FRIDAY’S SCORES
Tennessee 3,
Morehead State 2 (14-25, 25-23, 25-22, 17-25, 15-12)
Miami (Fla.) 3,
Austin Peay 1 (22-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-19)
Loyola 3,
Eastern Illinois 2 (25-20, 23-25, 28-26, 14-25, 15-13)
UT Martin 3, Maryland Eastern Shore 0 (25-27, 25-10, 25-20)
Ball State 3,
Austin Peay 0 (25-19, 25-23, 26-24)
Eastern Illinois 3, Marist 0(25-20, 25-22, 25-22)
Butler 3,
Morehead State 1 (21-25, 25-13, 25-13, 25-18)
Eastern Kentucky 3, Kennesaw State 2 (27-25, 23-25, 25-21, 23-25, 16-14)
@Mississippi State 3,
Southeast Missouri 0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-18)
Southeast Missouri 3, UALR 2 (20-28, 21-25, 15-25, 25-23, 15-12)
No. 6 Minnesota 3,
Jacksonville State 0 (25-8, 25-15, 25-16)
Mercer 3,
Jacksonville State 1 (25-17, 25-23, 18-25, 28-26)
Memphis 3, @
Belmont 2 (25-13, 25-21, 26-28, 17-25, 16-14)
Indiana State 3,
@SIUE 2 (23-25, 25-21, 25-15, 20-25, 15-12)
@South Alabama 3,
Tennessee State 1 (25-15, 22-25, 25-17, 25-23)
@Winthrop 3,
Tennessee Tech 0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-18)
Evansville 3,
Murray State 0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-15)
TENNESSEE 3, MOREHEAD STATE 2; BUTLER 3, MOREHEAD STATE 1
CINCINNATI, Ohio - Tennessee registered 17 blocks Friday morning and held on to defeat the Morehead State volleyball team 3-2 (14-25, 25-23, 25-22, 17-25, 15-12) in both team's 2013 season opener at the Cincinnati Invitational inside Fifth Third Arena.
Morehead State, which has won three straight Ohio Valley Conference titles, played just seven five-set matches in 2012. Tennessee advanced to the NCAA Tournament first round.
Sophomore outside hitter Courtney Smith compiled her first career double-double at MSU with a team –best 13 kills to go along with 16 digs. Junior setter Colbey Cameron nearly scored a triple-double with a career-high 43 assists, 14 digs and eight kills via a .294 attacking efficiency.
Tennessee was led by Ashley Mariani and Jamie Lea with 10 kills apiece. Shealyn Kolosky posted a match-best nine blocks, while Raina Hemby had eight rejections.
Morehead State got a team-standard 27 digs from senior libero Leslie Schellhaas, who ranks among MSU's top 10 in career digs. Senior outside hitter Aryn Bohannn notced a double-double too with 10 kills and 18 digs. Sophomore middle blocker Hannah Sigala produced five total blocks.
MSU raced out to an 8-2 advantage in the opening set and eventually pushed its lead to 17-7. Morehead State took its largest lead at 24-12. The Eagles hit .414 in the first frame and held the Lady Vols to negative-.051.
Tennessee vaulted to a 10-1 lead in the second stanza before an 8-3 MSU run. The Lady Vols pushed their advantage to 18-12, but MSU rallied again and pulled to within 20-17. The Eagles trailed just 24-23, but a net violation gave UT the deciding point. MSU hit .154 and limited Tennessee to .049.
The Lady Vols landed 12 kills and made just three errors, while the Eagles committed eight attack miscues in the third set. Despite tying the contest late at 22, the Eagles saw UT score the final three points.
The Eagles put together a 9-1 run to end the fourth frame. Tied at 16, MSU rattled off eight consecutive points to distance itself for the set victory. The teams combined for 18 attack errors.
The teams traded scores in the deciding set before the Eagles pushed ahead 12-11. The Lady Vols scored the final four points though, including two blocks and an MSU attack error.
The Eagles held advantages in kills (55-42), hitting percentage (.117-.050), digs (90-84) and aces (6-4).
Morehead State volleyball won the opening set against Butler Friday evening at Cincinnati's Fifth Third Arena, but the Bulldogs rattled off three straight to defeat the Eagles 3-1 (21-25, 25-13, 25-13, 25-18) in the Cincinnati Invitational.
The Eagles fell to 0-2, while the Bulldogs moved to 2-0.
Butler's Claire Randich led all players with 12 kills while hitting .500. Two others, Belle Obert (11 kills) and Mary Stiedl (10 kills), reached double digits as well. The Bulldogs finished at .316 hitting efficiency and racked up 13.5 blocks. MSU hit only .082.
Morehead State got a team-high 10 kills from senior outside hitter Aryn Bohannon. Junior setter Colbey Cameron notched her second straight double-double (33 assists, 17 digs), and senior libero Leslie Schellhaas tallied 16 ups.
With the first set tied at eight apiece, the Eagles rattled off the next three points, including two Bohannon spikes. MSU never trailed again in the frame, moving out to as much as a 20-14 advantage. Bohannon and sophomore middle blocker Hannah Sigala landed four kills each.
Butler raced away with the 12-point win in set two by virtue of a .385 attack efficiency. The Bulldogs constructed a 9-3 run midway through the set and an 8-0 scoring flurry late.
The Eagles committed eight attack errors in the third set, while the Bulldogs smacked 13 winners and hit .478. Butler led the entire set and finished on an 8-2 run after leading 17-11.
Butler registered 13 kills in the fourth set, and MSU was forced into nine errors. The Bulldogs held advantages in kills (49-45) and digs (66-54) for the night.
MIAMI (Fla.) 3, AUSTIN PEAY 1; BALL STATE 3, AUSTIN PEAY 0
TAMPA, Fla. - Junior Jada Stotts warmed up late and posted 21 kills but Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team could not turn an opening-set win into an upset of Miami, falling in four sets (22-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-19) in its season opener, Friday, at the USF Invitational.
Austin Peay (0-1) took advantage of an inconsistent start by Miami, roaring out to a 10-5 lead in the opening set. Miami fought back and tied the set at 13-13, before the two teams battled through a see-saw affair. The Lady Govs scored the set’s final three points, including two kills by senior Calyn Hull to secure the 25-22 victory.
Miami (1-0) nearly broke open the second set with an 8-1 run that built a 15-8 lead. The Lady Govs reeled the Hurricanes back in with their own 8-1 run to tie the set, 16-16. However, Miami closed the set with yet another 8-1 run to secure the 25-19 victory to tie the match.
The Hurricanes broke open the third set early with a 7-1 run to take a 13-8 lead and never looked back to take a 25-17 victory and a 2-1 advantage. The fourth set returned to form with the two teams battling their way to a 13-13 tie and a Miami timeout. The Hurricanes responded to the stoppage with five straight points and secured the set with a later 3-0 run en route to a 25-19 victory.
Stotts got off to a cold start and stood even with 10 kills and seven errors through two sets. She would rally with 11 kills and only three errors in the final two sets to finish with a match-best 21 kills. However, she was the only APSU hitter to reach double-digit kill territory as APSU finished with 44 kills and a meager .091 attack percentage.
Alex Johnson and Kelsie Groot each had 13 kills to pace the Miami offense. The Hurricanes finished with 53 kills and a .252 attack percentage.
Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team displayed a more balanced offensive attack in a narrow three-set loss (19-25, 23-25, 24-26) loss to Ball State, Friday, at the USF Invitational.
Austin Peay (0-2) returned to the floor after a morning four-set loss to Miami that saw junior outside hitter Jada Stotts dominate the action with 21 of the team’s 44 kills. The afternoon’s match against Ball State saw the Lady Govs put forth a more balanced effort. Stotts led the team with 13 kills but senior outside hitter Calyn Hull chipped in a career-high 10 kills.
That balanced effort wasn’t evident in the first set as Ball State (1-0) used a 9-3 run to build a 15-9 advantage. The run included a crucial set of three consecutive Austin Peay attack errors that helped push the BSU lead to five points. The Lady Govs would close back to within three points several times down the stretch but could get no closer as Ball State posted the 25-19 win.
The second set was a nip and tuck affair with 14 ties and six lead changes. Austin Peay would build an 11-6 lead as Hull scored three kills as part of a 6-0 run. Ball State answered with a six-point burst of its own to take a 12-11 lead. The Lady Govs moved to within three points of the set at 23-20, but a well-timed Cardinals timeout halted APSU’s momentum. Ball State took advantage with five straight points to win the set 25-20.
Austin Peay recouped after the break and jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third set and held a 16-10 advantage midway through the set. However, the Lady Govs offense short-circuited at that point and recorded just two kills the set’s remainder. Freshman outside hitter Sammie Ebright had one of those kills to tie the set at 24-24 but Ball State’s Lauren Grant put down back-to-back kills to seal the match.
Alex Fuelling led Ball State with 16 kills and three service aces. Hayley Benson chipped in 10 kills and three blocks. Ball State posted a narrow 47-40 edge in kills but its .225 attack percentage well outpaced Austin Peay’s .188 pace.
Austin Peay returns to action with a 1 p.m., Saturday contest against host South Florida.
LOYOLA 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 2; EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, MARIST 0
TOLEDO, Ohio - Eastern Illinois volleyball split first day action at the season-opening Toledo Blue/Gold Invitational on Friday, dropping a five-set thriller to Loyola (Chicago) before earning a sweep of Marist.
Individual match scores consisted of 20-25, 25-23, 26-28, 25-14, 13-15 in the loss to the Ramblers and 25-20, 25-22, 25-22 against the Red Foxes as the Panthers move to 1-1 overall on the very early season.
Facing LU for the 24th time, the Panthers were led by sophomore Chelsea Lee’s 21 kill and 13 dig double-double, marking the first such performance by the outside hitter in her young EIU career, pacing all players on the court thanks to a .357 attack and 23.5 points.
Fellow sophomore Abby Saalfrank followed with eight kills from the right side attack, while the senior middle duo of Stephanie Arnold and Amy Martin combined for 20 points and nine blocks.
Sophomore setter Marah Bradbury dished out 44 assists and came one dig shy of her eighth career double-double. As the starting libero, classmate Stephanie Wallace registered 23 digs, two away from tying her career high.
The season-opening match featured 28 ties and 14 lead changes as the Panthers led the Ramblers in attack (.197-to-.160) and digs (59-to-58), while both squads roofed 12 shots and had some shaky moments in the service game behind a combined 24 service errors.
With the loss, the Panthers now trail the all-time series history with Loyola, 10-14.
Lee would once step up her play to lead all Panthers in the late afternoon sweep of Marist, as she added 15 put-a-ways off just three errors for a .387 attack, adding five digs and a trio of blocks for a 17.5 point tally. For the day the Menomonee Falls, Wis., native registered 36 total kills off a .370 clip, with two aces, 18 digs, six blocks, and 41 total points.
Arnold recorded an additional nine kills with zero errors against Marist, sporting a .529 middle attack and tying Lee with three blocks. The senior roofed eight total shots to nab 20.5 total points in both Friday matchups.
Bradbury assisted on 34 kills and nailed five kills with zero errors as well, while in other defensive numbers, Wallace chipped in 20 more digs to up her career mark of 12 matches with 15-or-more digs.
In team numbers, the Panthers out-performed Marist in kills (46-to-38), attack (.366-to-.183), assists (42-to-36), digs (49-to-39), blocks (eight-to-six), and points (54-to-47). The Red Foxes earn the advantage in aces via a six-to-four lead.
EIU finishes up invitational play on Saturday, facing West Virginia at 9 a.m., prior to taking on the host Rocket squad in the 6 p.m. nightcap.
UT MARTIN 3, MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE 0
PEORIA, Ill. – The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team made short work of Maryland-Eastern Shore this afternoon, sweeping the two-time defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions 3-0 (25-17, 25-10, 25-20) in the CEFCU Classic.
Offense was the name of the game for UT Martin today, as the Skyhawks hit a sizzling .382 as a team, slamming down 44 kills against only 10 errors in 89 attempts. That ranks as the best hitting percentage the team has produced in six seasons under head coach Darrin McClure.
Sophomore Lynsey Hazelwood led the Skyhawks with 10 kills against only two errors in 17 attempts (.471 attack percentage). Allie Whimpey hit .438 with nine kills in 16 attempts, while Julia Devinney tallied seven kills against only one error in 12 attempts for a .500 attack percentage in her collegiate debut.
Setter Amanda Crask was responsible for six kills (with zero errors) in 13 attempts for a .462 attack percentage while handing out a match-high 32 assists.
Defensively, Chelsea Bowles led the way with 17 digs while Emily Keaton added 10 scoops to help limit the Hawks to a .108 attack percentage for the match.
Keaton began the match with two straight service aces and after an assisted block by Whimpey and Alisha Erves, the Skyhawks rolled out to a 4-1 lead. After Maryland-Eastern Shore bounced back to tie the set at 8-all, UT Martin reeled off four straight points to reclaim the lead. The teams then traded points until yet another Keaton service ace gave the Skyhawks a 20-15 advantage. The Hawks got within 21-17 before UT Martin closed out the set with four unanswered points.
Hazelwood and Whimpey each had four kills to lead the Skyhawks, while Crask handed out 13 assists as UT Martin combined to hit .556 (16 kills, one error) in 27 attempts.
The Skyhawks once again jumped out to an early lead in the second set, accounting for three of the first four points. Devinney had her hand in back-to-back blocks to help give UT Martin a 9-4 lead, but Maryland-Eastern Shore would climb back to get within four at 12-8. The Skyhawks then concluded the set on a 13-2 run, as three kills by Erves paved the way for the 25-10 victory.
UT Martin hit .400 (13 kills, three errors in 25 attempts) in the second set but the real story was the defense, who held the Hawks to a -.133 attack percentage (five kills, nine errors) in 30 attempts.
Maryland-Eastern Shore began the third set on a 4-1 run but the Skyhawks clawed back to take a 7-6 lead thanks to an Erves kill and service ace by Hazelwood. The Hawks were able to reclaim the advantage and lead by as many as three (12-9) before four consecutive points by UT Martin tilted the score back in the Skyhawks’ favor at 13-12. Six ties and four lead changes then followed, as the match was knotted at 19-all until four straight points by the Skyhawks opened up a 23-19 lead. Back-to-back kills by Crask and Hazelwood put the exclamation point on the UT Martin sweep.
Hazelwood and Devinney both registered four kills in the third set to pace the Skyhawks, while Crask (10 assists) and Bowles (seven digs) also heavily contributed to the victory.
UT Martin returns tomorrow (Aug. 31) for a pair of matches on the second and final day of the CEFCU Classic. The Skyhawks will battle Western Illinois at 10 a.m., followed by a nightcap against host Bradley at 7:30 p.m
EASTERN KENTUCKY 3, KENNESAW STATE 2
RADFORD, Va. - Ashley Edmond’s kill, followed by a Kennesaw State attack error, gave Eastern Kentucky a 3-2 win in its season opener on Friday at the La Quinta Inn and Suites Highlander Invitational hosted by Radford.
Set scores were 27-25, 23-25, 25-21, 23-25 and 16-14.
Edmond gave Eastern (1-0) match-point, 14-13, with a kill before the Owls (0-1) tied the set for the fourth time. Edmond’s 17th and final kill of the match gave the Colonels a 15-14 lead. An attack error by KSU’s Toure Hopkins ended it.
Edmond added 13 digs and two block assists to go with her team-best 17 kills. Freshman Johanna Boyer totaled 15 kills in her collegiate debut. Junior Alexis Plagens added 12 kills and two block assists.
Dena Ott led all players with 19 digs for Eastern Kentucky. Mallori Moffat (27 assists) and Abbey Cvelbar (23 assists) split the setting duties.
Kelly Marcinek had a match-best 23 kills for Kennesaw State.
KSU had 10 more kills and out-hit Eastern .271 to .186, but the Colonels finished with six more service aces, two more blocks and nine more digs.
The first set went to “overtime” before an ace by Ally Peters, and a block by Plagens and Tori Anderson staked EKU to a 1-0 lead. Eastern pulled away late in the third set to take a 2-1 lead. The Colonels led by just one point, 20-19, before scoring five of the next seven to take the set.
The fourth set was tied 23-23 before the Owls scored two straight to send the match to a decisive fifth set.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 0; SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, UALR 2
STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Southeast Missouri volleyball team opened the 2013 season with a split at day one of the Maroon Classic hosted by Mississippi State Friday. Southeast fell in game one to the Bulldogs 3-0 (23-25, 18-25, 18-25) but turned it around in game two against UALR, winning 3-2 in five sets (30-28, 21-25, 15-25, 25-23, 15-12).
Mississippi State 3, Southeast Missouri 0
The Bulldogs got the better of the Redhawks in the season opener, shutting-out Southeast, 3-0. Mississippi State had 55 kills to the Redhawk's 22 kills in the match.
The Redhawks fell in the first set 25-23. The first six points for the Redhawks came from MSU errors before Colleen Yarber recorded the first Redhawk kill. The Redhawks went on a 6-1 run at one point before falling behind and allowing MSU to take the set.
MSU came out of the gate fast in the second set and never looked back taking the set 25-18.
Much like the second set, the Bulldogs struck fast and pulled ahead of the Redhawks. MSU wrapped up the match with a 5-0 run, taking the set 25-18.
Yarber had seven kills and 12 digs in the match. Andrea Baylin recorded six kills with two blocks for Southeast.
Kimmy Gardiner killed the ball 19 times against the Redhawks with a .486 attack percentage.
Southeast Missouri 3, UALR 2
Southeast fell behind 2-1 in the match but rallied at the right times to come from behind and win their first match of the season.
The first set of game two for the Redhawks went long as Southeast and UALR battled back and fourth toward the end; but Southeast prevailed, 30-28. Southeast went on an 8-1 run to force the extra points. Southeast had a respectable .317 attack percentage in the first set.
UALR took sets two and three, 25-21, 25-15.
After being behind, Southeast went on a 6-1 run in the fourth set to pull ahead of UALR and take a comfortable lead. With a 24-18 lead, UALR went on a 5-0 run to pull within one point of the Redhawks. Southeast called a quick timeout followed by Baylin laying down a kill from Julie Shives to win the fourth set and force a fifth and final set.
Southeast jumped out in front in the fifth set and held on to win the match, 15-12.
Emily Coon recorded 20 kills in the match; one short of tying a career-high, with eight blocks (three solo, five assisted). Yaber contributed to the win with 16 kills of her own, more than doubling her performance from earlier in the day. Shives had 44 assists in the five-set contest.
Southeast will wrap-up play at the Maroon Classic Saturday evening at 7 p.m. with a rematch against Mississippi State.
MINNESOTA 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 0; MERCER 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Jacksonville State volleyball team opened the 2013 season on Friday with a pair of losses at the UAB/Samford Volleyball Challenge.
The Gamecocks opened the tournament with a 3-0 (25-8, 25-15, 25-16) loss to No. 6 Minnesota before dropping a 3-1 (25-17, 25-23, 18-25, 28-26) decision to Mercer in the final match of the day.
In the opener, the Golden Gophers were led by four players in double figures in kills, three of which posted double-doubles.
Junior Nicole Merget led the Gamecocks with six kills in the match while senior Abbey Heredia posted a double-double with 15 assists and 11 digs.
Defensively, Sophomore Samantha Bohne posted 11 digs while senior Kelly Cole added 10 digs.
Tori Dixon led the Golden Gophers with a 17-kill, 12-dig performance. Daly Santana followed with 12 kills and 11 digs while Ashley Wittman posted 10 kills and 11 digs. Sarah Wilhite added 10 kills while Alexandra Palmer led the team with 41 assists and 22 digs.
Minnesota used a balanced offensive attack in the first two sets while claiming 25-8 and 25-15 victories. In the first set, the Golden Gophers limited the Gamecocks to a -.029 hitting percentage while posting a .387 hitting percentage on offense.
The Gamecocks rebounded and came out strong in the third set, opening the up with an 8-2 run. Dixon then led the Golden Gophers back with 7 kills in the set, including three in a row at one point to secure the 25-16 match clinching victory.
Against the Bears, sophomore Emily Rutherford led the way with 12 kills and 13 digs while Merget added 10 kills. Junior Alina Agamy led JSU with 23 assists and 15 digs while Heredia added her second double-double of the day with 21 assists and 13 digs.
Defensively, Cole led the way with 22 digs.
After being held to a .114 and .060 hitting percentage in the first and second sets, the Gamecocks came back and hit .324 as a team in the third set. Rutherford's five kills helped JSU pull out the 25-18 victory.
The Gamecocks found themselves with a 24-20 lead and look poised to tie the match in the fourth set before four consecutive errors tied the match at 24-24. A kill by freshman Kacy Clinkenbeard then gave the Gamecocks a 25-24 lead and chance to clinch the match before another error tied the set.
The two teams then swapped points to tie the match at 26-26 before Mercer was able to score the next two points to clinch the game.
The Gamecocks will wrap up the tournament Saturday against Presbyterian at 12:30 p.m. and tournament host UAB at 3 p.m.
MEMPHIS 3, BELMONT 2
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont volleyball dropped a five-set heartbreaker in the season opener to Memphis Friday night in the Curb Event Center.
Freshman Jessical Vestal (Concord, Calif.) and junior Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.) were huge contributors to the Bruins in front of a great crowd. Vestal, who redshirted last year, recorded her first career double-double with 17 kills and 13 digs. While Gable also registered a double-double with a team-high 20 kills and 10 digs.
In the first set, Memphis jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but a kill from senior Danielle Prochaska (Middleton, Wisc.) cut the Tigers' lead to 9-5. Memphis went on to score eight unanswered points before junior Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.) ended their run. The Tigers went on to take set one, 25-13.
Belmont got on the board first in the second set with a kill from senior Allison McCoy (Huntington Beach, Calif.). Redshirt freshman Jessica Vestal (Concord, Calif.) recorded her first collegiate kill for the Bruins. Her three straight kills put the Bruins ahead 8-7.
The set remained a back-and-forth battle, but Memphis took a 2-0 advantage heading into the intermission.
The Bruins jumped out to an early 7-4 lead in set three, but Memphis bounced back taking the lead before a kill from Gable tied the set at 9. A kill from junior Alex Martin (Ooltewah, Tenn.) sparked a 4-0 run to put BU ahead 18-16.
Memphis tied the set at 23, but a pair of kills from Gable put the Bruins on top 25-24. The Tigers answered with back-to-back points to take a 26-25 lead before Belmont fought back to tie it at 26. Behind a service ace from Gable and a kill from Martin, Belmont took set three, 28-26.
Belmont controlled the fourth set, winning the set 25-17 to force a deciding set. The Bruins jumped out to an early lead scoring four unanswered points. Gable and Vestal both played vital roles for BU in the last three sets.
The Bruins took control again in the fifth set. McCoy and senior setter Hannah Miranda (Covington, La.) had a huge block to put BU's up 9-7 before they extending their lead to 13-9 off a huge kill by Vestal.
Memphis responded by cutting Belmont's lead to one and ultimately tying the set at 13. Vestal silence the Tigers to regain the Bruins' lead, but it wasn't enough to hold off Memphis as they won the final set, 16-4.
Miranda tallied a game-high 50 assists, while senior libero Jamie Lundstrom (La Grange, Ill.) recorded a game-high 31 digs. Lundstrom is 54 digs away from being Belmont's all-time leader.
Belmont will return to action tomorrow at 12:30 against Gardner-Webb in the sixth annual Belmont Invitational.
INDIANA STATE 3, SIUE 2
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - For the third time in four seasons, SIUE volleyball and Indiana State needed a fifth set to decide a winner.
Indiana State edged the Cougars in five sets 23-25, 25-21, 25-15, 20-25, 15-12. It was the season opener for both teams at the SIUE Cougar Classic.
SIUE had 10 kills in the fifth set to just three for the Sycamores. However, Indiana State took advantage of eight SIUE miscues in the fifth set to collect the win.
Kelsey Augustine and Hilary Trevino led the SIUE offense with 13 kills each Friday. Kristen Torre added 10.
SIUE's offense collected 56 kills in the match while Indiana State managed just 45. Morgan Dall and Cassandra Willis led the Sycamores with 13 and 12 kills, respectively.
Indiana State recorded 16 blocks, including 10 from Kyla Thomas. Three different players finished with 17 digs each. SIUE's Chelsea Colclasure led all players with 27 digs.
SOUTH ALABAMA 3, TENNESSEE STATE 1
Mobile, Ala. – The Tennessee State volleyball team opened the 2013 campaign with a tough 3-1 loss to South Alabama on Friday evening at the Jaguar Invitational in Mobile, Ala. The Tigers (0-1) were even at the break, but dropped the last two games as they fell in the match 15-25, 25-22, 17-25, 23-25.
Junior Naomi Wells led the way with 18 kills and 12 digs. Taylor Swayzer notched 11 kills in her first match as a Tiger, while junior Sherryce Butler added ten. Freshman Arijana Anderson led TSU with a .500 hitting percentage (8k-1e-14a) as senior setter Erika Moss had 43 assists.
In the first game, the Tigers got off to a slow start and trailed 7-0 before Anderson registered the first kill of her career. Wells followed with a kill of her own to cut the lead to 7-2, but the Jaguars kept the pressure on and took advantage of four Tiger errors to build a 12-4 margin. After a timeout by head coach Kathy Roulhac, the tigers scored three of the next four points cutting the deficit to six. That would be as close as TSU would get as USA secured a 25-15 win.
South Alabama took advantage of a .538 hitting percentage in game one as they had 15 kills opposed to one error in 26 attempts. TSU hit .200 (11-6-25) during the first stanza.
The Tigers scored two points right out of the gate in game two. Wells opened with a kill and was followed by the first ace of Taylor Patterson’s career. TSU continued to set the pace as they used kills by Butler, Wells, Moss, Anderson and Shuantia Carr to take a 11-6 lead, forcing the Jaguars to call a timeout. USA picked up two quick points out of the break, but the Tigers responded with four of their own to extend the lead to 15-8. South Alabama would get back in the game with a 12-6 run cutting the lead to one, 21-20.
A kill by Butler and a block by Carr and Swayzer extended the lead to 23-20 and forced South Alabama to call their final timeout. Swayzer pushed the score to 24-20 with a kill, but USA tried to make a run scoring the next two points. The junior transfer would end the game with a kill giving TSU a 25-22 win and evened the match at 1-1 as the team’s entered the locker room.
The Big Blue saw their success come from a strong game at the net as they hit .395 on 17 kills and two errors in 38 attempts. USA was able to record 12 kills but TSU held them to a .235 average.
The Tigers once again started fast as Anderson used a kill and a block to help open a 3-0 lead. The Jaguars used a 3-0 run of their own to tie the game at 3-3. The teams would trade points until USA was able to gain an 11-9 lead. Wells would get the Tigers back to even with back-to-back kills. Anderson followed with a put-away to give TSU a 12-11 lead. The Jaguars would take control of the game and closed out with a 14-6 run. The 25-17 win by USA gave the host team a 2-1 advantage.
For the third straight game, the Tigers took an early lead 6-2 lead on kills by Anderson, Wells, Swayzer and Butler, as well as a block by Moss. With TSU leading 7-4, the Jaguars surged for six straight points and took a 7-10 lead. The Tigers were able to track USA down with a pair of kills by Wells and a service ace by Katie Burnett. The two teams traded blows until Wells scored a kill and a block to help TSU take a 21-20 lead. The Jaguars countered with a three point run only to see the Tigers battle back behind a kill by Wells to square the game at 23-23. USA used a kill to side-out and take the lead before scoring their ninth ace of the night to close out the match 25-23.
As a team, TSU finished the night with 52 kills and 20 errors in 128 attempts for a .250 hitting percentage.
The Tigers return to the court at 10:00am versus Georgia Southern and closes out play at 4:30pm against Southern Utah.
WINTHROP 3, TENNESSEE TECH 0
ROCK HILL, S.C. – The Tennessee Tech volleyball team finally had the opportunity to suit up and take the court for the first time Friday night in their first match of the Winthrop Invitational. Facing host Winthrop proved to be no easy task as the Golden Eagles lost in three sets.
The Golden Eagles opened up set one trading points with the Eagles, including three straight kills by sophomore Cody Dodd, senior Elise Robertson, and senior Natalie Penrod. Finally Winthrop went on a run, pulling away from the Golden Eagles to win the first set 25-16.
Set two started the same way. The Golden Eagles fought close with host Winthrop, even leading 13-11. But then the Eagles went on a six-point run, followed by a seven-point run, and ended the game winning by a 25-15 count.
Out of the break, the Golden Eagles needed some fight. Starting out down 11-4, the Golden Eagles ralled to bring it to 16-13, down just three. But the fight was not enough. Tech lost the third set, 25-18.
Penrod led the Golden Eagles with six kills and Dodd added five, hitting .300.
The Golden Eagles have two opportunities to get their first wins of the season Saturday.
On Saturday the Golden Eagles take on Savannah State at 9 a.m. CDT and Fordham at 3:30 p.m.
EVANSVILLE 3, MURRAY STATE 0
DURHAM, N.C. - Despite a pair of close sets, Murray State fell in their season opener 3-0 (24-26, 22-25, 15-25) against Evansville Friday night at the North Carolina Central Invitational. Emily Schmahl led the Racers with 12 kills while Taylor Olden fell one kill shy of a double-double, adding nine to go with her team-leading 24 digs.
Evansville jumped out to a 16-9 lead early in the first set, helped out by eight MSU attack errors. The Racers roared back into the contest, scoring eight of the next nine points to take their first lead of the set 18-17. Four different Racers recorded a kill on the run, including two from Schmahl.
The two squads traded points, with neither gaining more than a two point advantage. The Racers had a chance to take the opening set up 24-23 with the serve, but the Purple Aces scored the next three points to earn a 26-24 victory.
The second set was much of the same as the first as the Racers and Purple Aces were deadlocked at 16 midway through. In a back-and-forth set that was tied on five separate occasions, three straight Evansville points put the Purple Aces up 19-16. MSU tried to climb back on the strength of two consecutive Sam Bedard kills, but would get no closer. The Purple Aces closed the set on a 6-3 run to take a 2-0 match lead.
A quick start put the Purple Aces up four early in the third set, 7-3 and the Racers were never able to rebound as Evansville cruised to a 25-15 victory and 3-0 match sweep.
Rachel TenHoor put away seven kills in the final set for the Purple Aces, on her way to a match-high 13.
Bedard finished three kills away from a triple-double as she filled out the box score with a team leading 28 assists along with 10 digs and seven kills.
Alyssa Lelm and Scottie Ingram each chipped in six kills.
Evansville held the advantage in attack percentage, .270-to-.115. They also committed 14 less attack errors than the Racers, including only one in the second set to go along with 17 kills.
The Racers continue their opening weekend tournament tomorrow afternoon taking on a pair of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opponents in Hampton and tournament host North Carolina Central. First serve is set for 2:30 and 4:30 respectively.