SATURDAY’S SCORES
UAB 3,
Austin Peay 0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-16)
Tennessee Tech 3, Niagara 0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-23)
Belmont 3, Columbia 2 (25-15, 25-19, 18-25, 14-25, 15-8)
Southeast Missouri 3, Southern Illinois 2 (21-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-23, 15-10)
Samford 3,
Jacksonville State 0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-14)
@Morehead State 3, IUPUI 2 (25-23, 22-25, 21-25, 25-23, 15-10)
UT Martin 3, @Chattanooga 2 (23-25, 25-18, 25-16, 22-25, 15-9)
@Middle Tennessee 3,
Austin Peay 2 (25-21, 25-16, 18-25, 18-25, 15-10)
Morehead State 3, Montana State 2 (25-22, 26-24, 21-25, 25-23, 15-11)
Eastern Illinois 3, @Drake 0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-14)
DePaul 3,
Eastern Illinois 1 (15-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-15)
@Arizona 3,
Eastern Kentucky 0 (25-1, 25-15, 25-14)
Butler 3,
Eastern Kentucky 0 (25-12, 25-22, 26-24)
@Northern Illinois 3,
Belmont 1 (25-17, 25-23, 22-25, 25-13)
Tennessee 3,
UT Martin 1 (27-29, 25-20, 25-20, 25-17)
Bradley 3,
SIUE 2 (25-19, 23-25, 22-25, 25-20, 16-14)
Murray State 3, Alabama State 0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-19)
Murray State 3, North Carolina A&T 1 (20-25, 25-10, 25-20, 25-18)
UAB 3, AUSTIN PEAY 0; MIDDLE TENNESSEE 3, AUSTIN PEAY
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University’s volleyball had an error-prone outing and suffered a three-set sweep (18-25, 23-25, 16-25) at the hands of UAB in a Saturday morning match at the MT Invitational.
Austin Peay (2-5) could not overcome its own errors throughout the match. The Lady Govs finished with 34 errors in the contest, including 20 attack errors. UAB maintained a cleaner outing with 19 errors, including only seven on attack.
Despite all the miscues, neither team was able to piece together long runs in the opening two sets, with each team stringing together a three-point run only three times each. UAB had two such runs in the opening set, both in the latter stages. A four-point run – the longest by either team before the break – pushed its lead to 22-16 en route to a 25-18 win.
The second set saw UAB use a three-point run to build a four-point lead, 17-13. Austin Peay would use two of its three-point runs to nearly pull back even, 23-22, but could not level the set and lost 25-23.
UAB (5-1) came out of the break and pieced together a match-best five-point run and later added a four-point burst to build a 12-5 lead. Austin Peay only won back-to-back points four times in the set as UAB pulled away for the match-clinching 25-16 victory.
Cayln Hull followed up her career-best 25-kill effort in Friday’s afternoon match with a team-best 13 kills. Sammie Ebright chipped in nine kills and a team-best .438 attack percentage. Austin Peay recorded 39 kills but with the 20 errors posted a .218 attack percentage.
Sam Skinner led UAB with 16 kills and a .536 attack percentage, committing only one attack error. The Blazers scored 42 kills and eight blocks.
Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team rallied from a two-set deficit but fell in five-sets (21-25, 16-25, 25-18, 25-18, 15-10) at Middle Tennessee, Saturday, in its final match of the MT Invitational.
Austin Peay (2-6) got off to a slow start in the opening set and trailed by seven points, 17-10, as Middle Tennessee’s offense did not commit an error in that opening stretch. The Lady Govs slowly reeled the match back in and used a six-point run to cut the deficit to one point, 22-21. However, they could not tie the set and the Blue Raiders scored the final three points to secure the win, 25-21.
Middle Tennessee (4-2) slowly took control in the second set, overcoming an initial Austin Peay lead to build a 14-10 advantage. The Blue Raiders finished the set with an 11-6 run that saw the Lady Govs record just one kill to post the 25-16 win.
Middle Tennessee looked poised to run away with the third set, leading 9-7 after a five-point run. Austin Peay was hitting “negative” with more errors (4) than kills (2) at that point. However, the Lady Govs recovered offensively with nine kills in their final 14 swings. Cami Fields tacked on back-to-back service aces for a 17-12 advantage that cemented the lead and Austin Peay rolled to the 25-18 victory.
Austin Peay carried the magic into the fourth set, jumping out to a 12-4 lead thanks to eight kills. The Lady Govs pushed the lead to 10 points, 20-10, after a Samantha Strother kill. Middle Tennessee would chip away at the lead late; closing to within six points twice, but could not erase the deficit before Austin Peay won 25-18.
Middle Tennessee took advantage of a trio of Austin Peay errors early in the fifth set, taking a 3-1 lead. Austin Peay could not close that gap and surrendered a 4-1 run that saw MTSU’s lead grow to 11-6. The Blue Raiders would not surrender that lead and won the match with a 15-10 set win.
Senior Calyn Hull led the Lady Govs with a 19-kill performance, posting a .359 attack percentage. Senior Lauren Henderson chipped in 12 kills at a .450 clip while freshman Samantha Strother and junior Hillary Plybon each added nine kills.
Jale Hervey led Middle Tennessee with 15 kills and a .400 attack percentage. Chelsea Ross added 14 kills.
Austin Peay will return to action when it meets Tennessee in the opening match of the Comcast Lady Vol Classic, Thursday.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, NIAGARA 0
AKRON, Ohio - Junior Ellen Conti was nearly flawless Saturday and her power and accuracy helped lift the Tennessee Tech volleyball team to a hard-earned, 3-0 victory over Niagara in the Akron Invitational.
It was a battle in all three sets, with Tech winning 25-22, 25-22 and 25-23.
The Golden Eagles return home with a 3-3 overall record after the first two weekends of actionunder first-year head coach Dave Zelenock. Tech wraps up its pre-conference tournament play next weekend at the Kennesaw State Invitational.
Conti produced a .700 hitting percentage by crushing 14 kills without an error in 20 attempts. She added 11 digs.
In addition to Conti, senior Elise Robertson 12 kills while hitting .304, helping the Golden Eagles post a .257 team hitting mark for the match.
Freshman setter Sharon Anderson had 41 assists and 11 digs, while Casey Dodd and Natalie Penrod put up three blocks each.
Niagara (0-6) was led by Amanda Sedore with 11 kills.
Tech will face host Kennesaw State on Friday at 10 a.m., them meets Coastal Carolina at 4 p.m. On Saturday, the Golden Eagles meet Stony Brook at 9 a.m. and Samford at 1:30 p.m.
BELMONT 3, COLUMBIA 2; NORTHERN ILLINOIS 3, BELMONT 1
EVANSTON, Ill. – Belmont volleyball (2-5) snapped a four game skid with a five-set win over Columbia Saturday morning in the Wildcat Classic.
Belmont won the opening set, 25-15 after the Bruins took control early with a 7-2 lead. Columbia rallied back going on several short runs to try and close the gap, but the Bruins continued to extend their lead. A kill from Alex Martin (Ooltewah, Tenn.) sparked a Belmont run and the Bruins closed the set scoring four unanswered points.
In set two, Jessica Vestal (Concord, Calif.) put Belmont on the board first. Despite the Bruins jumping out to an early lead again, Columbia fought back to come within one, 8-7. Capped by a Columbia attack error, the Bruins scored three unanswered points to extend their lead to 22-15. The Lions responded with a 4-1 run and cut BU's lead to 23-19, but kills from Vestal and Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.) closed the set, 25-19 and gave Belmont a 2-0 advantage at the break.
Columbia battled back and took the third set, 25-18. The Lions took an 8-6 lead, but Belmont tied it at 8-all behind a kill from Gable and a Lions error. The Lions continued to extend their lead before BU silenced their run with three straight points to take a 12-11 lead. A 5-1 run by the Lions put them ahead 16-13. Columbia continued to extend their lead as they closed the set on a 3-1 run.
The fourth set remained close, with both teams exchanging points. A kill from Hannah Miranda (Covington, La.) capped a run for the Bruins as they scored five unanswered points to take a two-point lead, 10-8. Columbia silenced BU's run and took an 11-10 lead.
Columbia took the fourth set, 25-14 as the Lions scored 12 unanswered points to end the set, tying the match at 2-2 and forcing a fifth set.
In the deciding set, Belmont jumped out to a 4-1 lead and three straight kills from Gable put BU ahead 8-4. The Bruins scored four unanswered points to take a seven-point lead. A pair of kills from Vestal gave Belmont a 15-8 win in the fifth to take the match, 3-2.
Gable recorded a double-double in the match with a team-high 18 kills and 20 digs. Vestal added 14 kills. Jamie Lundstrom (La Grange, Ill.) paced the defense with 27 digs and she was also named to the All-Tournament Team.
The Bruins will continue their road swing tonight at Northern Illinois. The match time is set for 7:00pm.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 2
MANAHTTAN, Kans. – The Southeast Missouri (4-2) volleyball team wrapped up tournament play at the Kansas State Invitational Saturday morning with a five-set win over regional rival, Southern Illinois (2-5).
Southeast matched its tournament record from the previous weekend, finishing 2-1.
With Saturday's win, Southeast snapped a four-game losing streak to SIU dating back to 2008. Southeast last beat SIU on Oct. 9, 2007, 3-1.
SIU took an early lead in the first set on a 7-0 run, aided by four-straight errors by Southeast. The Salukis took the set 25-21.
The Redhawks turned the tables on SIU in the second set and defeated the Salukis by the same score as set one to tie up the match at one set apiece. Southeast closed out the set with seven straight unanswered points.
After jumping out to an early 7-1 lead, Southern Illinois allowed Southeast to go on a 7-0 run and take a one point lead. Tied at 17, SIU went on a 5-0 run to take a comfy lead and eventually the set, 25-20.
Down 2-1 in the match, the Redhawks used a couple of runs in the fourth set to keep up with a strong Saluki offense. Southeast won the tight set 25-23 to tie up the match and force a decisive fifth set.
Down 10-2, SIU went on an 8-3 run to pull the score to 13-10. Southeast used an SIU attack error and a service ace to take the set 15-10 and the match.
Colleen Yarber led the Redhawks with 16 kills. Emily Coon had 12 kills of her own with four blocks. Taylor Masterson was a wall on the net with a career-high 11 blocks (two solo, nine assisted). Kelsey Keeve also had a career day on the net with eight blocks.
Jessica Whitehead had an impressive 28 kills for SIU in 71 attempts and a respectable .268 attack percentage.
The Redhawks will travel to Columbus, Ohio Friday for the Sports Imports DC Koehl Classic hosted by Ohio State. The Redhawks are slated to take on Xavier, Ohio State, and IUPUI.
SAMFORD 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Jacksonville State volleyball team fell to Samford on the final day of the Lipscomb Invitational at Allen Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The Gamecocks fall to 2-5 after hitting just .133 in the set. The Bulldogs improve to 5-2 after hitting .296 in the 25-17, 25-22, 25-14 sweep of the Gamecocks.
Junior Nicole Merget led JSU with a .368 hitting percentage to go with seven kills. Sophomore Emily Rutherford and freshman Liza Pflugradt followed with six kills each.
Junior setter Alina Agamy led the Gamecocks with 24 assists while senior Kelly Cole recorded 10 digs to lead the defensive effort.
The Bulldogs were led by Michaela Reesor with 13 kills on a .346 attack percentage. Stephanie Palmer finished with 33 assists while Chelsi Carter led the way with 18 digs.
Samford got off to a strong start in the first set, racing out to an early 10-4 lead. The Bulldogs managed to hit .370 for the set while holding the Gamecocks to a .086 attack percentage in the 25-17 opening set victory.
Merget paced the Gamecocks with four kills in the second set as neither team could pull away from the other. The two teams swapped points early on and saw the match tied up 15 different times. With the match tied 20-20, Samford was able to pull away, using a service ace by Carter and a kill from Palmer to build a 22-20 lead. That would prove to be enough as the Bulldogs pulled away for the 25-22 victory.
The Bulldogs opened the third set on a 4-0 run and quickly raced out to a 19-5 lead. Trailing 21-9, the Gamecocks managed to go on a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to 21-13. JSU started the run with a kill by freshman Kacy Clinkenbeard. Senior Abbey Heredia then followed with a service ace and Pflugradt posted two kills in the run to spark a timeout by the Bulldogs. Following the timeout, Samford went on a 4-1 run to close out the match with the 25-14 victory.
The Gamecocks will open their home schedule on Monday September 9 at Pete Mathews Coliseum against Auburn University.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, IUPUI 2; MOREHEAD STATE 3, MONTANA STATE 2
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Junior middle blocker Laura McDermott, sophomore middle blocker Hannah Sigala and senior outside hitter Aryn Bohannon all recorded 17 kills, and the Morehead State volleyball team rallied to defeat IUPUI, 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 21-25, 25-23, 15-10), Saturday afternoon at Wetherby Gym.
Morehead State improved to 3-3, while the Jaguars fell to 2-4.
Sigala notched career-highs in kills and hitting percentage (.448), while McDermott hit .316. Bohannon also scooped 14 IUPUI attempts for a double-double, her third of the year.
Senior defensive specialist Lindsey Roth, starting for the first time this season, tallied a team-best 21 digs. Junior setter Colbey Cameron produced a career-high 61 assists and had 14 digs. Senior libero Leslie Schellhaas notched 20 digs.
Moriah Fair topped the Jaguars' stat sheet with 21 kills. IUPUI was whistled for 13 blocking errors.
Senior libero Leslie Schellhaas piled up a season-high 29 digs and junior middle blocker Laura McDermott recorded a career-best 20 kills to lead the Morehead State volleyball team to a 3-2 (22-25, 26-24, 21-25, 25-23, 15-11) victory over Montana State in the finale of the Comfort Inn and Suites Invitational Saturday night at Wetherby Gym.
Schellhaas was named to the all-tournament team. The Eagles moved to 4-3, while the Bobcats, who dropped all three this weekend, fell to 1-6.
McDermott took 35 swings and made just seven errors en route to a team-best .371 hitting efficiency. Schellhaas, who ranks seventh in school career history in digs, helped the hosts own a slight 75-71 in digs.
Senior outside hitter Aryn Bohannon and junior right-side hitter Alex Fitzmorris contributed 11 winners apiece, while junior setter Colbey Cameron posted 33 assists and 13 digs for her team-best fifth double-double in 2013. Freshman outside hitter Hope Rillema started for just the second time in her career and collected career standards of 10 digs and eight kills.
Morehead State hit only .121 but totaled seven aces and eight blocks. Fitzmorris and sophomore middle blocker Hannah Sigala had four rejections each.
Montana State's Loni Kreun tallied a team-best 15 kills, while all-tournament selection Kennedie Clute swatted 14 attempts down. Libero Nicole Baker scooped up 23 Eagle attacks.
The match featured 19 ties and seven lead changes, including 13 ties in the second and third sets.
Morehead State raced to a 9-3 advantage in the deciding set but had to hold on as Montana State rallied. The Bobcats crept to within 11-9, but a McDermott kill and an ace from senior defensive specialist Lindsey Roth helped thwart the comeback bid.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, DRAKE 0; DePAUL 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Eastern Illinois volleyball split final day tourney action on Saturday (Sep. 7) to earn Drake Invitational runner-up team honors, as the Panthers swept the host squad (25-16, 25-19, 25-14), but fell to tourney champ DePaul in a four-set set-back (15-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-15).
The Panthers now sit at 3-4 overall on the early-season.
In the afternoon sweep of the host Drake squad, sophomore Chelsea Lee and senior Reynae Hutchinson led the Panther outside attack via respective 14 and 10 kill marks, while Lee also hit .462 in the contest.
Sophomore Abby Saalfrank added nine kills on the right side as classmate Marah Bradbury dished out 36 assists and led her squad with two aces and a .625 attack with zero errors.
Defensively, junior libero Dakota Springer had another fine performance in the backcourt thanks to a new career-high 19 digs, while senior Stephanie Arnold paced the Panther net defense with four blocks in addition to eight put-downs.
The Panthers completely dominated the invite hosts in nearly every statistical category, including leading in kills (54-to-32), attack (.371-to-.181), assists (44-to-30), aces (four-to-one), digs (50-to-38), and points (63.0-to-38.0). Both teams recorded five blocks apiece.
The match marked the 15th meeting between the Panthers and Bulldogs as EIU now owns a 9-6 all-time series lead as the contest featured just three ties and two lead changes as Eastern controlled the match from nearly start to finish.
Unfortunately the Panther momentum would come to a halt in the official championship match of the weekend as EIU fell to eventual title winner DePaul in a four-set contest.
The Panthers jumped out to a dominating 25-15 first set win thanks to a .556 team attack with zero errors. That set was followed by a tight 25-23 affair that could have gone either way.
But the Blue Demons then exploded with consecutive hot-hitting sets and held onto the momentum to earn the come-from-behind win and stay undefeated at 6-0 on the season, as EIU committed 28 errors in the final three sets, as half came via unforced miscues.
Hutchinson would be the lone Panther to earn double-digit kills in the loss, with Lee coming just short with nine kills.
Arnold chipped in nine additional put-a-ways and roofed four DePaul attack to again lead EIU at the net, as Springer secured 11 additional digs in additional defensive EIU stat numbers.
A trio of Blue Demons nailed 10-or-more kills, led by Vesala Zapryanova's 17 shots and impressive .652 attack clip. Natalie Rizzo tallied seven total blocks while libero Allyson Rooks upped 19 EIU attacks.
EIU trailed DePaul in kills (42-to-52), attack (.118-to-.355), assists (33-to-49), aces (four-to-five), and digs (34-to-42). Meanwhile, the stat of the match was total blocks as DePaul out-stuffed EIU, 14.0-to-five.
Despite the tough loss to the Blue Demons, the Panthers still enjoy a sizeable 19-6 all-time series advantage, having actually won eight of the last ten matchups.
The Panthers will now prepare for the squad's third consecutive early-season tournament slate next weekend, traveling to Kansas City, Missouri to compete in the two-day, four-team UMKC Kangaroo Klassic.
On Friday, (Sep. 13), Eastern will face Wake Forest and the host Kangaroos, before taking on Presbyterian the following Saturday morning.
ARIZONA 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0; BUTLER 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0
TUCSON, Ariz. - Eastern Kentucky concluded play at the Arizona Desert Classic with a pair of 3-0 losses to host Arizona and Butler on Saturday.
Butler won by scores of 25-12, 25-22 and 26-24. Alexis Plagens had a team-best 11 kills for the Colonels (4-3). Dena Ott finished with a match-high 16 digs. Sophomore Rachel Vick totaled three blocks. The Bulldogs (6-1) were led by Belle Obert’s 14 kills and 11 digs.
EKU out-blocked Butler 6.0 to 5.5, but posted a .102 attack percentage. Butler had 12 more kills and a .231 attack percentage.
Arizona won by scores of 25-17, 25-15 and 25-14. Ashley Edmond led Eastern with seven kills. Plagens and Johanna Boyer each added five kills. The Wildcats (4-1) were led by Madi Kingdon and Rachel Rhoades with nine kills each.
BRADLEY 3, SIUE 2
OMAHA, Neb. - Kristen Torre led four SIUE players with double figures kills Saturday against Bradley at the Omaha Marriott Classic.
Bradley, 4-1, won the final two points in a close five-set victory over the Cougars. The Braves topped SIUE 25-19, 23-25, 22-25, 25-20, 16-14.
Freshman setter Mallory Mangun and junior libero Chelsea Colclasure were named to the All-Tournament team. SIUE showed it had the top defense of the tournament with more than 18 digs per set over the last three matches.
Colclasure averaged 5.78 digs per set for the tournament. She led five SIUE players in double figures digs with 21. SIUE's defense recorded a season-best 89 digs. Mangun was second on the team for the weekend with 3.50 digs per set along with her 10.83 assists per set.
Torre's 17 kills was the second most in her collegiate career. Cori Harris, Kelsey Augustine, and Hilary Trevino added 10 kills each. SIUE finished with a season-high 61 kills.
Sunday's battle went back and forth. After Bradley took the opening set, SIUE tied up the match in the second set. Alicia Streetar put the Cougars ahead in sets 2-1 with a kill to end the third set.
After struggling her first two sets, Bradley's Amy Angelos paced her team's comeback. She recorded seven kills in the third set and five each in the next two sets. She led all hitters with 20 kills and a .395 hitting percentage.
Bradley and SIUE were tied 14-14 in the final set when Kristi Chynoweth put the Bradley ahead 15-14 with a kill. Bradley's Melissa Hoerber served out the match on an attack error by Torre.
SIUE, now 2-4, next travels to Evansville, Ind., for the UE Tournament. SIUE faces Evansville, Valparaiso, and Memphis beginning next Friday.
TENNESSEE 3, UT MARTIN 1; UT MARTIN 3, CHATTANOOGA 2
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team closed out a successful weekend by splitting a pair of matches against in-state foes at the Country Inn and Suites Invitational today. The Skyhawks defeated host Chattanooga 3-2 (23-25, 25-18, 25-16, 22-25, 15-9) in the afternoon and fell to Tennessee 3-1 (29-27, 20-25, 20-25, 17-25) to take three out of four in the tournament and sit at 6-2 overall on the season.
Following the conclusion of the last match of the tournament, Amanda Crask and Emily Keaton were named to the all-tournament team. It was the second time Keaton has been named to an all-tournament squad in as many weekends.
Against Chattanooga, five Skyhawks eclipsed the double-digit kill mark, led by Keaton’s 17 kills. Crask tallied the second triple-double of her career with a career-high 15 kills, career-high 52 assists and 12 digs. Lynsey Hazelwood (12 kills), Shelby Hoskins (11) and Allie Whimpey (11) also reached double-figures in the kill column today.
Bowles registered 23 digs to lead five Skyhawks with double-figure dig totals. One day after setting a career-high in digs, Hazelwood once again achieved a career-high with 15 digs. Larson was responsible for 15 digs as well, while Keaton completed her double-double with 14 digs.
Against Tennessee, Whimpey led the way with 11 kills, while Keaton added 10 kills. Hazelwood, Julia Devinney and Crask also recorded eight kills apiece. Crask hit .412 (one error in 17 attempts) while also collecting 39 assists and a career-best 18 digs. Bowles accounted for 21 digs while Larson scooped up 14 digs to lead the Skyhawks.
Against Chattanooga, the Skyhawks jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first set before Chattanooga scored six unanswered. UT Martin then went on a 14-6 run, going on top by a 17-13 margin thanks to a Keaton kill. The Skyhawks went on top by a 23-21 margin but Chattanooga ended the set with four straight points to gain a 1-0 advantage.
Crask’s five kills (against zero errors) in seven attempts paced UT Martin in the first set.
Chattanooga led 7-6 in the second set but the Skyhawks charged back to score four unanswered to take a 10-7 advantage. Chattanooga would get back within a single point at 13-12 but UT Martin kept charging and never conceded the lead. After UT Martin led 21-18, the Skyhawks ended the set on a 4-0 run, capped off by a Crask kill to even the match at 1-1.
Crask’s five kills and 10 assists paced UT Martin in the second set.
A 4-1 start helped the Skyhawks claim an early advantage in the third set, as a 7-1 run later on resulted in a 15-7 UT Martin advantage. Chattanooga would get within 19-15 but UT Martin quickly scored six of the last seven points – ending with a Michelle McLaughlin service ace – to take a 2-1 set lead.
Hazelwood, Crask and Whimpey each secured four kills in the third set, helping the Skyhawks hit .250. Crask chipped in with 14 assists off of UT Martin’s 18 kills.
Chattanooga led 9-4 to start off the fourth set, eventually going on top by a 17-9 margin until a Keaton kill stopped the run. Despite the deficit, UT Martin kept fighting – getting within two points at 24-22 thanks to two straight kills by Keaton. However, an assisted block by Chattanooga led to a fifth set.
The Skyhawks controlled the fifth set from the beginning, claiming a 4-2 lead early. Chattanooga would slice its deficit to one (7-6) before UT Martin extended its advantage out to 9-6, forcing Chattanooga to call a timeout. The Skyhawks would soon lead 13-8 and would clinch the victory thanks to a Whimpey kill.
Keaton had five kills to lead UT Martin in the fifth and final set.
UT Martin came out fired up in the first set against Tennessee, securing the first five points courtesy of three kills by Devinney. An assisted block by Keaton and Alisha Erves put the Skyhawks on top 8-2 and forced Tennessee to call a timeout. After a Crask service ace put UT Martin ahead 10-3, Tennessee scored five unanswered points but the Skyhawks were able to take a 17-13 lead behind back-to-back kills by Crask and Erves. Tennessee would later use a 7-2 run to take a 20-19 lead but the Skyhawks battled back to close out the set with three straight kills.
The Skyhawk offense stood out in the first set, as UT Martin hit .296 with 23 kills. Keaton registered six kills while Crask was a perfect 4-for-4 attacking and added 16 assists.
In the second set, UT Martin jumped out to a 6-4 lead early but Tennessee came back with an 11-0 run to lead 15-6. The Skyhawks were able to claw back within three points when Whimpey and Shelby Hoskins combined for an assisted block to make the score 20-17. However, UT Martin’s comeback attempt fell just short.
The Skyhawks scored four of the first five points of the third set and would keep the lead until a 5-0 Tennessee run made the score 13-8. Back-to-back kills by Hazelwood and Hoskins sliced the Skyhawk deficit to three at 13-10 but Tennessee would come back with a 5-1 run. UT Martin would get back within four points on five more occasions but couldn’t get closer than that for the remainder of the set.
UT Martin took a 9-6 lead to start off the fourth set but Tennessee soon scored four unanswered to start a 8-2 run. Kills from Crask and Keaton brought the Skyhawks back within one at 15-14 until Tennessee pieced together five consecutive points. A Bowles service ace brought UT Martin back within four at 21-17 but Tennessee accounted for the last four points of the set.
Bowles had nine digs in the fourth set to lead the Skyhawks.
UT Martin returns to action next weekend (Sept. 13-14), when it will play four matches in the span of two days in a tournament hosted by the University of Alabama.
MURRAY STATE 3, ALABAMA STATE 1; MURRAY STATE 3, NC A&T 1
GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Murray State Racer volleyball team picked up two more wins on Saturday and were crowned Tournament Champions at the Spartan-Aggie Invitational in Greensboro, N.C. MSU knocked off Alabama State (3-0) and North Carolina A&T (3-1) in addition to their win Friday night over University of North Carolina Greensboro. The two wins improve the Racers record to 4-2 and the team has now racked up four consecutive wins, their longest winning streak since a six game winning streak in 2009.
The action started early on Saturday as the Racers downed the Lady Hornets in straight sets 25-16, 25-14, 25-19. After trailing early in the opening set, the Racers stormed back to tie the score at 9-9 before going on a 16-7 run to end the set.
The Racers had no issues in set number two, taking control early en route to a 25-14 win. The third set was a much tighter affair with the two squads combining for 10 ties and seven lead changes. MSU was able to pull a head from a 14-all tie with a 7-0 run and never looked back, taking the set 25-19.
Emily Schmahl came off the bench to land a team-best nine kills. Alyssa Lelm, Taylor Olden and Scottie Ingram each put down seven-apiece and Sam Bedard picked up another double-double with a game-high 19 assists and 13 digs. Her 13 digs tied her for the game-best with teammate, Katlyn Hudson.
A few hours later the Racers were back on the court to take on North Carolina A&T. MSU showed some rust from the midday layoff, dropping the opening set 20-25. The Aggies used a 4-0 run to take a 12-7 lead and never trailed again, taking an early 1-0 advantage.
The rest of the match was all Racers. Holding just a four-point 14-10 lead in the second set, the Racers scored the next 11 points, including three kills each by Lelm and Olden, to even up the match, 1-1.
Murray State opened up a ten-point lead, 21-11 lead in set number three before the Aggies cut that in half with a 5-0 run. North Carolina A&T would get to within four but no closer, as the Racers to thwarted the comeback bid with a 25-20 win.
A 6-0 MSU run to break a 5-5 tie helped the Racers close the match with a 25-18 win. The Aggies were able to cut a one-time six point lead to three at 20-17, but couldn't over take Murray State as a pair of kills by both Olden and Ingram and an attack error ended the match.
Olden and Ingram led the Racers with 14 kills. Lelm and Schmahl also finished in double-figures with 12 and 10 respectively. Lelm also finished with a career-best nine digs. Hudson led the Racers with a game-high 14 digs and Bedard handed out a game-best 38 assists.
About the tournament coach Dave Schwepker said, "This was a good test for us. We worked on some of our weaknesses from last week and I saw improvement. That means the team is serious about winning and willing to fix their weaknesses".
Following the match, Lelm, Olden and Bedard were each named to the All-Tournament team. Lelm was also named Tournament MVP after finishing with 35 kills, 10 blocks and 16 digs over the three-game tournament. She also finished with a strong attack percentage of .361.
Olden knocked down 31 kills while also serving up a pair of aces and digging out 19 balls. Bedard led the tournament dishing out 105 assists, including a career best 48 against UNC Greensboro. She also finished with 35 digs and seven kills.
The Racers will open their home slate with a non-conference match against Evansville Tuesday, Sept. 10. MSU fell to the Purple Aces last weekend in their season opener at the NCCU Invitational. First serve is set for 7:00 pm at Racer Arena.