SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Austin Peay 3, UT Martin 1 (18-25, 25-18, 25-16, 27-25)
@Murray State 3, Southeast Missouri 0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-17)
@Eastern Kentucky 3, SIUE 2 (25-20, 17-25, 25-20, 10-25, 20-18)
@Jacksonville State 3, Tennessee State 2 (25-22, 14-25, 17-25, 25-23, 15-9)
@Tennessee Tech 3, Belmont 2 (21-25, 25-17, 13-25, 25-23, 15-10)
@Morehead State 3, Eastern Illinois 2 (25-23, 21-25, 25-22, 17-25, 15-12)
MURRAY STATE 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 0
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State volleyball team picked up a home sweep Saturday afternoon as the Racers defeated Southeast Missouri 25-18, 25-23 and 25-17. The win pushes MSU’s program record home winning streak to 18 matches.
Audrey Lewis led the Racers (23-2, 13-1 OVC) with a career-high 12 kills and hit .500. Lewis also added a team-high 11 digs and had two total blocks. Scottie Ingram became just the eighth member of both the 1,000-kills and 1,000-digs club in the match as she tallied 10 kills and nine digs. Ingram needed just four digs to become the 18th member of the 1,000-digs club after reaching the 1,000-kills club last evening.
Alyssa Lelm and Taylor Olden added nine kills each in the win while Sam Bedard had 41 assists, six digs, five kills, a team-best two aces and two blocking assists on the day. Ellie Lorenz notched 10 digs in the match.
MSU hit .215 as a team on the day and had four service aces and a sideout percentage of 62 percent. SEMO (10-17, 6-8 OVC) hit .172 as a squad, had just one ace and recorded a sideout percentage of 48 percent.
MSU’s magic number to host the OVC Tournament in two weeks is down to just one with two matches left to play. Another Racer victory or loss by Belmont clinches a share of the OVC title by the Racers, and due to a tiebreaker, hosting rights for tournament.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, TENNESSEE STATE 2
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - For the second time in three matches, the Jacksonville State volleyball team overcame a 2-1 match deficit to win in five, defeating Tennessee State Saturday afternoon in a critical Ohio Valley Conference game.
Senior Day at JSU (14-19, 4-10 OVC) started off with a special pregame ceremony recognizing the program's three outgoing seniors, and ended with just as many cheers as the Gamecocks capped a furious comeback to beat TSU (13-13, 8-6 OVC).
"I'm very happy about this win," said head coach Terry Gamble. "And I am so proud of the way our players fought through to the finish. It took a team effort today, and they showed a lot of heart in going out to get that win."
Sophomore Allyson Zuhlke turned in a double-double performance with a team-high 16 kills to go along with 10 digs. Senior Emily Rutherford stepped up on her big day with 14 kills on a .364 attack percentage. Her 11 digs gave the Georgetown, Texas, native her 46th career double-double. Sophomore Charis Ludtke was the final Gamecock in double figures with 10 kills.
Sophomore Jennifer Hart dished 46 of the team's 53 total assists, pushing the setter from Davidson, N.C., over 1,000 assists on the season for the second-consecutive year.
Across the net, sophomore Hannah Kirk dug-out 19 attacks to lead the defense. Hart and Rutherford each finished with 11 digs. Freshman Kim Krutsinger was clutch in several key situations and finished the day with three solo blocks. Fellow freshman Mackenzie Rombach also finished with three blocks and added seven kills.
For the first time all season, JSU's trio of seniors all started on the same day. The first [point of the match went to Jax State on a kill be Laney Torkelson. Later on down by three in the first set, a 4-0 run moved JSU out in front, 12-11. The Gamecocks made it a 19-14 advantage before the visiting Tigers began to crawl back. An error by JSU cut the margin to one, 22-21, when back-to-back kills from Rutherford secured the opening frame.
After boasting a .367 attack percentage in the opening set, JSU failed to hit better than .167 in either of the following two sets. TSU hit a match-high .548 in the second and a strong .359 in the third to take both sets and a 2-1 lead.
The Gamecocks looked ready to send the match to a fifth set following Zuhlke's kill to make it 21-11 in the fourth. However, the Tigers mounted an 8-0 run, assisted by a couple of JSU errors, to cut the lead to 21-19. Ludtke came up with the crucial kill to break the streak, and the Gamecocks held on for a 25-23 win.
The Tigers took a 2-0 lead to begin the final set, but Jax State would not be denied on this day. The Gamecocks took the lead, 4-3. Then leading 9-8, JSU finished on a 6-1 run to seal the match.
AUSTIN PEAY 3, UT MARTIN 1
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn - Sammie Ebright’s 16-kill performance led Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team to its third-straight victory – a four-set (18-25, 25-18, 25-16, 27-25) Ohio Valley Conference win against UT Martin, Saturday at the Dunn Center.
After a roller coaster emotional ride in its five-set win Friday, Austin Peay (9-21, 3-11 OVC) got off to a slow start against UT Martin. The Lady Govs battled back from an 8-4 deficit to tie the set at 11-11 and would keep close through the next 12 points, forcing a 17-17 tie. But UT Martin closed the frame with an 8-1 run to claim the set.
Austin Peay would surrender its early lead in the second set and trailed 10-8. But Ebright hit three straight kills as part of a 4-0 run to give APSU a 12-10 lead. UT Martin leveled the set at 12-12 but a 4-0 APSU run broke the set open and sparked a 13-6 set ending run.
After the break, the Lady Govs wasted no time opening a 4-0 lead to spark a wire-to-wire victory in the third set. Austin Peay recorded 16 kills for a second-straight set, but were much more efficient, posting a .452 attack percentage.
The fourth set proved the most tightly fought of the match with 16 ties and seven lead changes as neither team enjoyed more than a two-poitn lead. UT Martin threatened to tie the set with a 23-21 lead after a Lael Ceriani kill. But Peyton Walker and Ebright hit back-to-back kills to tie the frame.
Austin Peay would get to match point, 24-23, courtesy a UT Martin error, but could not close the door initially. The Skyhawks fended off a pair of match points but at 25-25 committed a service error to give the Lady Govs their third opportunity. Kelly Ferguson ended the match with her seventh kill.
Ebright posted season highs in both kills (16) and digs (14) in the win. Walker (13 kils, 13 digs) and Samantha Strother (10 kills and 10 digs) each recorded double-doubles. Austin Peay trailed UT Martin offensively, 60-57 in kills, but won the service battle (5-3 service aces) and blocking (7-1).
Five UT Martin players scored 10 or more kills. Alisha Erves led the UTM effort with 14 kills and a .370 attack percentage.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 3, SIUE 2
RICHMOND, Ky. - The EKU volleyball team sent its seniors off in style with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Senior Night Saturday at McBrayer Arena.
Eastern Kentucky won by scores of 25-20, 17-25, 25-20, 10-25 and 20-18.
EKU never trailed in the first set, leading by as many as eight points. The Colonels eventually won the set, 25-20, on a kill from Rachel Vick.
SIUE, however, controlled the second set. The Colonels pulled within three midway through the set, but the Cougars thwarted the EKU rally, claiming the set 25-17.
Eastern Kentucky used a late 10-0 run in the third set to overcome a 20-15 SIUE lead late. Eastern took its first lead of the set, 21-20, on one of Johanna Boyer's seven service aces on the night.
The Cougars regained momentum in the fourth set, cruising to a 25-10 victory, forcing a fifth.
Both teams came out swinging in the deciding set as both struggled to maintain a lead. Neither team led by more than two points the entire set. Celina Sanks landed a kill, giving the Colonels a one-point advantage, 19-18. EKU capitalized on a SIUE attack error to pick up the victory.
The Colonels were fueled by Sanks' 13 kills. Cassie Knutson added 38 assists for EKU. Ally Peters logged 12 kills, along with 11 from Vick in their final home match as a Colonel.
Eastern Kentucky has won two of its last three home regular season finales.
Boyer's seven aces set a new career-high for the junior, tying the program record. Saturday marked the fourth time an EKU player recorded seven aces in a match. The last time a Colonel notched seven aces was Nov. 21, 2013 (Alexis Plagens (vs. Eastern Illinois)).
Ashley Witt led the way for SIUE with 18 kills. Kristen Torre posted 17 kills for the Cougars, as Mallory Mangun chipped in 35 assists.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, BELMONT 2
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - A whole lot of people came out Saturday to watch Golden Eagle senior Cody Dodd play the final home match of her volleyball career at Tennessee Tech, including family, former teammates andformer coaches.
And, as the match against Belmont went on, the crowd grew with first-time fans arriving to watch the Golden Eagle women’s basketball team play its first exhibition game of the year and the second game of a unique doubleheader.
The former Cookeville High School standout and Golden Eagle leader had what was arguably the most memorable match of her sensational career, leading Tech in an improbable comeback to a 3-2 victory.
And there is no doubt that the enthusiasm of the expanding crowd played a role as the Golden Eagles 7-20/5-9 OVC) rebounded from a bad loss in the third set to trail 2-1, to win the final two sets in emotional fashion.
Dodd finished the night with 26 kills on a .351 hitting percentage, 21 digs, four blocks and three service aces. K’Vonna Johnson added 10 kills, while Sharon Anderson joined Dodd in producing a double-double with 49 assists and 14 digs. Allison Morrett (14) and Kirsten Brugere (10) also had double-digits digs. Alyssa Povey led Tech at the net with eight total blocks.
The Bruins (14-12, 11-3 OVC) had four players in double figures for kills, led by Jocelyn Youngdahl with 18 and Arianna Person with 16. Brie Lewis had 12 and Alexa Nichols added 10. Emma Price had 58 assists and 11 digs. The Bruin back line also had 18 digs each from Person and Emily Richards, 14 from Lewis and 10 by Ellie Ivancich.
Belmont won the first set, 25-21, then bounced back after Tech had tied the contest with a 25-17 win in set two. The Bruins cruised to a 25-13 win in the third set, but Tech refused to fold, winning the fourth set by a 25-23 count and clinching the match with a 15-10 decision in the fifth.
Tech held a 21-18 lead in the opening set following a kill by Johnson, her fourth of the set, but Belmont scored the final seven points for the 25-21 win. Tech was called for two ball handling errors and Brie Lewis had back-to-back aces in the winning stretch.
The Golden Eagles built an early lead in set two, and maintained it all the way to the win behind seven kills and three blocks fro Dodd. The leads bounced around between four and five points throughout, until Tech took it to a seven-point bulge at 21-14 on Johnson’s third kill of the set. The final eight-point difference for Tech came three times in the late going, including the 25-17 winning margin as James put down her only kill of the set.
Belmont dominated in the third set on the way to its 25-13 win, hitting .444 and getting four kills each from Youngdahl, Person and Lewis. Belmont had runs of five and six points in the set, offsetting a seven-kill effort from Dodd.
The crowd in Eblen Center really began to make noise in the fourth set, andDodd and her mates didn’t disappoint. Trailing 17-13, Tech rallied to tie the set. Down 19-18, Tech got back-to-back service aces from Anderson and a kill by Williams for a 21-19 lead.
Dodd’s back-to-back kills made it 24-21, and with Belmont a point from tying it at 24-23, James hammered down a set from Anderson for set point to send thematch to the fifth.
Tech pulled on top, 11-5 on a service ace from Dodd that showed some divineintervention when it danced along the net and dropped over.
Up 12-7, Dodd and Povey put up a wall at the net for the block to make it 13-7, but Belmont rallied with the next two to make it 13-9. A service ace from Youngdahl made it 13-10, before Dodd went the soft route and dumped in a point to make it 14-10.
Twice Tech escaped losing the next point in a rally with tremendous defensive plays, then celebrated with their fans when a Belmont shot came down out of bounds to end the marathon.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 2
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Playing in their last regular season road match of the 2015 season, the Panthers fell in five sets at Morehead State (23-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-17, 12-15) and drop to 10-4 in the OVC.
The first-set started out close between Eastern Illinois and Morehead State. Maria Brown tied the set at 15-15 with a kill. Morehead State would work to earn the next three points in the set to jump ahead 18-15. Abby Saalfrank gave the Panthers a 22-21 lead late in the set, but the Panthers were unable to hold keep their lead as Morehead State would take the first-set victory 25-23.
Morehead State carried their momentum from the first-set into the second-set as they raced out to a commanding 8-3 lead. The Panthers would close the gap and only trail Morehead State by a single point at 9-8 capped off by a Chelsea Lee kill. The Eagles would extend their lead to four points, but once again, EIU would rally back as this time the Panthers would put themselves ahead 19-17. The Panthers would score three straight points to finish the second-set by a score of 25-21.
A kill by Saalfrank put EIU ahead 3-0 to begin the third-set, but a three point swing from the Eagles tied the set at 3-3. The score would be tied at 11 other times during the set, with the last coming from another Saalfrank kill putting the score at 16-16. The Eagles would go on to score the next four points, and would not look back from there as they would earn the third-set 25-22.
A string of six straight points during the middle portion of the fourth-set played a key part for the Panthers to force a fifth-set. With EIU ahead, 16-13 during the fourth-set, a kill from Allie Hueston got things rolling for the Panthers big run. Morehead tried to rally late, but an Eagles’ service error gave EIU the fourth-set victory 25-17.
Back-to-back errors by Morehead and a Lee kill put EIU out front 3-1 to start the fifth-set. Morehead State gathered a three point lead, but a Taylor Smith service ace would tie the score at 10-10. Morehead State used a 5-2 run to steal the fifth-set away from EIU at 15-12.
Lee posted a strong night on the attacking end for the Panthers as she finished with 19 kills. Brown also saw herself in double-digit kills with 11. Anne Hughes led the Panther defense with 18 digs, as Stephanie Wallace pitched in 15. Josie Winner slowed down the free-swinging Morehead attack with 11 blocks. Smith earned herself a double-double as she finished with 50 assists to her 13 digs.