FRIDAY'S SCORES
Southeast Missouri 3, @Tennessee State 2 (25-13, 20-25, 22-25, 27-25, 17-15)
@Morehead State 3, Jacksonville State 0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-21)
@Eastern Kentucky 3, Tennessee Tech 1 (25-21, 25-15, 15-25, 25-14)
Murray State 3, @SIUE 1 (25-20, 25-20, 27-29, 25-15)
@Belmont 3, UT Martin 1 (25-14, 22-25, 25-20, 25-18)
@Eastern Illinois 3, Austin Peay 1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-23, 25-22)
MOREHEAD STATE 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 0
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State volleyball utilized a balanced attack, that saw six players record at least four kills, to sweep Jacksonville State, 3-0. The win moves them to 5-4 in OVC play. They downed the Gamecocks, 25-15, 25-15, 25-21.
The win gives them two straight at Wetherby Gym and both have been three-set sweeps.
The Eagles controlled the match throughout, never trailing later than midway through a set. In the first they led 17-9 and then ended the set on a five-point run. In the second, they outscored the Gamecocks 16-4 after trailing 11-9, to close it at 25-15. Then in the third they used an 8-0 run in the middle of the set to help close the match, 25-21.
Morehead State hit an impressive .346 in the first set, recording 11 kills on 26 attempts, and had 38 kills overall and hit .210 for the match. They limited Jacksonville State to just 18 kills and a -.058 hitting percentage.
Freshman Merideth Jewell led the way for MSU with 12 kills on 35 attacks. Her 35 attacks marked her fourth fewest of the year. Senior Hannah Sigala added eight kills on just 12 attempts and hit .417. Juniors Sydney Schuler and Courtney Smith had five kills each. Smith added 10 digs and four service aces. Freshman Jordan Jones led the way with 18 assists, while recording four kills, and junior Bailey Nichol added 14 assists and four kills.
MURRAY STATE 3, SIUE 1
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Taylor Olden led the Racers with 18 kills, including seven in just the fourth and deciding set as the Murray State volleyball team improved its mark to 9-0 in OVC play and 19-1 overall in a 3-1 victory over SIU Edwardsville Friday night on the road. Set scores went 25-20, 25-20, 27-29 and 25-15.
Scottie Ingram and Kristen Besselsen added 12 and 10 kills, respectively in the win and Olivia Chatman added seven and hit a team-high .455. MSU hit just .200 overall as a team but held the Cougars (5-14, 3-6 OVC) to just a .056 team attack percentage of their own.
Sam Bedard once again recorded a double-double in the win as she led the Racers with 45 assists and 19 digs on the night while also tallying a team-high two service aces. Ellie Lorenz added 17 digs from her libero position and Olden had 11 to add to her solid night.
SIUE out-blocked the Racers in the contest 10-3 and both teams recorded five aces. Two of the Racers’ three blocks were solo stuffs from Chatman and Alyssa Lelm. MSU had a 62 percent to 51 percent advantage in sideout percentage in the match.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 3, UT MARTIN 1
RICHMOND, Ky. - EKU picked up its third straight Ohio Valley Conference win with a 3-1 victory over visiting Tennessee Tech University Friday at McBrayer Arena.
Eastern won by scores of 25-21, 25-15, 15-25 and 25-14.
The Colonels took advantage of a service error from the Golden Eagles to spark a 4-0 run and pull ahead 20-16 in the first set. From there, the teams traded points before EKU solidified the 25-21 win.
Eastern Kentucky sustained its momentum in the second set jumping out to a 5-0 lead. The Golden Eagles would claw back to make the score 8-7, but EKU held off the Golden Eagles to claim the second set 25-15.
Tech came out swinging in the third taking a 6-1 lead. EKU battled back to get as close as 10-9, but the Colonels never led in the set as they fell 25-15.
The fourth set saw the Colonels take another early lead, but the Golden Eagles would not go away quietly. EKU used a Celina Sanks kill to kick-start a game ending 9-2 run, before back-to-back kills from Ciera Koons extended the Colonels’ lead to 19-12. Eastern Kentucky took five of the set’s final six points to pick up another pivotal OVC win.
The Colonels (6-18, 5-4 OVC) picked up two key OVC wins on the road over Tennessee Tech and Jacksonville State University last weekend.
Sanks paced the Colonel offense with a team-high 13 kills. Ally Peters added 12 kills along with 10 from Rachel Vick marking the second consecutive match three different Colonels recorded 10 or more kills.
Tennessee Tech was led by Cody Dodd’s game-high 15 kills. Kirsten Brugere contributed 13 digs while Sharon Anderson tallied 34 assists for the Golden Eagles.
EKU recorded 47 kills against to Tech’s 39 limiting the Golden Eagles to a .114 hitting percentage.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, TENNESSEE STATE 2
NASHVILLE, Tenn - Southeast Missouri (8-14, 4-5 OVC) defeated Tennessee State (10-11, 5-4) in five sets on Friday (25-13, 20-25, 22-25, 27-25, 17-15).
After an early point-for-point contest, the Redhawks led with a slight 10-9 lead. Southeast's defense began to overpower TSU, earning two blocks, forcing multiple errors during a seven-point run. The Redhawks continued their momentum, cruising to a 25-13 finish after taking the final four rallies of the set. Southeast finished the frame with 12 kills and a .387 hitting clip and three team blocks.
The Tigers took an early lead, remaining ahead of the Redhawks throughout the second frame. Multiple scoring bursts by TSU allowed for a 21-14 advantage entering a Southeast time out. Refusing to fall, the Redhawks claimed seven of the next eight points to pull within one (22-21). The Tigers fended of the attempted comeback, claiming the set 25-21 and tying the match at a set apiece.
TSU's momentum continued early in the third, jumping out a 12-7 lead. The Redhawks began to chip away at the lead, tying the match at both16 and 17 off kills by Nzingha Clarke. Southeast took a temporary two-point lead off a Krissa Gearring kill before TSU fought back to tie at 19-19. The Redhawks took another lead, only to be answered by a five-point run of the Tigers. TSU finished the set 25-22, taking a 2-1 match lead. Madalyn Werths and Clarke each tallied four of the Redhawks 13 kills in the frame.
Tied at 10 in the fourth set, Southeast mounted back-to-back four-point rallies to take an 18-12 advantage. Down 23-17, the Tigers claimed the next six points to force a late tie. A late block by Taylor Masterson and Jessica McElderry proved to be the difference for the Redhawks, earning a 27-25 victory and forcing a fifth and final set. Southeast tallied another four team blocks, bringing their match total to 12.
The final frame saw both teams answering point for point until TSU drew and 8-8 tie. The Tigers then earned three straight points to claim a slight advantage of the Redhawks. Down 13-10, quick kills by Gearring and Werths allowed Southeast gain control in the set, taking a 14-13 lead over TSU. The Tigers responded with two kills of their own to take advantage, 15-14, late in the frame. With their backs against the wall, the Redhawks offense ignited to earn three straight kills to steal the final set 17-15 and claim a 3-2 match victory.
Werths led the Redhawks with a repeat performance of 19 kills and no errors. Clarke followed with 13 kills and a .444 hitting clip in the match. Keegan Fornoff and Katarina Rotta tallied 26 and 25 assists respectively, as Fornoff earned her second double-double of the season. Marie Less led defensively registering 22 of the team's 91 digs.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, AUSTIN PEAY 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois volleyball and Austin Peay were set to square off Friday night, but with a little added incentive as the two teams played part in the American Cancer Society’s- Colleges Against Cancer Volleyball Campaign. With a large crowd in support of the Panthers in Lantz Arena, EIU was able to come away with a 3-1 win (25-17, 23-25, 25-23, 25-22) to improve to 12-11 on the year and 7-2 in the OVC.
The Panthers were working off the crowd’s energy as after Austin Peay would tie the first set at 4-4, EIU began to take the momentum in the set. A kill by Josie Winner gave the Panthers their largest lead of the set at nine points by a score of 19-10. Austin Peay would find a way to cut the lead to as little as five, but Allie Hueston finished off the set with a kill, making the score 25-17 in favor of EIU.
Neither team would budge in the second set as the lead would sway from side to side. Taylor Smith put the Panthers ahead late in the set 21-20 with a kill, but a timeout by Austin Peay would break EIU’s rhythm. APSU would take a 24-23 lead over Eastern Illinois, when the Panthers called a timeout of their own to put the momentum back in their favor. The Lady Govs held strong however as they would earn the next point and take the second set victory 25-23.
A lot of back-and-forth scoring began the third set. Allie Hueston knotted the game at 13-13 with a kill, as the Panthers looked to break away from the Lady Govs from there. With a five point lead in EIU’s favor late in the set, things looked as if the Panthers would finish the set with ease until APSU tied the set at 20-20. The score would become tied on three different occasions from there before an Austin Peay ball handling error sealed up the third set for the Panthers 25-23.
Austin Peay came out firing in the fourth set as they took an 8-4 lead before a Panther timeout. A pair of Chelsea Lee kills and an attack error by Austin Peay tied the set at 8-8. Austin Peay would then control the middle portion of the set, but Lee would once again tie the set, this time at 20-20. The two teams would trade leads, with back-to-back kills by Smith completing the set 25-22.
Smith earned herself another triple-double as she finished the match with 18 kills, 20 assists, and 14 digs. Marah Bradbury put forth a double-double effort, finishing with 30 assists and 13 digs. Stephanie Wallace put forth a solid defensive game, as she finished with a match-high 30 digs, just one away from tying her career-high of 31.
BELMONT 3, UT MARTIN 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont Volleyball defeated the Skyhawks of UT-Martin in four sets Friday evening 25-14, 22-25, 25-20 and 25-18.
Sophomore Arianna Person (Lenexa, Kan.) led the offense with 18 kills. Sophomore Brie Lewis (Stillwell, Kan.) recorded 11 kills for a team high average of .450. Senior Jocelyn Youngdahl (Stillwater, Minn.) recorded 11 kills as well along with three blocks. Redshirt freshman Alexa Nichols (Walton, Ky.) finished the evening with 10 kills along with five blocks. Sophomore Emma Price (Fort Mill, SC) also recorded five blocks along with six kills and 54 assists. Freshman Maggie Mullins (Nashville, Tenn.) rounded out the offense with six kills on the evening. Sophomores Emily Richards (Penfield, N.Y.) and Ellie Ivancich (Naperville, Ill.) combined for a total of 25 digs on the evening.
Belmont broke away early in set going on an eight-point run taking a 16-7 lead. The run was highlighted by kills from Person, Price and Nichols along with the aid of a handful of errors from the Skyhawks. Despite a late set push by Martin, the Bruins continued an aggressive attack and closed out set one 25-14. With 15 kills, two aces and three blocks Belmont earned 20 of their 25 points, hitting for an average of .355.
The Bruins pushed ahead early in set two and took a 5-1 lead, with two kills from Person and one from Youngdahl. The two teams traded points until Martin tied the set at 11. The Bruins and the Skyhawks would go point-for-point with Belmont holding the advantage until an error from Lewis gave Martin the 20-19 lead. A kill from Youngdahl would lock the set up at 20. It was a battle for both teams to get their last five points but two kills from Martin would close out set two 25-22.
Set three was a tug-of-war for points until a four-point run with Person at the service line gave Belmont a 17-13 lead. Neither team would back down in set three as both the Bruins and the Skyhawks fought for every point. With Belmont in the lead 22-20, Nichols and Person would combine for a kill each along with a block to end set three.
Belmont and Martin were in a constant battle for points in set four until two kills from Person and one from Nichols forced Martin's head coach to call a timeout with the Bruins up 13-9. With the set close at 14-12 Belmont roped together four quick points and went up 18-12. Martin could not find a way back into the fourth set as the aggressive attack from Belmont proved to be superior taking set four 25-19.