SATURDAY'S SCORES
Youngstown State 3,
@Belmont 0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-18)
Eastern Kentucky 3, FIU 0 (27-25, 25-13, 25-18)
Michigan 3,
Tennessee State 0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-14)
Michigan State 3,
Jacksonville State 0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-10)
USC Upstate 3,
Austin Peay 0 (25-15, 28-25, 25-21)
Northern Kentucky 3,
@Morehead State 0 (25-10, 25-21, 25-10)
Radford 3,
@Morehead State 1 (20-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-22)
@Appalachian State 3,
Tennessee Tech 0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-17)
Cleveland State 3,
Tennessee Tech 0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-20)
Eastern Illinois 3, @Ball State 1 (25-20, 25-18, 20-25, 25-22)
Eastern Illinois 3, Western Illinois 0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-20)
SIUE 3, Winthrop 1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-13, 25-23)
@Saint Louis 3,
Southeast Missouri 0 (25-20, 28-26, 25-22)
Northern Iowa 3,
Southeast Missouri 1 (26-28, 25-19, 25-19, 25-21)
UT Martin 3, Southern 0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-15)
Murray State 3, @Alabama State 1 (23-25, 25-12, 25-15, 25-20)
Eastern Kentucky 3, Wester Carolina 0 (30-28, 25-15, 25-19)
Stephan F. Austin 3,
Tennessee State 0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-23)
SE Louisiana 3,
Jacksonville State 0 (25-13, 31-29, 25-16)
@Belmont 3, Evansville 2 (25-23, 20-25, 15-25, 25-18, 15-12)
SIUE 3, @Air Force 2 (18-25, 25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 16-14)
APPALACHIAN STATE 3, TENNESSEE TECH 0; CLEVELAND STATE 3, TENNESSEE TECH 0
BOONE, N.C. - The Tennessee Tech volleyball team faced both tournament host Appalachian State and Cleveland State on Saturday, dropping both matches, 3-0.
The Appalachian State Mountaineers beat the Golden Eagles 25-18, 25-14, 25-17 despite a stellar outing from freshman outside Kellie Williams.
Williams led the Golden Eagle offense with 13 kills while making just two error. Junior Cody Dodd added seven kills, eight digs and three blocks. Sophomore Sharon Anderson led the Golden Eagles with 28 assists. The Golden Eagles out-dug ASU 40-35 and out-blocked them 4-3.
The Mountaineers were led by Emily Corrigan who matched Williams with 13 kills, but setter Paige Brown dished out 37 assists and directed the team to an impressive .364 hitting percentage.
In the Golden Eagles second match of the day, the Cleveland State Vikings won 25-14, 25-16, 25-20.
Tech was led by Dodd in the second outing as she put down eight kills with just one hitting error. She added five digs and three blocks. Anderson put up 21 assists.
The Vikings handled the Golden Eagles from the service line as they were able to tally 13 service aces. Grace Kauth had an impressive five aces on her own.
The Golden Eagles are back in action when they head to East Carolina next weekend to take on Norfolk State, Morgan State, UNC Wilmington, and host East Carolina.
USC UPSTATE 3, AUSTIN PEAY 0
CLEMSON, S.C. - Senior Jada Stotts posted a season-best 16 kills but it wasn’t enough as Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team was swept in three sets by USC Upstate (25-15, 28-26, 25-21), Saturday, to conclude its stay at the Big Orange Bash.
In the opening set, a spate of four ties and three lead changes would come in the first 10 points. USC Upstate (2-1) then used a 12-3 run to break a 5-5 tie en route to a 25-14 win. The second set was a closer affair with 15 ties and six lead changes.
Austin Peay (0-3) would battle back in the second frame and used a five-point run to build a 10-5 lead. USC Upstate slowly worked back into the set, tying the frame at 14-14. From there, neither team would gain more than a two-point advantage. The Spartans gained the first set point at 24-23, but Stotts would score back-to-back kills to keep the set alive and give APSU its first set point.
Upstate would fight off that set point and the teams battled through four points until Lexi Gober posted back-to-back kills to win the set.
Austin Peay would commit 14 attack errors in the third set, derailing its opportunity to extend the match. The Lady Govs led 14-12 after a four-point run that was assisted by a pair of Spartans errors. However, USC Upstate used an 8-4 run to take a 20-18 lead, which included four APSU attack errors, it would not relinquish.
Stotts 16-kill performance was nearly half of Austin Peay’s 37-kill outing. The Lady Govs offense was charged with 30 attack errors and settled for a .100 attack percentage.
USC Upstate needed 36 kills to record the win. Kayla Eversgerd led the Spartans with eight kills.
Austin Peay will have a quick turnaround, with two days to prepare before traveling to Evansville for a 7 p.m., Tuesday contest.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, BALL STATE 1; EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, WESTERN ILLINOIS 0
MUNCIE, Ind. - Eastern Illinois volleyball ended Ball State Active Ankle Challenge play with a perfect Saturday mark, as the Panthers downed the host Cardinals and Western Illinois by respective 3-1 and 3-0 scores. The final day sweep moves EIU to 2-1 on the early season.
After dropping a tough five set affair to Northern Colorado on Friday which had the Panthers ahead 2-0 early on, EIU countered with hot play versus the host Cardinals with a 25-20, 25-18, 20-25, 25-22 upset win over preseason MAC West Division favorite Ball State squad.
In that contest junior rightside Abby Saalfrank paced all players with 20 kills, setting a new career mark in the process, while hitting .375 for the match as well. She also added 14 digs to nab her second straight double-double on the year.
Classmate Chelsea Lee chipped in 11 put-downs from the outside attack as she committed just two miscues for a .360 clip.
Redshirt freshman Josie Winner added nine kills and .304 attack, while newcomers Allie Hueston and Maria Brown added eight kills as well with Hueston leading all Panthers at the net with three blocks.
Junior setter Marah Bradbury dished out 52 assists on the 61 total Panther kills as EIU hit .296 in the win, including a high of .483 in the second set.
Defensively, junior libero Stephanie Wallace tallied 16 digs and senior Dakota Springer upped 17 Cardinal attacks to lead the backcourt.
EIU held the advantage over BSU (1-1) in kills, attack, assists, digs, and points, while the Cardinals led the service game with a six-to-three lead in aces, as well as an eight-to-six block advantage.
With the win, Eastern now holds a 3-2 lead in the all-time series history, with all three of the victories coming on the Cardinals' home court.
In the afternoon matchup with Western (0-3), despite getting off to a slow start, EIU would eventually claw past the Leathernecks for a 25-18, 25-18, 25-20 sweep. The win moves the Panthers ahead of WIU in the all-time series history, 20-to-12.
This time around Brown would lead the Eastern attack off 12 kills and a .357 attack, while Winner and Lee each added seven kills.
Bradbury added 33 assists in the second match win as EIU led the stat game over WIU in kills, attack, assists, aces, digs, blocks, and points.
In defensive numbers, Hueston once again paced the blocking game with five stuffs, including one solo and four assisted roofs, while Wallace added 15 digs.
Eastern returns to early season tournament action next weekend with an immediate rematch versus the Leathernecks as the Panthers travel to Macomb to partake in the two-day WIU Invitational. Besides facing WIU, EIU will also take on regional foe Saint Louis and UTEP.
UT MARTIN 3, SOUTHERN 0
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team moved to 3-0 on the 2014 season after a 3-0 victory over Southern (25-17, 25-15, 25-15) in the final day of the ISTAP Collegiate Cup hosted by Alabama State.
The Skyhawks, who defeated South Carolina State 3-0 and Alabama State 3-2 yesterday, stayed hot this afternoon, completing the tournament sweep. After the conclusion of the final match, UT Martin freshman setter Madison Bergren was named to the six-person all-tournament team. Bergren tallied 112 assists, 17 kills and a .615 attack percentage in the three Skyhawk victories.
The Skyhawks won today’s match with a balanced offense, as 10 UT Martin players had at least one kill but no Skyhawk had more than seven kills. Emily Keaton led the squad with seven kills against only one error in 16 attempts (.375 hitting percentage) while Allie Whimpey added six kills. Bergren handed out 31 assists to guide an offense that hit .301 as a team (38 kills, 13 errors in 83 attempts).
Colleen Larson amassed 11 digs to lead the Skyhawk defense today while Whimpey chipped in with six digs.
UT Martin trailed early in the first set but a 7-0 Skyhawk run – fueled by three aces by Whimpey – tilted the score in the Skyhawks’ favor. Back-to-back kills by Keaton spurred a 5-1 run for UT Martin, who extended their advantage to double-digits at 18-8. The Lady Jaguars would get within five points (22-17) before the Skyhawks tallied three consecutive points to end the set.
Bergren handed out 12 assists in the first set to help the Skyhawks double up Southern on kills (14 to seven).
The second set began with a 6-2 run by UT Martin. After Southern closed the gap to 10-8, the Skyhawks unreeled an 8-2 run, capped off by back-to-back kills from Keaton and Whimpey. The Lady Jaguars would not get any closer than six points for the remainder of the set, as a solo block from Grace Hardin concluded a 5-1 Skyhawk run to close out the set.
Keaton slammed down four kills to pace an offense that hit .423 (13 kills, two errors) in 26 attempts in the second set.
UT Martin once again jumped out to a fast start in the third set, taking an 11-4 lead. Back-to-back attack errors by Southern made the score 15-6 and the Skyhawks pushed their lead out to double-figures for the first time at 18-8. The Lady Jaguars crept back to seven points twice in the latter stages of the set before two straight kills by Lael Ceriani completed the sweep.
UT Martin holds its 2014 home opener this Tuesday, Sept. 2 when it takes on Alabama A&M. First serve from Skyhawk Fieldhouse is set for 7 p.m.
MICHIGAN STATE 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 0; SE LOUISIANA 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Jacksonville State volleyball team dropped a pair of matches to No. 16 Michigan State and Southeastern Louisiana on the final day of the UAB/Samford Volleyball Challenge on Saturday in Samford's Pete Hanna Center.
The Gamecocks took on the nationally ranked Spartans (3-0) to start the day and dropped the match in straight sets (25-15, 25-14, 25-10) before falling 3-0 (25-13, 31-29, 25-16) to the Lions in the tournament's finale. The day ended the opening weekend for the Gamecocks and the Terry Gamble era.
Junior Emily Rutherford and senior Nicole Merget each put down double digits in kills on the day, with Rutherford leading the Gamecocks with 16. Merget had 13 to go along with five blocks, while junior Samantha Bohne's 4.5 digs per set led the JSU back row.
In the first match of the day, the Spartans showed why the finished last season ranked in the top 10 and opened this year in the national polls. They hit .364 over the match, led by a .467 attack percentage in the third set. The Gamecocks struggled to get things going against the MSU defense, hitting just .024 in the match.
Freshman Hannah Kirk picked up nine digs for the Gamecocks on the back row, while Bohne and freshman Jennifer Hart each had seven digs. Hart, the team's setter from Davidson, N.C., also dished 14 assists on the team's 18 kills.
MSU got 10 kills from Allyssah Fitterer to pace its offensive effort, while Rachel Minarick led the defense with 12 digs. Autumn Christianson was in on five of the team's 11 blocks.
In the second match of the day, SLU took the first set before edging the Gamecocks in a marathon second set. There were 15 ties and six lead changes in the set before SLU scored five of the final seven points to pull off the 31-29 win and keep JSU from tying the match at 1-1.
The Lions used an early run in the third and final set to pull out to a 9-3 lead and were able to hold off a JSU rally. The Gamecocks used a 7-2 run to pull within a point at 11-10, but SLU answered with a run of its own to reclaim control and a 17-11 advantage.
Rutherford led the Gamecocks with a double-double of 14 kills and 11 digs, while Bohne's team-high 20 digs led the JSU back row. Hart dished 23 assists, while Merget recorded nine kills on a .333 attack percentage.
The Lions were led by Parrie Hartley's 15 kills and Morgan Todd's 16 digs. Elizabeth Ramee notched a double-double with 10 kills and 15 digs.
The Gamecocks will return to action on Thursday in the Troy Invitational, where they will face Alabama A&M at 4:30 p.m. in Troy. They will conclude the tournament on Saturday with a pair of matches against Mercer and the host Trojans.
SAINT LOUIS 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 0; NORTHERN IOWA 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 0
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Southeast Missouri volleyball team completed tournament play at the Saint Louis University Marcia E. Hamilton Classic Saturday. The Redhawks came up empty against both Saint Louis (1-2) and Northern Iowa (2-1) on the day.
Saint Louis swept the Redhawks in three sets to begin day two followed by Southeast falling to UNI in four sets.
Southeast Missouri finished 1-3 on the weekend to open the 2014 season.
Andrea Baylin was named All-Tournament team.
Saint Louis trailed only for a few points in the first set, but was otherwise dominate in the opening stanza. Down 20-17, SLU used eight-straight points to surpass the Redhawks and take the first set by a score of 25-20. The Billikens hit .452 in the set and put up 4.5 team blocks.
The second set looked to be all SLU as the Billikens were ahead of Southeast 18-11. Southeast used an 8-0 run to take a one-point lead on Saint Louis. The match went extra long as the teams combined for four different occasions for set point before SLU locked it down, 28-26, and took a 2-0 lead in the match. Baylin recorded 10 of Southeast's 13 kills in the set.
Looking to avoid a sweep, the Redhawks came out strong in the third set as they held a steady lead the first half of the set. With SLU's offense beginning to fire and a couple errors by the Redhawks, the Billikens took the lead and carried it to a sweep of the Redhawks with a 25-22 set victory. Baylin added seven kills in the set.
Baylin was not only Southeast's kill leader with 20 (.304 hitting clip) but also led the squad defensively with 11 digs and also contributed on a block. Her performance against SLU was her second double-double of the tournament.
The Redhawks won their first set of the day to begin their match against Northern Iowa. Both teams fought valiantly throughout the set going toe-to-toe much of the time. UNI opened a 23-19 lead on Southeast but the Redhawks put up four-straight points to tie the set. Both teams went back-and-forth but the Redhawks emerged victorious, 28-26, and took a 1-0 lead in the match.
UNI never trailed in the second set as they cruised to a 25-19 set two win to tie up the match at one set apiece.
Set three proves very similar to set two. While the score was tied a number of times early in the set, the Panthers never trailed the Redhawks. UNI began to slowly widen a lead and carried it to another 25-19 set win to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Once again, NUI lead the entire fourth, and would be final, set. However, with NIU up 24-18, Southeast was able to hold off match point to narrow the lead to 24-21 before an attack error by the Redhawks sealed the deal for the Panthers.
Once again, Baylin recorded another double-double in the match with 13 kills and 14 digs. Taylor Masterson tallied 11 kills while hitting .304.
Southeast Missouri will return to the floor Friday, Sept. 5, at the Indiana Invitational in Bloomington, Indiana. The Redhawks will take on SEC foe Mississippi State Friday at 4 p.m., CT. Southeast faces Indiana and Miami (Ohio) on Saturday.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 3, FIU 0; EASTERN KENTUCKY 3, WESTERN CAROLINA 0
ORLANDO, Fla. - Eastern Kentucky won two matches on the final day of the Radisson UCF Invitational in Orlando, Florida. The Colonels (3-1) shutout Florida International (1-2) and Western Carolina (0-3) by scores of 3-0.
EKU beat FIU 27-25, 25-13 and 25-18 before knocking off Western Carolina 30-28, 25-15 and 25-19.
The Colonel made only 12 attack errors in their victory over Florida International. Rachel Vick and freshman Celina Sanks recorded a team-high nine kills each and both made only one error. Vick posted a .421 attack percentage. Sanks hit .471, had two aces and two block assists.
As a team, EKU recorded a .297 attack percentage, totaling 39 kills and only 12 errors in 91 attacks. Eastern also had nine service aces and six blocks. FIU finished with a .103 attack percentage, making 21 errors in 97 attacks. The Panthers had only five aces and three blocks.
Eastern Kentucky trailed 25-24 late in the first set before scoring three straight to take a 1-0 lead in the match. A kill by Johanna Boyer tied the score. Sanks followed with a kill before Boyer put it away with a service ace. EKU scored the first six points in the second set and led 17-5 after a kill by Abbey Cvelbar. Vick’s kill finished off the set and gave her team a 2-0 lead.
Eastern never trailed in the third set. Sanks, the freshman, clinched the match with a kill.
The Colonels hit even better against Western Carolina, recording a .322 attack percentage after registering 47 kills and only 10 errors in 115 attempts. Senior Alexis Plagens and Vick led the way with 10 kills each. Vick made just one error in 18 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage. Cvelbar had double-double with 35 assists and a match-best 15 digs.
WCU had a .194 attack percentage after making 17 errors and recording 41 kills in 124 attempts. Jordan Timmermann had a match-high 14 kills.
The Catamounts had set-point, 25-24, in the first after an ace by Elyssa Mulheron. However, Sanks and Ally Peters recorded back-to-back kills to keep it going. Western had set-point again at 28-27 before Eastern Kentucky scored three unanswered to win the set 30-28. Plagens tied it with a kill and put her team in front by one with an ace. Peters finished it off with a kill.
EKU never trailed in the second set. With the score tied 6-6, the Colonels went on a 10-2 run to take control on their way to a 10-point win. Eastern led by only two, 19-17, late in the third set before scoring four unanswered to put the match away. Julia Mindlina’s service ace polished off the set, 25-19, and the match.
Sanks and Cvelbar earned spots on the Radisson UCF Invitational All-Tournament team.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY 3, MOREHEAD STATE 0; RADFORD 3, MOREHEAD STATE 1
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State volleyball program dropped both of its Saturday matches in the Eagle Challenge at Wetherby Gym. MSU suffered a 25-10, 25-21, 25-10 defeat to Northern Kentucky and then lost a 20-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-22 decision to Radford.
NKU finishes the three-team event by winning both of its matches, while RU posted a 2-1 mark and MSU dropped all three of its tilts. The Highlanders won the Big South Conference last season, while the Eagles are the four-time defending Ohio Valley Conference champions.
Junior outside hitter Jayden Julian recorded a match-best 12 kills for Northern Kentucky in Saturday's opener. The Norse posted a .476 attack percentage in the opening stanza before hitting .118 and .526 over the final two sets. NKU managed 34 kills in just 74 total attacks.
Morehead State was limited to a .000 hitting percentage against the Norse. Northern Kentucky tallied a 38-25 advantage in digs, with junior libero Mel Stewart collecting a match-high 11. NKU also registered seven aces. No MSU player reached double figures in kills or digs.
Morehead State won the opening set in the tournament finale, but Radford responded with three consecutive set victories to take the match. The Highlanders posted an 11-5 upper hand in team blocks and committed just 18 attack errors while forcing 33. The match featured 25 ties and 13 lead changes, including 10 even scores in both the first and fourth stanzas.
Freshman outside hitter Alli Evans paced three Eagles in double figures with 11 kills in the day's second match. MSU senior setter Colbey Cameron contributed 21 assists and 14 digs, while junior middle blocker Hannah Sigala closed out with nine kills and four blocks.
Senior outside hitter Rachel Wiechecki collected 12 digs, 11 smackdowns and five blocks for the Highlanders. Freshman outside hitter Maddie Palmer added 15 defensive stops and four aces for Radford, while senior setter Jena Braden handed out a match-best 29 assists.
Morehead State continues non-conference action next weekend at the Kent State Golden Flashes Classic in Kent, Ohio. The Eagles will square off with New Hampshire and the host school on Friday before wrapping up the two-day event against Evansville on Saturday.
YOUNGSTOWN STATE 3, BELMONT 0; BELMONT 3, EVANSVILLE 2
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - elmont volleyball dropped a contest to Youngstown State Saturday morning, 3-0, to open up the second and final day of the 2014 Belmont Invitational.
The first set started out as a back and forth affair as the two teams stood knotted at 16 at the midway point.
YSU proceeded to score eight of the next ten points in order pull ahead 24-18. A YSU kill by Aly Ryan finished off the set, 25-19, in the Penguins' favor.
Belmont found themselves trailing, 16-11, midway through the second set. The Bruins only got to within three points the rest of the way as YSU pulled away for the 25-18 victory to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
YSU carried that momentum as the Penguins got off to a strong start in the third set, taking an early 5-1 advantage. YSU continued to lead throughout the set before Belmont scored four straight points midway to take a 16-15 lead.
YSU (2-0) responded to Belmont's charge as the Penguins scored the next six points in order to reclaim the lead, 21-16. That run was followed by a YSU kill and two service aces as the Penguins took the set, 25-18, and the match (25-19, 25-18, 25-18).
Belmont's Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.) had another solid outing as the senior led the Bruins with seven kills while adding 10 digs and two service aces.
Freshman Ellie Ivancich (Naperville, Ill.) led the bruins with 17 dgis while junior setter Regan Kennamer (Huntsville, Ala.) tallied 18 assists.
YSU's Lexi Egler led the Penguins with a double-double on the match with 10 kills and 10 digs.
Going into the 2014 season, Belmont volleyball head coach Tony Howell knew there would be new faces to add to the puzzle for his Bruin team.
Those new pieces came together Saturday evening at the Curb Event Center and led the Bruins to their first win of the season as Belmont outlasted Evansville in five sets (25-23, 20-25, 15-25, 25-18, 15-12).
Belmont jumped out to the early advantage in the match as the Bruins captured an extremely close opening set that was filled filled with several lead changes and back-and-forth play.
With the score knotted at 22, a pair of hitting errors proved costly for the Purple Aces as the Bruins outscored Evansville 3-1 to go on for the close, 25-23, victory.
Evansville responded in the following two sets as the Purple Aces withstood a late Belmont rally in order to capture the second set, 25-20, and handled the Bruins in the third set, 25-15, to take control of the match.
With their backs against the wall, a young Bruin squad came together in the fourth set as the Bruins jumped out to a quick, 16-8, advantage on their way to a commanding, 25-18, victory to force a deciding fifth set.
Hitting proved to be the difference for the Bruins in the set as Belmont's hitters came alive notching 18 kills with a .325 hitting percentage.
The fifth set started much like previous four as the two teams took turns trading blows.
With the score tied at 7 at the midpoint mark, BU's freshmen rose to the occasion as kills from true freshmen Ellie Ivancich (Naperville, Ill.) and Arianna Person (Lenexa, Kan.) and redshirt freshman Emma Price (Fort Mill, S.C.) helped seal the deal for the Bruins as Belmont went on to capture the match with a 15-12 victory.
Person was instrumental throughout the come-from-behind victory as the outside hitter put together her first double-double performance of her career, notching 14 kills and 13 digs.
The rookie and sophomore Jessica Vestal (Concord, Calif.) both recorded a match-best three service aces for the Bruins.
Price made a substantial impact on the match with her passing as the setter finished with a team-high 35 assists while Ivancich made her impact on the defensive end, leading the Bruins with 21 digs.
Two other Bruins finished with double figure kills as freshman Brie Lewis (Stillwell, Kan.) almost had a double-double of her own with 10 kills and nine digs while junior Jocelyn Youngdahl (Stillwater, Minn.) had an impressive hitting percentage of .350 with 10 kills on 20 total attacks in addition to assisting with five blocks.
A trio of players posted double-doubles for Evansville (0-3) as senior Ashley Ring had 11 kills to go along with 16 digs, freshman Grace Carter had 39 assists and 15 digs and freshman Genesis Miranda had 10 kills and 14 digs for the Purple Aces.
Person and senior Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.) were honored as part of the 2014 Belmont Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Belmont (1-2) will return to action this Tuesday as the Bruins hit the road for the first time in 2014 with a match at Western Kentucky Tuesday, Sept. 2, at 7 p.m. CT.
MICHIGAN 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0; STEPHAN F. AUSTIN 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The Tennessee State University volleyball team wrapped up the Arkansas Invitational with two tough losses on Saturday.
The Tigers (0-3) dropped their matches to Michigan (2-0) and Stephen F. Austin (1-2) in straight sets. TSU was two points away from winning the third set of the Ladyjacks’ match, but fell just short.
Senior Naomi Wells notched her second-straight double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs against the Wolverines. She added eight kills and 14 digs in the final match against SFA. Fellow senior Ileanushka Maldonado led the team on defense with 13 digs against UM and freshman Samantha Beltran built on her strong debut at Arkansas with 27 assists in game one and 29 in game two.
Senior Taylor Swayzer led the Tigers in kills during the third game of the tournament, notching 10 on the contest. Adding a block assist helped her lead the team in points (10.5). Sophomore Arijana Anderson had a good third match, as well, with nine kills, an assist, and a dig.
Down 22-18 in the third set of the SFA match, Wells put the Tigers on her shoulders getting three kills and two block assists to bring the score to 24-23. A late kill by the Ladyjacks, however, sealed the deal. Wells had 6 of TSU’s 11 total kills in the third set of the final match. Beltran added to the effort with 10 assists in that set showing that the Tigers have a lot of heart to come back from a big deficit.
TSU will be in action Friday Sep. 5 and Saturday Sep. 6 in Louisville for the Active Ankle Challenge. On the weekend slate for the Tigers are two American Athletic Conference teams in Louisville and Cincinnati as well as Appalachian State.
SIUE 3, WINTRHOP 0; SIUE 3, AIR FORCE 2
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - SIUE volleyball evened its season record to 2-2 with a pair of wins Saturday over Winthrop and Air Force at the Falcon Classic.
The Cougars defeated Winthrop 22-25, 25-23, 25-13, 25-23 and host Air Force 18-25, 25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 16-14.
The Cougars needed some resiliency after falling behind a set in both matches Saturday.
Johnson said freshman Ashley Witt was the go to player for the Cougars against Winthrop. The outside hitter recorded 13 kills and tied for the team lead in service aces in the match with three.
The duo of Witt and middle hitter Kristen Torre was strong in the deciding fourth set. The duo each had six kills in the final set against Winthrop. Torre led all players with 15 kills for the match.
Witt, Emily Harrison, Alicia Streetar, and Taylor Held turned in a much better day on offense than day one, Johnson noted. SIUE's four outside hitters combined for 30 of SIUE's 55 kills against Winthrop. Held was the top hitter for the Cougars in the five-set match against Air Force, recording a career best 17 kills.
Ramich, also a freshman, held her own the first weekend. She led the team in blocks in three of the four weekend matches. Johnson said a maturing Mallory Mangun, only a sophomore at the setter position, is making better decisions and keeping opponent defenses on their heels.
After a slow start against Air Force, SIUE's offense began to gain momentum. The Cougars hit .367 and .342 in back-to-back sets to gain a 2-1 lead. Air Force tied the match up with a 25-22 win in the fourth set.
The Cougars came up big when it counted. With the fifth set tied 14-14, Ramich picked up a kill and then teamed with Witt for a block against Air Force's Maggie Sherrill on match point.
SIUE now heads to Highland Heights, Ky., for the NKU Fall Tournament next weekend. The Cougars are slated to play Eastern Michigan, Samford and host Northern Kentucky.
MURRAY STATE 3, ALABAMA STATE 1
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Recap coming soon.