FRIDAY'S SCORES
Northern Illinois 3,
@Morehead State 0 (25-16, 26-14, 25-16)
Jacksonville State 3, UAB 1 (25-21, 25-19, 22-25, 25-23)
Iowa 3,
Eastern Illinois 0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-15)
Southeast Missouri 3, Savannah State 0 (25-9, 25-23, 25-7)
Tennessee Tech 3, Alcorn State 0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-11)
Belmont 3, Virginia Tech 2 (14-25, 25-20, 15-25, 25-23, 15-13)
Purdue 3,
Austin Peay 0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-14)
Indiana 3,
Eastern Kentucky 1 (25-15, 18-25, 25-21, 25-20)
Murray State 3, Mississippi Valley 0 (25-14, 25-7, 25-10)
Tennessee State 3, Wofford 1 (27-25, 20-25, 25-16, 25-16, 25-20)
Western Michigan 3,
Austin Peay 1 (21-25, 25-11, 25-14, 25-15)
Louisville 3,
@Morehead State 0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-16)
Drake 3,
@UT Martin 1 (25-17, 26-24, 25-14)
@McNeese State 3,
Tennessee Tech 0 (25-19, 27-25, 25-18)
@UIC 3,
Eastern Kentucky 1 (25-23, 24-26, 25-14, 25-11)
@Ole Miss 3,
Jacksonville State 1 (26-28, 25-23, 25-21, 25-17)
Southern Miss 3
, Southeast Missouri 2 (25-16, 24-26, 25-12, 25-27, 15-10)
@SIUE 3, Southern Utah 1 (27-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-17)
IOWA 3, EASTEN ILLINOIS 0
BROOKINGS, S.D. - Eastern Illinois volleyball fell to Big Ten power Iowa to open South Dakota State Challenge action on Friday (Sep. 12) morning, as the Panthers dropped their first three-set match of the early season (25-23, 25-23, 25-15). The loss moves EIU to 4-3 overall.
Newcomer Allie Hueston led the Panther offense with eight kills and 11 points, off a .389 attack, as she also tied classmate Maria Brown with a pair of blocks.
Abby Saalfrank followed with seven kills of her own, while fellow junior Chelsea Lee and senior Kelsey Roggemann each chipped in six put-downs in the morning contest.
Junior setter Marah Bradbury dished out 28 assists and tallied five kills off zero errors for a .556 attack clip. While in back court defense, junior libero Brittany Wallace recorded 12 digs.
Freshman Jess Janota led all players on the court with 13 kills, while sophomore Lauren Brobst hit .667 in the contest behind eight kills, zero errors and a .667 attack. Junior Mikaela Gunderson led the Iowa net defense with four blocks as freshman libero Michelle Fugarino finished with 17 digs.
The match featured 19 ties and nine lead changes, as EIU jumped out to an early lead in the opening frame to only see the Hawkeyes (5-2) battle back to earn the first set win off a very late set run. EIU hit a match-best .286 in the opening set, but Iowa also hit well at .387.
Iowa continued strong play in the second frame to take their own commanding lead before the Panthers countered with their own multi-point run mid-way through. Unfortunately Eastern was unable to keep the momentum going as the Hawkeyes held on for their second straight 25-23 win. EIU was limited to a .064 attack as compared to .206 for the Big Ten foes.
The Hawkeyes then enjoyed a .267 to -.094 hitting advantage in the final frame to pick up the 25-15 win and three-set sweep.
Iowa out-paced the Panthers in kills, attack, assists, aces, digs, blocks, and points, yet committed three more service errors and had five more blocking miscues than EIU.
With the loss, EIU now trails Iowa, 4-1, in the all-time Division I series history.
The Panthers will have the rest of the day off to prepare for tomorrow's noon and 5 p.m. matchups versus the weekend host Jackrabbits and North Dakota, respectively, to complete tournament action.
TENNESSEE STATE 3, WOFFORD 1
CLEMSON, S.C. - The Tennessee State University volleyball team recorded their second win of the season at the Clemson Classic against Wofford College on Friday afternoon.
The Tigers (2-6) won 3-1 against the Terriers (2-5) at Jervey Gym. Three players had double-digit kills for TSU as senior Naomi Wells paced the Blue and White with 13. Fellow senior Taylor Swayzer also posted a good match with 11 kills and sophomore Arijana Anderson had 10.
TSU continued to improve their attacking accuracy as they hit .302 for the match. Junior Haley Hampton led the pinpoint strikes as she posted a .571 clip. Were it not for a lone error in the fourth set, she would have had a perfect game. The Mesquite, Texas, native also recorded nine kills in the win against Wofford. Swayzer also had an accurate match as she hit .348.
The Tigers won a battle of a first set 27-25 thanks to clutch kills by Wells and Swayzer. Wells made the kill with the game tied at 25 that set up the game-winning kill by Swayzer. Despite dropping the second set, TSU had a strong vibe from the beginning that carried them through the set loss to set victories in the third and fourth sets.
TSU’s defense stayed balanced throughout. Senior Jaime Cooper had 11 digs to lead the team. Senior Ileanushka Maldonado and Wells pitched in with eight digs. Blocks came in droves for the Blue and White as they tallied 18 block assists as a team. Hampton led with five while sophomore Neisha Crockett tallied four.
The Tigers will look to continue this momentum and build a winning streak as they play William & Mary at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday followed by Clemson at 6:00 p.m.
There will be an audio broadcast for the William & Mary match presented by TSUTigers.com and a live video broadcast of the Clemson match brought to you by Clemson University.
PURDUE 3, AUSTIN PEAY 0; WESTERN MICHIGAN 3, AUSTIN PEAY 1
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team put forth a valiant effort but fell in three sets (23-25, 17-25, 14-25) to No. 8 Purdue, Friday afternoon, in the opening match of the Holiday Inn University Plaza Invitational at E.A. Diddle Arena.
Austin Peay (3-5) put a scare into nationally-ranked Purdue in the opening set, forcing nine ties and four lead changes. The Lady Govs scored four straight points, forcing a Purdue timeout and taking an 18-15 lead. Purdue responded with a 6-1 run to take a 21-19 lead and would hold that advantage the set’s remainder.
Purdue (9-0) asserted itself after the opening set, winning sets two and three in wire-to-wire fashion. The Boilermakers opened both sets with a 12-3 burst and never looked back.
Mott started a pair of freshmen in Friday’s tournament opener as outside hitter Ashley Slay joined Christina White in the starting lineup. White led the APSU offense with 10 kills – a third of the squad’s 30 total kills. Slay had three kills and two blocks in her first collegiate start.
Sam Epenesa led Purdue with 13 kills and three blocks. Annie Drews added 10 kills without an attack error, posting a .476 attack percentage. The Boilermakers recorded 45 kills with a .290 attack percentage.
Outside hitters Jada Stotts and Christina White combined for 29 kills, but Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team fell victim to too many errors in a four-set loss (25-21, 11-25, 14-25, 15-25) to Western Michigan, Friday, at the Holiday Inn University Plaza Invitational at E.A. Diddle Arena.
Austin Peay (3-7) opened the match with a 6-2 burst powered by two kills from freshman outside hitter Ashley Slay. Western Michigan stormed back and tied the set, 13-13, with a 5-0 run. A Stotts kill kept the lead from changing hands and started a 5-0 APSU run helped along by a pair of Broncos errors. Stotts would score three kills in the set’s final seven points, including the set-clincher in a 25-21 victory.
Western Michigan (5-2) dominated the match’s remainder. The Broncos won the second set in wire-to-wire fashion and nearly repeated the feat in the third and fourth sets. Austin Peay’s attack fizzled as 26 of the team’s 31 attack errors came in the final three sets.
Stotts led Austin Peay with 15 kills and two service aces, but was held to a .122 attack percentage. White finished with 14 kills and was more successful with a .237 attack percentage. Freshman outside hitter Ashley Slay and sophomore outside hitter Sammie Ebright each had seven kills.
Austin Peay recorded 48 kills in the match, but the 31-error outing limited it to a .104 attack percentage. Western Michigan needed just 49 kills in the match but committed just 10 attack errors (.281 attack percentage).
Ave Stout and Mikaela Rysytylo each had 10 kills to lead the Broncos offense.
Austin Peay concludes its stay in Bowling Green when it faces host Western Kentucky in an 11 a.m., Saturday contest.
BELMONT 4, VIRGINIA TECH 2
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Belmont University volleyball defeated Virginia Tech of the Atlantic Coast Conference in five sets Friday afternoon in the Middle Tennessee Blue Raider Bash.
The victory proves to be an uplifting, signature win for first-year head coach Tony Howell and his youthful group of Bruins.
A late flurry from freshman Arianna Person (Lenexa, Kan.) and senior Alex Martin (Ooltewah, Tenn.) helped the Bruins win set two and equalize the match.
After dropping set three, Belmont scored 11 of the first 13 points in set four, behind more great play from Person and Martin. The Hokies would tie on four occassions late in the set, but Belmont closed out the set, 25-22.
On the serve of freshman Ellie Ivancich (Naperville, Ill.), Belmont raced out to a 10-4 set five lead. A Hokie error and a kill from senior Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.) put Belmont at match point, 14-9.
Virginia Tech won four straight points to close within 14-13, but a kill from freshman Emma Price (Fort Mill, S.C.) would secure the match for Belmont.
Person led the Bruins with career-high 15 kills to go along with 12 digs. Gable added eight kills and 13 digs.
The Bruins return to action Saturday against Washington State and host Middle Tennessee.
MURRAY STATE 3, MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - During the opening day of the Chattanooga Classic, the Racers overpowered Mississippi Valley 3-0 (25-14, 25-7, 25-10).
The first set was very close when Mississippi Valley took an 11-10 lead before Murray State gained the next five points, going up 15-11. MSU gave up one point before taking the next five points to hold a 20-12 advantage. After giving up two final points to the Devilettes, the Racers took the next five points and won the set 25-14.
Murray State dominated the court during the second and third set. MSU never gave up the lead during the second set, and was able to keep an advantage and take the win 25-7. During the third set, MSU started off with the first four points. After giving up one point to Mississippi Valley, they took the next six points to go up 10-1. From that point on the Racers were able to continue their dominance on the court and took the set 25-10.
Alyssa Lelm led the team with 10 kills, followed closely by Kamille Jones who added nine. Three Racers notched a 10-plus dig match. Emily Schmahl and Kaitlyn Embrey had respective career highs for digs while with 15 and 12, while Hannah Stultz contributed 10. Stultz had her first double-double of the season coming off of 24 assists and 10 digs.
When talking about the girls and their stats, Head Coach David Schwepker said, "Honestly, we never stress about individual stuff. Everything is for the team, and they went out and played hard and that's a good team morale booster. Shows me that we have a lot of depth on the team."
Looking forward to tomorrow's matches, Schwepker said, "They are going to be tough. I think they are going to be really strong so we will see what happens tomorrow morning and then think about Chattanooga after that."
The Racers will take the court Saturday against Wright State at 9:00 a.m. and then against tournament host Chattanooga at 6:00 p.m.
DRAKE 3, UT MARTN 0
MARTIN, Tenn.- The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team ran into a hot Drake squad in its first match of the 2014 Skyhawk Invitational, falling 3-0 (17-25, 24-26, 14-25) to the Bulldogs out of the Missouri Valley Conference.
The Skyhawks (4-4) were led by a match-high nine kills from Julia Devinney while Amanda Crask tallied seven kills (with zero errors) in 13 attempts to go along with 12 assists. Madison Bergren handed out a match-high 19 assists while Michelle McLaughlin scooped up a match-high 12 digs to set the tone defensively for UT Martin.
Drake (8-1) jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first set. A service error and back-to-back attack errors by the Bulldogs sliced the Skyhawk deficit to 11-7 while three straight kills by Crask, Madison Wessling and Devinney kept the margin at four points (15-11). Drake would score five of the next six points and UT Martin could not get within five points for the remainder of the set.
Early kills by Emily Keaton and McLaughlin helped UT Martin grab a 3-1 lead in the second set. Drake would claim its first lead at 7-6 and would eventually lead by four points (14-10) before the Skyhawks would mount a comeback. Trailing 20-18, UT Martin compiled three consecutive points to go on top by a 21-20 margin. The Bulldogs came back to claim a 24-22 lead but the Skyhawks fought back with two straight points. However, Drake would score back-to-back points to claim the set.
Devinney’s five kills and Crask’s four kills guided the UT Martin offense in the second set.
The Bulldogs led 5-1 in the third set but two kills by Wessling and a kill by Lael Ceriani closed UT Martin’s gap to three points (7-4). Drake then scored five unanswered points to begin a 10-2 run before a Wessling kill ended the Bulldogs’ momentum. A kill by Devinney made the score 19-12 but Drake would score six of the final eight points in the set.
Wessling had five kills on eight swings (no errors, .625 attack percentage) to pace UT Martin offensively in the third and final set.
Day Two of the 2014 Skyhawk Invitational continues on Saturday, Sept. 13. The action begins when Drake takes on Valparaiso at 10:30 a.m., followed by a matchup between UT Martin and Western Carolina at 1 p.m. Western Carolina will square off against Drake at 4:30 p.m. while the Skyhawks will close out the tournament with a 7 p.m. match against Valparaiso. Earlier today, Valparaiso defeated Western Carolina by a 3-0 margin (25-23, 25-19, 25-21) to begin the two-day, six-match tournament.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, ALCORN STATE 0; MCNEESE STATE 3, TENNESSEE TECH 0
LAKE CHARLES, La. – The Tennessee Tech women's volleyball team opened the Cowgirl Classic with a weekend opening win over Alcorn State and dropping a three-set match to host McNeese State.
The Golden Eagles opened the weekend with a win over Alcorn State, 3-0; 25-22, 25-20, 25-11.
Junior Cody Dodd put away a game-high 11 kills, adding eight digs and two blocks. Freshman outside Kellie Williams added nine kills on an impressive .368 hitting percentage. Senior Courtney Smith added a team-high 12 digs and she had two aces as well.
Alcorn's Heather Jackson had a team-high six kills for the Braves. Vanessa Ortega scooped up a game-high 17 digs.
Against the tournament hosts, the Golden Eagles lost 3-0, 25-17, 27-25, 25-18.
Sophomore Irem Sile and Dodd led the way with nine kills apiece. Dodd added six digs and five blocks. Williams tallied another six kills while making just one error. Sophomore Sharon Anderson distributed 19 assists and added nine digs.
Tomorrow, the Golden Eagles will play Louisiana Monroe at 10 a.m. CT, and will close out the Cowgirl Classic with a 2:30 p.m. match versus Prairie View A&M.
INDIANA 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 1; UIC 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 1
CHICAGO, Ill. - Eastern Kentucky suffered a pair of 3-1 losses to Indiana and Illinois-Chicago on the first day of the UIC Invitational in Chicago.
Indiana won by scores of 25-15, 18-25, 25-21 and 25-20. Illinois-Chicago beat EKU (7-4) by scores of 25-23, 24-26, 25-14 and 25-11.
Against Indiana (7-1), senior Alexis Plagens led all players with 17 kills. She made only five errors in 39 attacks for a .308 hitting percentage. Freshman Celina Sanks finished with 11 kills. Freshman Ciera Koons had a team-best four blocks.
Morgan Leach led Indiana with 14 kills.
EKU finished with six fewer kills than the Hoosiers, due in part to committing 11 service errors.
Plagens had a team best 14 kills against Illinois-Chicago (4-5). Sanks finished with 12 kills, only three errors and a .290 attack percentage.
UIC had four players record 12 or more kills, led by Stephenee Yancy with a match-best 19. She had only five errors in 39 attempts for a .359 attack percentage. As a team the Flames totaled 65 kills and a .315 attack percentage.
SIUE 3, SOUTHERN UTAH 1
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Ashley Witt recorded 15 kills in her SIUE volleyball home debut as the Cougars rolled to a four-set victory over Southern Utah on the opening day of the Cougar Classic at the Vadalabene Center.
The Cougars evened their season record to 4-4 with a 27-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-17 victory. SIUE has three more matches in the tournament beginning with an 11 a.m. match Saturday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Witt, a freshman, led three SIUE players with double figures kills against Southern Utah. Freshman Emily Harrison and junior Kristen Torre added 11 each.
SIUE gained control of the match early with a key comeback in set one. The Cougars fought back two set points against the Thunderbirds, who lost their first two matches of the season Friday and are now 6-2 overall.
Southern Utah, who were led by 15 kills from Remo Gaogao, recorded a service error on the first set point at 24-23, and Harrison provided a kill with the Cougars down 25-24. SIUE would win the final three points of the first set with Torre picking up a service ace on SIUE's first set point in set one.
The Cougars threatened to run away with the match after winning set two despite being outhit percentage-wise .212 to .173.
SIUE connected on a match-high 17 kills in set four to collect the win.
Chelsea Colclasure paced the defense with 21 digs followed closely by Mallory Mangun with 20. Torre was a part of six of SIUE's 10 blocks. Witt added four.
Serving proved to be an important part of the match for both teams. Southern Utah finished with 14 service errors while the Cougars had nine service ages, including three each from Katie Shashack and Torre.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 3, MOREHEAD STATE 0; LOUISVILLE 3, MOREHEAD STATE 0
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State volleyball team suffered 3-0 losses to Northern Illinois and Louisville on Friday in the Comfort Inn and Suites Invitational at Wetherby Gym. Set scores against NIU were 25-16, 25-14, 25-16, while set scores versus Louisville were 25-17, 25-13 and 25-16.
The Ohio Valley Conference Eagles slip to 0-8 overall. The Mid-American Conference Huskies move to 5-4 with a Friday split, while the Atlantic Coast Conference Cardinals improve to 5-3 with two victories. The tournament's fourth team, No. 15 Arizona State, is now 7-1 on the year.
Morehead State's second non-conference tournament at Wetherby Gym wraps up on Saturday with two more matches. Northern Illinois and Louisville square off at 2 p.m. ET before the Eagles face Arizona State at 5 p.m. The MSU-ASU match will be shown live on the OVC Digital Network.
Northern Illinois recorded a .268 attack percentage in the tournament's opening match, including a .364 mark in the second set. The Huskies registered 10 aces and 39 digs. Morehead State was limited to .108 offensively. The Eagles collected four blocks, five aces and 32 digs.
Senior outside hitter Mackenzie Roddy paced NIU with a match-high nine kills in the 10 a.m. affair, while freshman libero Anna Brerton added a match-best 12 digs. Sophomore libero Hope Rillema led MSU with nine digs, while senior right-side hitter Alex Fitzmorris posted five kills.
Louisville blasted 46 kills, with just eight errors, en route to a .418 attack percent in the nightcap. The Cardinals also posted 15 block assists and one solo stop on their way to an 8.5-to-2 advantage in team blocks. Morehead State was limited to an .074 hitting clip and just 34 winners.
Louisville sophomore outside hitter Janelle Jenkins led all players with 10 kills, while freshman middle blocker Tess Clark tallied nine smackdowns and a match-best seven blocks. Junior defensive specialist Roxanne McVey notched 10 digs for the Cardinals, as did Rillema.
Morehead State's two matches combined for just nine ties and two lead changes. More than 1,000 fans watched the Eagles play on Friday. The morning contest included 100-plus elementary school students, while a season-best 739 spectators were on hand for the evening tilt.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, UAB 1; OLE MISS 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 1
OXFORD, Miss. - Jacksonville State won its opening game of the 2014 Magnolia Invitational by topping in-state foe UAB 3-1 ( 25-21, 25-19, 22-25, 25-23) in the Gillom Sports Center.
The Gamecocks (3-5) won the opening two sets before the Blazers (2-7) were able to claim the third. In a tight fourth set, JSU was able to hold off UAB to win the match.
Jacksonville State had a combined .216 kill percentage on attacks through the match. Freshman Allyson Zuhlke led all players in kills with 15 on a .300 attack percentage. It was the third-straight match with double-digit kills and the Tomball, Texas, native's second consecutive 15-kill performance. She led a group of four Gamecocks with at least eight kills, while also picking up five blocks.
Fellow freshman Charis Ludtke and senior Nicole Merget followed with 11 and 10 kills, respectively. It was Ludtke's first career match with double digits in the kills column. Merget added four blocks, while junior Brianne Glidewell had five blocks to go along with her eight kills on 16 swings for a .500 attack percentage.
Freshman setter Jennifer Hart, of Davidson, N.C., had a team-high 37 assists to go along with 11 digs for her second career double-double and her second in as many matches. Junior Samantha Bohne's 12 digs led the way defensively for the Gamecocks.
Jacksonville State has now won three of its last four matches. Freshman Ludtke led the team in the opening set with her six kills from 13 attempts. Hart supplied a set-high seven digs and 10 assists to help claim the opening set.
The second set was a collective team effort as the Gamecocks had a .407 kill percentage. The freshman trio of Ludtke, Hart and Zuhlke applied the most pressure leading the way in attacks.
In the third, the Gamecocks weren't able to close out the match, and the Blazers held tough and were able to grab a 25-22 set win at the end.
The fourth set was back-and-forth, with the largest lead coming when UAB led at one time, 10-7. The Gamecocks rallied back to tie the set 15-15 and went on to win by the narrow 25-23 margin.
he Jacksonville State volleyball team jumped on Ole Miss but couldn't hold off the Rebels in a 3-1 loss that wrapped up the first day of the Ole Miss Magnolia Classic on Friday.
Hours after upending in-state rival UAB to start play in the tournament, the Gamecocks (3-6) pulled off a 28-26 first set win over the host Rebels (10-0), the first time Ole Miss had been defeated in the first set this season. The Rebels then edged JSU 25-23 in the second set before claiming the third set 25-21 and the fourth 25-17.
Despite the loss to a Southeastern Conference program that is off to a hot start to 2014, the Gamecocks continued to impress their first year head coach, and many of the 617 in attendance at the Gillom Sports Center.
Several Gamecocks had impressive nights against the Rebels, including junior outside hitter Emily Rutherford. The Georgetown, Texas, native notched a double-double of 13 kills and 15 digs, usinh a .290 attack percentage on offense.
Senior Nicole Merget led the JSU offense with 14 kills on a .333 attack percentage, while true freshman setter Jennifer Hart set things up with a career-high 48 assists. Junior Brianne Glidewell pitched in nine kills and had a team-high five blocks and eight digs, while freshmen Allyson Zuhlke and Charis Ludtke added eight and seven kills, respectively.
Junior Samantha Bohne had a team-high 19 digs on the JSU back row, while freshman Hannah Kirk picked up 10 digs.
The Rebels were led by Lexi Thompson, who set a career wight with 18 kills on a .484 attack percentage, while also leading her team with 16 digs. Aubrey Edie dished out 61 assists in an offense that had 69 kills.
The first set saw JSU fight off set point twice before rallying to grab the 28-26 win. In a second set that saw eight tie scores, the Rebels broke an 11-11 score with a rally of four-straight points to take control. JSU fought back to pull within a point three times before dropping the set 25-23.
The final two sets saw JSU battle back-and-forth with the Rebels early, only to watch the host pull away late to secure the match.
JSU will wrap up the Magnolia Invitational on Saturday with an 11 a.m. match against Mercer.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, SAVANNAH STATE 0; SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, SOUTHERN MISS 0
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Southeast Missouri volleyball team split at day two of the ISTAP Collegiate Cup 2. The Redhawks swept Savannah State but fell to Southern Mississippi in the nightcap in five sets.
Southeast Missouri finishes 3-1 on the weekend and are 4-7 on the season.
The Redhawks recorded their third sweep in a row of the tournament, this time against the Savannah State Tigers (25-9, 25-21, 25-7).
An 8-0 run early in the first set helped give the Redhawks a solid lead on the Tigers, 10-2. The Redhawks only widened the lead more as the set continued. For the second time in the tournament, Southeast held their opponent to single digits with a 25-9 opening set victory. Kelsey Keeve totaled five kills in the set as Taylor Masterson contributed four. The Redhawks hit .367 while the Tigers hit -.062. Southeast also had four service aces, three belonging to Krissa Gearring.
Savannah State found their first lead of the match early in the second set. Southeast wasn't down for long as they pulled ahead and were able to hold on to a slim lead en route to a 25-21 set two win. Andrea Baylin was the driving force behind the offense in set two with six kills.
Much like the first set, Southeast held the Tigers to single digits in their 25-7 set three victory, earning their third sweep in a row on the weekend.
Baylin finished with nine kills. Gearring had seven while hitting .438 with six total service aces. Nzingha Clarke and Masterson each had six kills.
As a whole, the Redhawks hit .371 in the match with 43 kills. Southeast also put down an impressive 12 service aces while tallying significantly more digs than the Tigers, 43-29.
The Redhawks saw their first non-three set match of the weekend against Southern Mississippi as they fell in five sets to the Golden Eagles (16-25, 26-24, 12-25, 27-25, 10-15).
It was all Southern Miss in the first set. The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 4-0 lead and used it to cruise to a 25-16 set one victory. The Redhawks just couldn't stop a Golden Eagle offense that hit .367 in the set.
The second set was significantly closer. The score was tied 18 times in the second stanza. Neither team had more than a three-point lead at any time. Tied at 24, the Redhawks were able to put up the final two points and take the set, 26-24, tying up the match at a set apiece.
Southern Miss used an 8-0 run to open a commanding lead on Southeast in the third set. The Redhawk offense struggled in the set as they committed 10 errors and hit -.083.
Likewise to set two, the Redhawks won a close fourth set to tie up the match at two sets each. The score was tied 14 times and the lead changed seven times. The Golden Eagles tallied 19 kills but also committed nine errors.
The Golden Eagles won the fifth set 15-10 and took the match away from Southeast.
Baylin recorded a double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs. Gearring also had 10 kills in the match.
The Redhawks' blocking game was back in action Friday evening with 12.0 total team blocks. Keeve and Masterson each had six blocks with Nzingha Clarke contributing five.
Yankus added, "We struggled to terminate tonight and that really determined the outcome of this match. We did a good job of blocking but it wasn't enough to get the match to go our way."
Southeast Missouri will travel to Kansas City, Missouri Wednesday for a matchup with in-state rival UMKC.