Carr registered the highest hitting percentage with more than ten attempts with six kills and three errors in 11 attempts. Moss finished with 26 assists, while Ileanushka Maldanado led with nine digs and Burnett topped TSU with two service aces.
In game one, the Eagles grabbed a 14-8 lead before TSU jumped ahead by scoring eight straight points. An Eagle attack error started the run and was followed with kills by Carr and Wells that sandwiched an ace by Burnett. A GSU timeout did not slow down the Tigers as Carr and Moss teamed up for a pair of blocks. Wells slammed home a kill to give TSU a 16-14 advantage. With the Tigers leading 17-15, GSU returned the favor by scoring six straight points making the score 21-17 on their way to a 25-19 win.
The Eagles controlled game two maintaining a six-to-seven point lead. Down 20-12, the Tigers started to chip away at the Eagles as they received kills by Swayzer, Wells, and Carr to go along with service aces from Moss, Burnett and Wells to cut the deficit to three as they trailed 23-20. Georgia Southern would secure the final two points for a 25-20 win.
GSU closed out the Tigers in three as they earned a 25-10 win. TSU committed nine errors opposed to just seven kills in 23 attempts for a -.087 hitting percentage in the final game. The Eagles hit .333 with seven kills and one error in 18 attempts.
Wells was named to the all-tournament team after posting 44 kills averaging 4.00 kills per game. Wells finished the weekend with 32 digs and two aces.
The Tigers are off until they travel to Bloomington, Ind. for the University of Indiana Tournament on Sept. 13-14.
WESTERN ILLINOIS 3, UT MARTIN 1; UT MARTIN 3, BRADLEY 1
PEORIA, Ill. - The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team captured the CEFCU Classic championship by turning away host Bradley 3-1 (17-25, 25-16, 26-24, 25-19) this evening. Earlier in the morning, the Skyhawks battled but fell 3-1 in a matchup against Western Illinois (25-23, 18-25, 18-25, 16-25) but UT Martin earned the tournament victory because of a tiebreaker.
Chelsea Bowles and Emily Keaton were named to the All-Tournament team, with Bowles earning tournament Most Valuable Player honors. Bowles piled up 58 digs (5.27 per set) in the tournament while Keaton hit .302 and amassed 34 kills (3.09 per set) to go along with 33 digs.
In the de facto tournament championship match against Bradley, the Skyhawk offense rose to the occasion – hitting .277 (62 kills, 16 errors in 166 attempts). Keaton registered a game-high 15 kills against only two errors in 39 attempts (.333) while tallying 14 digs, while Julia Devinney (12 kills, .500 attack percentage) and Allie Whimpey (12 kills, .357) also accumulated double-digit kills. Amanda Crask had eight kills, 45 assists and eight digs, while Bowles was responsible for a match-high 24 digs.
UT Martin trailed 4-1 in the first set before a Crask kill halted Bradley’s momentum. A kill by Devinney brought the Skyhawks within two points at 6-4 but the Braves followed with four unanswered points to begin a 7-1 run. UT Martin would get within six points on two more occasions but would not get any closer as Bradley took the first set. Bowles had seven digs in the first set to lead the Skyhawks.
The Skyhawks began the second set with a 4-2 lead and expanded that advantage out to 9-4 thanks to an assisted block by Alisha Erves and Lynsey Hazelwood. Although Bradley scored five straight points to even the score at 9-all, the Skyhawks didn’t panic, reeling off a 9-1 run of their own to go on top by an 18-10 margin. A kill by Whimpey gave UT Martin a double-digit lead at 23-13 and a Hazelwood kill provided the Skyhawks with the 25-16 win.
Keaton (five kills, .625), Crask (13 assists) and Bowles (eight digs) paced UT Martin in the crucial second set.
In the third set, the Skyhawks took their first lead at 6-5 thanks to a solo block by Erves. The Skyhawks maintained the lead until the Braves went on a 5-2 run to go on top 14-13, but UT Martin responded with four of the next five points to go back ahead 17-15. A 3-0 Bradley run was met with a 3-0 Skyhawk run, followed by four unanswered points by Bradley that resulted in a 22-20 Brave lead. UT Martin faced a 2-1 deficit with the score at 24-23 Bradley, but three straight attack errors – the last of which was blocked by Whimpey and Devinney – gave the Skyhawks the 26-24 victory.
Whimpey slammed down a team-best four kills for the Skyhawks, who were responsible for 15 kills in the third set. Crask accounted for 13 assists in the set.
UT Martin scored the first three and four of the first five points of the fourth set. However, a 5-1 Bradley run erased the Skyhawk lead until UT Martin unleashed a 6-0 run of its own to surge back ahead by a 13-9 margin. The Skyhawks were able to push their lead out to eight (23-15) thanks to an 8-2 run that was capped off by yet another solo block by Erves. The Braves would get back within five but a Hazelwood kill clinched the set, match and the tournament title for UT Martin.
Keaton (five kills), Devinney (four kills, .800 attack percentage) and Crask (13 assists) helped guide the Skyhawks to 20 kills in the fourth set alone.
In the first match of the day against Western Illinois, the Skyhawks were led offensively by Keaton’s 13 kills. Crask nearly notched her second career triple-double but came up just shy with nine kills, 32 assists and 10 digs. Bowles (17 digs) and Colleen Larson (13 digs) paced UT Martin defensively.
The Fighting Leathernecks jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the first set but UT Martin would claw back and soon put together a 5-0 run to go ahead 10-9. An Erves kill and Whimpey ace extended the Skyhawk lead out to four at 18-14, but Western Illinois soon scored six of the next seven points to go on top by a 20-19 margin. UT Martin responded with five consecutive points of its own to retake the lead 24-20 but Western Illinois would soon cut its deficit to 24-23. However, a kill by Crask concluded the set and gave UT Martin an early 1-0 lead.
Keaton was on fire in the first set, slamming down six kills in 12 attempts. Crask had four kills to go along with 10 assists while Larson’s seven digs paced the Skyhawk defensive attack.
Western Illinois accounted for the first four points of the second set, but the Skyhawks were able to cut their deficit to one at 8-7 thanks to back-to-back kills by Whimpey and Devinney. The Fighting Leathernecks then scored seven of the next nine points to go ahead 15-9. UT Martin would try to stage a comeback late by getting within five at 23-18 but time ran out on the Skyhawks, who hit .250 (11 kills, three errors in 32 attempts) in the second set.
A Keaton kill, Kelly Hogan service ace and Crask kill led UT Martin to an early 3-1 lead in the third set but Western Illinois would soon go on a 6-1 run. The Skyhawks answered right back to get within two at 9-7 but five straight points by the Fighting Leathernecks led to a 14-7 lead. Later on in the set, the Skyhawks faced a nine-point deficit but soon scored six of the next eight points to pull within five at 22-17 and 23-18. However, back-to-back kills by Western Illinois gave the Fighting Leathernecks a 2-1 lead.
After early kills by Erves and Keaton ignited the Skyhawks in the fourth set, back-to-back kills by Devinney sliced UT Martin’s deficit to 6-4. Western Illinois bounced back with a 4-0 run that resulted in a 14-7 lead. The Skyhawks fought back courtesy of a 6-2 run to get within 19-16 late. However, the Fighting Leathernecks closed out the set with six straight points. Bowles had seven digs in the fourth and final set alone.
UT Martin’s next match is the 2013 home opener on Tuesday, Sept. 3 against Evansville at 6:30 p.m. The first 150 students with a valid student ID will receive free pizza.