SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Murray State 3, Eastern Illinois 1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-12)
Belmont 3, @Southeast Missouri 0 (25-16, 26-20, 25-17)
SIUE 3, @Austin Peay 1 (25-23, 25-23, 18-25, 25-18)
@Tennessee Tech 3, Morehead State 0 (25-20, 28-26,25-16)
@Jacksonville State 3, Eastern Kentucky 2 (25-20, 25-20, 29-31, 23-25, 16-14)
MURRAY STATE 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State volleyball team defeated Eastern Illinois in a tough four sets 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-12) on Saturday morning at Racer Arena.
The first two sets were a grueling two sets between the OVC opponents. The first set was a back and forth set until the Racers (18-4, 9-1 OVC) jumped out to an 8-5 lead. Eastern Illinois (10-13, 4-6 OVC) battled back and took a 19-17 lead. After that, the Panthers never gave up the lead and took the first set, 25-22. Like the first set, the second was a back and forth set. Murray State took a quick 9-3 lead, before EIU battled and cut MSU's lead to 16-14. The Racers would not give up as they continued their dominance and took the second set, 25-21.
Murray State showed their dominance during the third and fourth sets. The set started off as a back and forth set, but the Racers took a 14-9 lead they would not relinquish. MSU continued to battle and took the third set 25-19. During the fourth set Murray State took a 12-10 lead. The Racers took the next eight points to go up 20-10. MSU continued to battle and took the fourth set 25-12.
One Racer notched a double-double. Kristen Besselsen turned in 13 kills to go along with a career-high 19 digs. Taylor Olden led the team with 15 kills, along with Alyssa Lelm adding 11 kills. Ellie Lorenz added 17 digs for Murray State. Sam Bedard recorded 49 assists for the team. The team totaled 18 blocks, which goes in the record books as the second highest total blocks at Racer Arena in four set matches, and ties for fifth in total blocks as a Racers Team record in four set matches.
BELMONT 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 0
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - – Belmont volleyball won its third-straight Ohio Valley Conference match Saturday afternoon as the Bruins earned a sweep at Southeast Missouri State (25-16, 25-20, 25-17).
Led by the senior duo of Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.) and Alex Martin (Ooltewah, Tenn.), Belmont recorded its second-best offensive performance of the year as the Bruins finished with a team hitting percentage of .345, laying down a combined 47 kills off 110 attempts.
BU used a 7-1 run midway through the opening set as the visitors extended a 12-9 advantage into a healthier 19-10 edge. Belmont never looked back using back-to-back kills from Gable and Martin to take the set, 25-16.
The second stanza proved to be tighter affair as a single point separated the two teams late with BU holding a slight, 20-19 advantage.
A Bruin senior responded once again as Martin led the way, putting down three kills in helping the Bruins tally five of the next six points as Belmont captured the set, 25-20 and went up two sets to none heading into intermission.
The Bruins found themselves up 19-17 late in the third set as two-straight RedHawk kills pulled SEMO into a striking distance of extending the match into a fourth set.
Six-straight Belmont points, however, ended the home team's rally as a kill and a pair of service aces from Gable helped propel the Bruins to end the set, 25-17, and the match, 3-0.
Gable led Belmont (12-12, 8-2) with a double-double of 14 kills and 13 digs as the veteran outside hitter recorded a .414 hitting percentage on the contest.
Martin also finished with double-digit kills as the veteran middle blocker finished with a .409 hitting percentage on 11 kills off 11 attacks.
Libero Ellie Ivancich (Naperville, Ill.) tied for a match-best with 13 digs while setter Emma Price (Fort Mill, S.C.) produced a solid night with 44 assists and seven digs.
Outsider hitter Taylor Masterson paced SEMO (9-15, 5-5 OVC) with 12 kills off a .429 hitting percentage.
SIUE 3, AUSTIN PEAY 1
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Four players recorded double-digit kill totals but it wasn't enough as Austin Peay State University's volleyball team fell in four sets (23-25, 23-25, 25-18, 18-25) to SIUE, Saturday, in Ohio Valley Conference action at the Dunn Center.
Senior Hillary Plybon led Austin Peay with 14 kills in her first start since Sept. 26, finishing with a .480 attack percentage while also adding four blocks. Freshman Christina White added 12 kills, junior Aubrey Marsellis chipped in 11 kills and junior Sammie Ebright had 10 kills in the loss.
However, Austin Peay had few answers for an SIUE offense that saw nine different players record a kill. Ashley Witt led the effort with 13 kills and a .440 attack percentage off the bench. Starters Kristen Torre (12 kills) and Taylor Held (10 kills) also reached double-digit kill territory.
Austin Peay (11-15, 5-5 OVC) started out with a 4-2 lead in the first set, but saw SIUE rally with four straight points to take a 6-4 lead. The Cougars would use a 6-2 run later in the set to build a 13-9 advantage. Austin Peay would get within a point several times down the stretch, including a kill by Ashley Slay to deny the first set point. However, an Austin Peay attack error on the next point gave SIUE a 25-23 win.
The second set was much closer with 12 ties and six lead changes with neither team enjoying more than a three point lead during the frame. SIUE (10-16, 2-8 OVC) claimed the set with back-to-back kills, first by Emily Harrison then by Mallory Mangun to claim the set, 25-23.
Austin Peay's offense hit its stride in the third set with an impressive 17-kill effort at a .536 attack percentage. Marsellis led the frame with seven kills as head coach Taylor Mott inserted senior setter Cami Fields and moved Marsellis to outside hitter at times during the set. Austin Peay took control of the frame with a 5-0 run on Fields' serve to turn a 14-13 deficit into an 18-14 lead it would not relinquish. A final 5-1 run sealed the 25-18 victory.
SIUE took control of the fourth set with an early 7-1 run to build a 10-5 lead. The Cougars would maintain that lead until a 8-1 run late in the frame boosted their advantage to eight points, 24-16. Austin Peay fended off a pair of set points thanks to kills by redshirt freshman Peyton Walker and Plybon, but SIUE's Ashley Witt finally put down a kill to end the match.
Austin Peay finished with 59 kills and a .273 attack percentage that was helped by the third set effort and a 15-kill, .375 attack percentage in the second set. The Lady Govs defense recorded 64 digs, including 19 by sophomore Lizzy Bales.
SIUE had a consistent offensive outing with 53 kills and a .239 attack percentage. The Cougars hit over .200 in each of the three sets it won while holding the Lady Govs below .200 in the first and fourth frames.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, MOREHEAD STATE 0
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - For the second time this season, the Tennessee Tech volleyball team topped the Morehead State Eagles. And for the second time, a mark in history was made.
Prior to this season, the Golden Eagles had not found victory against Morehead State since 2009, but finding success against them twice in a conference season sweep has not happened since 1999.
Tech (11-15, 6-4) made its mark with a 3-0 win, 25-20, 28-26, and 25-16.
The Golden Eagles showed their tenacity in set two, coming from behind to win in extra points, 28-26. Tech opened with a 2-0 lead off kills from junior Cody Dodd and freshman Kellie Williams, but Morehead was able to rally behind an impressive blocking performance to take a 6-2 lead.
Slowly, but surely, TTU crept back into the match. A William's kill tied the match at 20, and from there, Tech and Morehead traded points. At 25-25, a TTU service error gave the Eagles a one-point advantage. However, TTU put together three straight points, all involving Dodd, to seal the set. Dodd registered two kills and teamed up with freshman Jordan Wachowiak for a block.
Over the match, Dodd put together an impressive performance. She led the match with 15 kills, adding eight digs, career-high seven aces, and six blocks. Senior Madison Keyes aided the offense by putting away eight kills on a clip of .333. Williams finished the match with six kills. Sophomore Sharon Anderson dished out 29 assists, adding eight digs, and two kills.
Freshman Jordan Wachowiak led the defense from the frontline. She tallied a season-high eight blocks. Behind her, Tech's defensive specialists scooped up what was not blocked. Senior libero Courtney Smith scooped up a team-high 10 digs, while sophomore Kennedy Wade added nine, and freshman Allison Morrett tallied six.
Morehead (1-23, 1-9) got 11 kills from Hannah Sigala and eight from Alex Fitzmorris. Laura McDermott added six kills and a team-high four blocks. Setter Colby Cameron dished out a match-high 31 assists, adding 13 digs for the matches only double-double. Libero Hope Rillema corralled a match-high 16 digs.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 2
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Jacksonville State volleyball team defeated Eastern Kentucky 3-2 in a five-set thriller at Pete Mathews Coliseum on Saturday night.
The Gamecocks (15-11, 7-3 Ohio Valley Conference) opened the matched with a 2-0 set lead before having to hold on for the 3-2 (25-20, 25-20, 29-31, 23-25, 16-14) victory. In the final set JSU trailed EKU (17-10, 7-3 OVC) 9-5 and again at 12-10 before rallying for the late win.
Junior Emily Rutherford led all Gamecocks with her season-high 22 kills and 16 digs in a strong double-double performance. Senior Nicole Merget's 18 kills were second only to Rutherford. Freshmen Allyson Zuhlke and Charis Ludtke had 14 and 13 kills, respectively, as the other Gamecocks in double digits.
Junior libero Samantha Bohne had a season-best 30 digs to lead Jax State defensively. Freshman Hannah Kirk also recorded 14 digs in the win. Freshman setter Jennifer Hart added 11 digs of her own, but her night was highlighted best a career best 61 assists during the five-set match.
JSU took the first two sets by identical 25-20 scores. Rutherford had seven kills in the opening set while Zuhlke's four kills were the most in the second set.
The Gamecocks were denied a chance at the sweep in the third set as the Colonels held on for the dramatic 31-29 set win. After overcoming a 17-20 deficit, JSU tied EKU 21-21. The match went back-and-forth from there until EKU took the final two points following a 29-29 tie.
In the fourth set, Eastern had the highest hitting percentage of any set during the night hitting .318 en route to a 25-23 set win to tie the match. Merget hit .625 with five kills but was unable to help the Gamecocks, who let a late 23-21 lead slip away.
After surrendering a two set lead, JSU opened the fifth falling behind 5-9. A 4-0 run would tie the match only to see EKU take a 12-10 advantage. The Gamecocks fought back to tie the match 14-14 before a kill by Hart and an EKU error gave JSU the win.