FRIDAY'S SCORES
Belmont 3, @UT Martin 0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-21)
Eastern Illinois 3, @Austin Peay 1 (25-20, 25-16, 27-29, 25-20)
@Southeast Misssouri 3, Tennessee State 0 (28-26, 25-18, 25-22)
@Murray State 3, SIUE 0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-23)
Eastern Kentucky 3, @Tennessee Tech 1 (25-19, 17-25, 25-23, 25-11)
Morehead State 3, @Jacksonville State 2 (21-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-23, 15-13)
BELMONT 3, UT MARTIN 0
MARTIN, Tenn. - Belmont volleyball responded to the challenge of playing without a key starter Friday evening as the Bruins returned to OVC action with a sweep of UT Martin (25-23, 25-18, 25-21).
BU started its OVC weekend road trip without freshman outside hitter Arianna Person (Lenexa, Kan). Person came into the match with UTM as the team leader in both kills and solo blocks while ranking second in digs.
With a leader sidelined, the Bruin supporting cast rose to the occasion, as senior Alex Martin (Ooltewah, Tenn.) led a Belmont squad that controlled the contest with the Skyhawks from start to finish.
The opening set was a back in fourth affair as the two teams traded leads throughout the stanza.
With Belmont up 23-21 late, UTM used two consecutive points to tie the match causing the Bruins to take a timeout.
Belmont responded coming out of the huddle as BU tallied two consecutive points in order to capture the set, 25-23.
Martin led Belmont throughout as the middle blocker notched a perfect hitting percentage on the set, laying down four kills on four swings.
The Bruins carried that momentum over to the second set as Belmont raced out to a 10-3 advantage early.
UTM (10-14, 3-7 OVC) rallied midway through the stanza as the Skyhawks drew to within three, 14-11, before the Bruins tallied four of the next five points to make it an 18-12 Bruin advantage.
Following the run, BU never looked back as a pair of kills by Jocelyn Youngdahl (Stillwater, Minn.) ended the set in the Bruins' favor, 25-18.
Martin continued her torrid hitting pace in the second set as the veteran recorded four kills off five swings for BU.
Belmont (11-12, 7-2 OVC) found itself with a slim, 21-20, lead late in the third stanza. The Bruins finished off the match, 25-21, by tallying four of the next five points as BU completed the sweep over the home team.
Martin led the Bruins on the night with a near double-double of 11 kills and nine digs. The senior ended the match with a match-best .562 hitting percentage.
Youngdahl made an impact on both the offensive and defensive end as the middle blocker finished with 8 kills to go with five blocks.
Freshman Brie Lewis (Stillwell, Kan.) also added eight kills while senior Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.) paced the team with 11 digs to go with 5 kills.
Setter Emma Price (Fort Mill, S.C.) finished with 35 kills and 7 digs on the evening.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, AUSTIN PEAY 1
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - – Eastern Illinois volleyball hit past Ohio Valley Conference rival Austin Peay in a four-set road affair (25-20, 25-16, 27-29, 25-20) on Friday (Oct. 24) evening, as the Panthers earned the regular-season sweep of the Lady Govs.
The win improves EIU to 10-12 overall and 4-5 in league play, while the Lady Govs lost for the first time on their home court this season and fall to 11-14/5-3.
Juniors Chelsea Lee and Abby Saalfrank paced all players with respective 15 and 11 kills and impressive .273 and .259 attacks.
As a team, the Panthers dominated the attack game over the previously hot-hitting Lady Govs with a .230-to-.106 advantage, which included holding APSU to a negative .029 in the second frame.
Junior setter Marah Bradbury secured her 29th career double-double performance with 40 assists and 10 digs, while coming three put-downs shy of her first career triple-double as she tallied seven kills with zero miscues for a .538 attack.
Freshman Allie Hueston tied Wallace and senior defensive/serving specialist Dakota Springer with a pair of unreturnable serves in the victory.
Classmate Stephanie Wallace upped 16 Lady Gov attacks to pace the EIU back court defense, while senior Kelsey Roggemann's six stuffs led the Panthers at the net.
APSU's Sammie Ebright was lone player with double-digit kills as she nailed 12 behind a .267 attack. Junior setter Aubrey Marsellis also posted a 40-assist, 17-dig duo-duo for the Lady Govs, while April Adams led her squad with three aces.
Besides besting the host squad in overall attack, the Panthers also held the advantage in assists (48-to-47), aces (seven-to-five), digs (61-to-56), blocks (11-to-8), and points (69.0-to-65.0).
EIU out-hit APSU, .200-to-.104, as the Panthers used a late 5-0 run to pull ahead 21-15, riding the lead for the 25-20 win.
The second frame was all Panthers as EIU led from start to finish for the relatively easy 25-16 win and 2-0 set lead as Eastern fired a .241 attack, compared to the negative .029 mark for the Lady Govs.
The third set was a back-and-forth affair with 14 ties. Even at 19-all, the host team went on a 4-0 run of their own, but the Panthers clawed back to knot the set at 23-23. APSU would earn five set-points before finally earning the hard-fought 29-27 win to extend the match.
The final frame started even, but the Panthers began to slowly pull away, eventually leading by as many as five points at the 14-9 mark. EIU would ride the advantage for the eventual 25-20 win and four-set road victory.
Meeting for the 38th time, the contest featured 27 ties and eight lead changes as the Panthers extend their all-time series lead over the Lady Govs to 21-17 and have now won five straight.
MURRAY STATE 3, SIUE 0
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State volleyball team swept SIU Edwardsville 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-23) Friday at Racer Arena.
The first set was a back and forth set between the OVC opponents. Murray State (17-4, 8-1 OVC) took a 10-6 lead. The Cougars (9-15, 1-8 OVC) tried to come back but were unable to take any lead. Murray State took the first set 25-22.
The second started with SIUE taking a quick 5-1 lead, but MSU fought back and took a 14-10 lead. The two teams continued to fight for the win, but eventually Murray State took the second set 25-18.
Just like the second set, SIU Edwardsville took a quick lead 7-3 in the third set. The Cougars still held the lead 19-16. The Racers would not give up as they battled from behind to pull ahead and take the third and final set 25-23.
Scottie Ingram led the Racers with 13 kills, followed by Taylor Olden who turned in 9. Sam Bedard turned in 30 assists. Kristen Besselsen led the team with 10 digs.
Kristen Torre turned in another strong offensive performance for the Cougars with 11 kills on 22 attacks. The junior middle blocker added a team-best six blocks.
SIUE freshman Taylor Joens hit .500 for the match with six kills. Taylor Held added seven kills.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - - Southeast Missouri volleyball swept Ohio Valley Conference foe Tennessee State Friday evening in three sets (28-26, 25-18, 25-22).
Southeast improves to 9-14 overall and 5-4 in OVC play with their fourth-straight OVC win. Tennessee State is now 9-16, 3-7 OVC.
It was an unbelievable close opening set. The set was tied a total of 12 times in the set and the lead changed five times. After a constant battle throughout the set, Southeast found themselves with set point, 24-22. Tennessee State tied it at 24 followed by Southeast regaining the advantage 25-24. The Tigers then tied it and took an advantage, 26-25. Southeast used three-straight points to wrap up the set, 28-26, and take a 1-0 lead in the match. Andrea Baylin had seven kills in the opening stanza.
After an intense first set, it was all Southeast in the second. The Redhawks never trailed in the set as they cruised to a 25-18 second set win. As a team, Southeast had their second, four-block set.
Tennessee State came out play after the intermission. The Tigers took an early lead on the Redhawks but Southeast remained within striking distance. Southeast battled to tie the set up at 15 but fell behind again. The Redhawks found a 21-20 lead and were able to hold off the Tigers and wrap up the set, 25-22, and the match in three sets.
Baylin finished the match with 15 kills and a .265 hitting clip and 13 digs. Krissa Gearring had 10 kills in the contest with a .474 hitting percentage. Taylor Masterson put up six blocks on the night with eight kills.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 3, TENNESSEE TECH 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Tech volleyball team was bested by an offensive-minded Eastern Kentucky on Friday, losing 3-1; 25-19, 17-25, 25-23, 25-11.
In three of the four sets, the Colonels' offensive productivity far outweighed that of the Golden Eagles. EKU (17-9, 7-2) opened the match putting away 14 kills, while committing just three errors, whereas TTU put away 12, but committed nine errors.
In the second set, Tech (10-15, 5-4) came out swinging, as Junior Cody Dodd led the way by putting down five kills of the team's 13. The Golden Eagles were able to hold EKU to a .000 hitting percentage as the Colonels committed 10 hitting errors, and TTU tallied three of their five blocks in the second set.
Over the next two sets, EKU was able to take its offensive game to the next level, putting away 16 kills on a .350 hitting clip, and 13 kills on a mark of .233, as they sealed the match.
In the third set, the Golden Eagles put together its most efficient set, tallying 14 kills on a clip of .205, however it was not enough to top the Colonels' .350.
Dodd led the match with 16 kills, adding 15 digs, three blocks, and two aces. She was joined by freshman Kellie Williams, who continued her effective play. The Charlotte, N.C. native put down 13 kills while committing just three errors. Sophomore Sharon Anderson dished out 35 assists, adding nine digs, and two kills.
Defensively, Tech's defensive specialists held down the backline. Leading the way was senior libero Courtney Smith who chased down 29 digs, while freshman Allison Morrett added a season-high 14 digs. Sophomore Kennedy Wade added 10 digs and an ace.
EKU was led by middle blocker Rachel Vick who registered 15 kills while committing just one hitting error for a match-high clip of .368. Outside hitters Ally Peters and Alexis Plagens both put away 12 kills and two service aces.
Abbey Cvelbar and Johanna Boyer split the setting duties in the match. Cvelbar led the way with 24 assists and added 12 digs. Boyer dished out 19 assists, adding eight kills, and five digs. Libero Dena Ott tallied 33 digs for the Colonels.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 2
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Jacksonville State volleyball team dropped a five-set heartbreaker to Morehead State Friday night at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
JSU (14-11, 6-3 Ohio Valley Conference) suffered its second home loss of the year to the defending champion and preseason favorite Eagles (1-22, 1-8 OVC), who found the win column for the first time in 2014. The 3-2 (25-21, 22-25, 25-21, 23-25, 13-15) loss came after JSU held 1-0 and 2-1 match leads.
Junior Emily Rutherford led the Gamecocks with 16 kills and 13 digs in a strong double-double performance. Senior Nicole Merget and freshman Allyson Zuhlke added 13 and 12 kills, respectively. Junior libero Samantha Bohne picked up 21 digs to lead the team, followed by Rutherford's 13 and Jennifer Hart's and Hannah Kirk's who each had 12. Freshman setter Hart added 43 assists to go along with her 12 digs.
The Gamecocks took the opening set 25-21 despite only hitting .057. After it was tied 18-18, four Eagle errors allowed the Gamecocks to take the advantage and go on to win a tight set.
Morehead State fought back to win the second set 25-22 using a .455 attack percentage to power past the Gamecocks. Three straight kills by the Eagles separated the set late after a 21-21 tie.
After taking a 2-1 lead in the third, the Gamecocks led throughout the set en route to a 25-21 set victory. Merget had five kills and hit .714 during the set to lead JSU.
With the Gamecocks holding a 2-1 set advantage, the defending conference champions fought back for a 25-23 win in the fourth set to force a decisive fifth. JSU struggled hitting just .135 during the fourth allowing MSU to hang around for another set.
In the fifth set, JSU led 10-6 following a kill by Zuhlke. The Eagles responded with a 7-1 run to force a Gamecocks timeout. The Gamecocks managed to tie the set 13-13 but eventually fell 15-13 for their third conference loss of the season.
Morehead State's Hannah Sigala recorded a career-best 22 kills, while seniColbey Cameron handed out a career-high 64 assists. Hope Rillema tallied a match-high 24 digs in the match.