FRIDAY'S SCORES
Murray State 3, IPFW 0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-19)
South Dakota 3,
Jacksonville State 0 (25-21, 25-10, 25-22)
@Indiana State 3,
UT Martin 0 (25-17, 25-10, 25-7)
Penn State 3,
Eastern Kentucky 0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-14)
Cleveland State 3,
Eastern Illinois 2 (25-23, 18-25, 25-21, 25-27, 15-10)
UT Arlington 3,
Southeast Missouri 0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-17)
Tennessee State 3, @Georgia Southern 1 (18-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-23)
Tennessee State 3, Chicago State 0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-15)
Tennessee Tech 3, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-14)
Little Rock 3,
Tennessee Tech 0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-15)
Austin Peay 3, Gardner Webb 2 (25-22, 22-25, 15-25, 25-16, 15-11)
Southern Miss 3,
Belmont 1 (26-24, 21-25, 25-19, 25-15)
Omaha 3,
SIUE 2 (23-25, 18-25, 25-13, 25-14, 15-8)
@Washington State 3,
Morehead State 0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-15)
Green Bay 3,
Jacksonville State 0 (26-24, 25-16, 25-18)
Utah Valley 3,
Morehead State 0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-17)
UMKC 3,
SIUE 1 (25-21, 25-21, 20-25, 25-22)
Belmont 3, Buffalo 0 (31-29, 25-14, 25-22)
MURRAY STATE 3, IPFW 0
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Murray State volleyball team opened the Sycamore Holiday Inn Classic with a quick 3-0 victory over IPFW Friday morning in Terre Haute, Ind., the Racers took the match 25-14, 25-17 and 25-19 to open their three-match weekend.
The one-two punch of Scottie Ingram and Kristen Besselsen led MSU (5-1) with 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Besselsen hit a team-high .478 while Ingram hit .476. Taylor Olden added eight kills of her own while Sam Bedard and Alyssa Lelm had four kills each in the match.
Bedard also recorded her third double-double of the season in the win, registering a team-best 22 assists and 12 digs. Besselsen added 10 digs of her own for her first double-double of the season, and Ellie Lorenz and Olden each had nine digs apiece.
As a team, MSU out-hit the Mastodons (1-7) .294 to .101, and also had six total blocks, while IPFW didn’t record a single stuff. The Racers also had a season-high nine service aces in the win. IPFW recorded a pair of aces.
For the match, the Racers recorded a 72 percent (37-for-51) sideout percentage while the Mastodons were at just a 47 percent (36-for-75) clip. MSU also trailed just once in each of the first two sets and last trailed in the decisive third set, 4-3.
The Racers close the classic with two matches against strong competition Saturday. MSU opens the day against Eastern Michigan at 10:30 a.m. central time, before closing the tournament against host-Indiana State at 1 p.m. The Indiana State match can be seen live on ESPN3.
INDIANA STATE 3, UT MARTIN 0
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team struggled in its opening match of the Holiday Inn Classic, falling to host Indiana State by a 3-0 margin (17-25, 10-25, 7-25) at ISU Arena.
The Skyhawks (3-8) were done in by errors, as UT Martin committed 19 errors in 61 offensive attacks. Amanda Crask (four kills) and Ellie Cain (12 assists) were the offensive team leaders while Chelsea Bowles tallied 10 digs to guide the Skyhawks defensively.
UT Martin scored the first point of the day but Indiana State (6-3) answered with six consecutive points. A kill by Rachel Noffsinger ended the Skyhawk drought but the Sycamores accounted for three of the next four points. Kills by Madison Wessling and Crask, sandwiched around a solo block by Noffsinger, pulled UT Martin back within five points at 12-7. Indiana State then pieced together three straight points before extending its lead out to 21-12. Coming out of a timeout, the Skyhawks went on a 4-2 run to make the score 23-16 but that was as close as UT Martin would get for the remainder of the set.
The Sycamores began the second set on a 5-1 run but UT Martin secured four of the next five points to slice its deficit to one point at 6-5. However, Indiana State tallied six straight points as part of a 14-2 run to claim the momentum in the set.
Just as they had done in the opening set, the Skyhawks were able to strike first in the third set but the Sycamores scored four straight points as part of a 9-1 run. Indiana State would add two more lengthy runs – including a 6-0 surge to end the set – to wrap up the win.
UT Martin rounds out its participation in the Holiday Inn Classic on Saturday, Sept. 12 when it takes on IPFW (8 a.m. CST) and Eastern Michigan (3:30 p.m. CST).
PENN STATE 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Eastern Kentucky lost, 3-0, to No. 1 ranked and seven-time national champion Penn State on Friday at the Golden Dome Invitational hosted by Notre Dame.
The Colonels lost by scores of 25-14, 25-13 and 25-14.
Celina Sanks led EKU (1-8) with nine kills. Johanna Boyer had 13 assists and Chloe Rojas finished with eight digs.
Haleigh Washington posted nine kills and a .467 attack percentage for the top ranked Nittany Lions (6-0). Ali Frantti had seven kills and no errors for a .636 attack percentage. As a team, Penn State hit .361, finishing with 34 kills and only eight errors in 72 attacks.
CLEVELAND STATE 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 2
DAYTON, Ohio - Heading into their third consecutive weekend tournament to start the season, the Panthers were eager to avenge their runner-up finish last weekend at the DePaul Invitational while facing their toughest competition of the year thus far at the Dayton Flyer Invitational. The Eastern Illinois began their weekend at the Dayton Flyer Invitational dropping their first round game 2-3 against Cleveland State (23-25,25-18,21-25,27-25,10-15).
The action started early in the first set with neither team able to gain a sizeable edge as the game would become tied on 14 different occasions before the Vikings took a 18-21 advantage over the Panthers. The Panthers battled from behind, and a pair of kills from Chelsea Lee gave the Panthers a one-point lead 23-22. The Vikings used a couple Panther miscues to their advantage, as the Panthers dropped set one 23-25.
Abby Saalfrank and Lee gave the Panthers the spark they were looking for at the beginning of the second set. The duo teamed up and accounted for the first five points of the match, as the Panthers lead 5-0 early on. The Panthers saw their lead increase to as many as eight, and would not let the Vikings back into the set, taking the game by a 25-18 decision.
The seesaw action once again returned in the third set as both teams saw their leads come and go throughout the game. Maria Brown put the Panthers ahead with a kill marking the score at 11-9, but that was the last time EIU would lead in the set as the Vikings rallied back to earn the third set 25-21.
The Panthers were in unfamiliar territory heading into set four against the Vikings. The Panthers were facing defeat for the first time in an opening round game of a tournament this season. The Panthers won their two previous tournament openers, 3-1 against UIC at the IPFW Invitational and 3-0 versus Evansville last weekend at the DePaul Invitational. A pair of kills by Josie
Winner brought the score to 15-10 as the door appeared to be open to force a fifth set. The Vikings fought their way back into the set, but a kill by Marah Bradbury and a pair of CSU errors sealed up the game four victory 27-25 for the Panthers.
The Panthers were unable to get into any rhythm against the Viking attack in the fifth set as the Vikings took the first three points in the game and never trailed from there. A kill by Taylor Smith brought the Panthers to within two, but that would be as close as EIU would get as the Vikings won the fifth set 15-10, and the match 3-2 over the Panthers.
Lee and Brown paced the Panther offense with 19 and 16 kills respectively combined with 63 assists from Bradbury. Stephanie Wallace helped the Panther defense digging out 26 Viking attacks.
The Panthers continue their play at the Dayton Invitational tomorrow morning (Sept. 12) at 11:30 a.m. facing host Dayton, while finishing up tournament play at 2 p.m. versus Baylor.
UT ARLINGTON 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 0
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Southeast Missouri volleyball (2-5) opened the Razorback Invitational Friday with a 3-0 loss (19-25, 21-25, 17-25) to UT Arlington (7-2).
After dropping the first point to the Redhawks, the Mavericks jumped ahead and controlled the set. Southeast kept the score close, drawing a tie in the set for a sixth time at 16-16. After taking a timeout, the Mavericks strung together a seven-point run to take command of the set and eventually finishing the set 25-19.
The pace of set two remained much of the same. While being able to tie the contest eight times, the Redhawks could not take control of the frame. The Mavericks eventually pulled away, taking the set 25-21 and a two-set lead in the match.
Set three again saw the Redhawks remain close early, forcing a 13-13 tie. UT Arlington once again jumped ahead, finishing the final set 25-17 and sweeping the match, 3-0.
Nzingha Clarke and Krissa Gearring both finished the match with eight kills. Katarina Rotta had 29 assists while Madeline Grimm and Jade Mortimer both tallied two aces.
The Redhawks continue the weekend with two matches Saturday. Southeast faces host Arkansas at 11 a.m. The match can be viewed live on SEC Network+ and on Watch ESPN. The Redhawks take the court again in the afternoon against Northwestern State at 4:30 p.m.
TENNESEE STATE 3, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 0; TENNESSEE STATE 3, CHICAGO STATE 1
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Tennessee State Tigers broke their four-game losing streak with wins against tournament host, Georgia Southern (3-5) and Chicago State (0-8) on Friday.
Game 1 vs. Georgia Southern
The Tigers fought through four sets against the Georgia Southern Eagles before pulling out their first win of the season, taking the match 3-1.
Things started out slow for the Tigers in the first set, as the Eagles took an early 8-1 lead and never looked back. GSU was able to capitalize on multiple Tiger errors to eventually extend their lead 20-10. TSU attempted to make a late run with three back-to-back kills to make the score 22-15, but that wouldn’t be enough to hold off Georgia Southern, as the Eagles went on to win 25-18. As a team, the Eagles recorded a .324 hitting percentage while the Tigers only hit .116 for the set.
The first set would prove to be the only win for the Eagles, as the Tigers went on to take the next three sets, pulling out two come-from-behind wins in the third and fourth sets.
A four point run in the second set, highlighted by two service aces from senior Haley Hampton and a kill from sophomore Samantha Beltran, would be the catalyst the Tigers needed to take their first lead against the Eagles. Georgia Southern attempted at a comeback late in the set, but kills from Hampton and junior Arijana Anderson would put an end to the GSU run and would give the Tigers their first win of the match (25-20).
The Tigers kept a good lead for majority of the second set, until a couple of Eagle kills and TSU errors allowed for a late Georgia Southern comeback. With the score tied 23-23, Anderson and junior Chloe Watson put down consecutive kills to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead in the match. As a team, the Tigers hit .316 for the set, their highest hitting percentage so far this season.
TSU trailed Georgia Southern for majority of the fourth set, before a couple late runs by the Tigers tied the set at 22-22. With two kills from Anderson and Hampton and a kill from freshmen Zahria Graham, the Tigers took the set 25-23 and the match 3-1.
The Tigers were led by Haley Hampton, who recorded 13 kills, a .345 hitting percentage, two service aces, six block and 18 total points. Chloe Watson recorded her third double-double of the season, finishing the set with 14 kills and 10 digs. Senior Madison Halterman led the team in digs (30) and freshman Ayanna Chase hit .385 with eight kills on 13 attempts.
Game 2 vs. Chicago State
The Tigers remained hot going into the second game of the day, sweeping Chicago State in three games.
Over the three sets the Tigers tallied 43 kills and 45 digs, while holding the Cougars to a .000 hitting percentage the first set and a .172 and -.032 hitting percentage in the second and third set. For the match, the Tigers outhit the Cougars .043 to .247.
The Tigers were led by Haley Hampton who posted a .421 hitting percentage with 11 kills on 19 attempts, 3 digs and 5 blocks. Chloe Watson recorded 12 kills and five digs, while Arijana had 10 kills and two blocks. Freshman Ayanna Chase posted a .417 hitting percentage with six digs on twelve attempts.
TSU will play its last game of the Georgia Southern Tournament on Saturday, Sep. 12 at 11 a.m. CT against Winthrop University.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 0; LITTLE ROCK 3, TENNESSEE TECH 0
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Things are looking up from here. The Tennessee Tech volleyball (1-7, 0-0 OVC) team fared well at the first day of the Memphis Invitational. The Golden Eagles captured their first win of the season after taking down Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-8), 3-0, with winning set scores of 25-16, 25-21 and 25-14. Tech then saw a strong competitor in Little Rock (3-5) who is ranked 29th in the nation, and put up a tough battle against them. In the end, the Trojans defeated the Golden Eagles 3-0, taking winning set scores of 25-19, 25-20, and 25-15.
In the match against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Tech took an early 9-1 lead in the first set. The Golden Eagles remained dominant and extended their lead to 14-6 with a kill by Shaneice James. Tech continued to capitalize and pulled ahead by 11, 19-8, off of a kill from Cody Dodd. From there, the Golden Eagles cruised to a first set victory, 25-16, ending with a service ace from Alyssa Povey.
It was a close second set between Pine Bluff and Tech. The Golden Eagles opened with a slight advantage over the Golden Lions, leading 9-8. Pine Bluff kept a close match holding within two at 12-10, however, Tech went on a 6-3 run to take a five-point lead at 18-13. The Golden Lions fought back to pull within two, 20-18, but the Golden Eagles remained strong and finished out the second set 25-21.
Tech took a commanding 12-7 lead in the third set, and continued to dominate from there. The Golden Eagles kept a strong offense and pulled ahead by nine, 21-12, off of a kill by Kellie Williams. Sharon Anderson sealed a third set and match victory with a service ace 25-14.
Dodd led the Golden Eagles with 11 kills, four blocks, and a .333 hitting percentage. Kennedy Wade acquired 10 digs, while teammate Anderson totaled 21 assists and seven digs. The Golden Lions were led by Whitney Harris who acquired seven kills in the match.
Against Little Rock, the Golden Eagles and Trojans opened match play with ties of 5-5 and 9-9. Little Rock took a slight four-point lead, 15-11, but back-to-back kills from James and Dodd brought Tech back within two, 15-13. The Trojans maintained control of the match, again pulling ahead by four at 19-15. Little Rock remained solid despite Tech's effort to fight back and won the first set 25-19.
Once again, the Golden Eagles and the Trojans started the set neck-and-neck with each other opening the second with a tie of 5-5. Little Rock then took a slight lead at 9-6, but kills by Dodd brought Tech back within one, 9-8. The Golden Eagles continued to battle and two service aces in a row from Dodd tied the match at 12-12. Little Rock remained unshaken by Tech's gain and again took the lead, pulling ahead 18-14. The Golden Eagles put up a fight and came within one point of the Trojans, 20-19, however, Little Rock edged out the second set 25-20.
Into the third the Golden Eagles and Trojans continued to battle. Little Rock took a slight lead early on over Tech 8-7, and then continued to pull ahead by eight, 18-10. From there, The Trojans sailed to a third set victory 25-15.
The Golden Eagles were again led by Dodd who put up 11 kills, nine digs, and a .250 hitting percentage. Anderson had 30 assists and eight digs in the match, while teammate Wade contributed 13 digs. Little Rock was led by Edina Selimovic who totaled 14 kills in the match.
The Golden Eagles resume tournament play on Saturday with their first serve against host Memphis set at noon. Tech will then finish out tournament play at 4 p.m. with a match against Auburn.
WASHINGTON STATE 3, MOREHEAD STATE 0; UTAH VALLEY 3, MOREHEAD STATE 0
PULLMAN, Wash. - The Morehead State volleyball team fell in three sets to Washington State and Utah Valley in the Cougar Challenge. They fell 25-19, 25-19, 25-15 to WSU and 25-13, 25-21, 25-17 to UVU.
After falling in the first set to Washington State, the Eagles and the Cougars were tied at 19 in the second. But, a service error from Alli Evans opened up a 6-0 WSU run to end the set, 25-19. WSU then cruised to a 25-15 win in the third to win the match, 3-0.
With the win, the Cougars have won 18 consecutive sets.
In the first set against UVU, the Wolverines jumped out to a 11-4 lead and never really looked back. They took the first set 25-13. In the second, Morehead State did jump out to an early 11-9 lead, but Utah Valley would regain the lead at 15-14 and go on to take the set, 25-21. After jumping out to an early 8-4 lead in the third, the Eagles allowed USU to knot it up at 12 and the Wolverines outscored MSU 13-5 the rest of the way to win the set, 25-17, and the match, 3-0.
MSU had 30 and 33 kills against Washington State and Utah Valley, but managed to hit just .049 and .165. In comparison, WSU had 34 kills, but hit .205 and USU had 37 kills, but hit .341.
Freshman Merideth Jewell, who has been named OVC Newcomer of the Week the first two weeks of the season, led the way with 15 kills against USU and 14 against WSU.
Freshman Jordan Jones set a career-high with 24 assists against Utah Valley.
The Eagles continue in the Cougar Challenge tomorrow as they face Ball State at 7 p.m
OMAHA 3, SIUE 2; UMKC 3, SIUE 1
KANSAS CITY, Kan. - SIUE volleyball's Kristen Torre accumulated 27 kills on just two errors in tournament play Friday and added a career-high 10 blocks in the opener, but the Cougars came up short.
The Cougars fell to Omaha 23-25, 18-25, 25-13, 25-14, 15-8 to open the Kangaroo Klassic and dropped a four-set decision to host UMKC 25-21, 25-21, 20-25, 25-22.
The Cougars were looking get a strong effort after the Omaha loss. Johnson said the team responded against UMKC.
SIUE, now 1-7, has one more match left at the Kangaroo Klassic. The Cougars will play Bradley in an 11 a.m. contest Saturday.
Torre was sharp in both matches, hitting .455 against Omaha and .500 against UMKC. She is now ninth on the all-time kills list with 989 and needs 11 more to become the ninth Cougar to amass 1,000 career kills.
While Torre was consistent with double-digit kills, Taylor Joens recorded 11 against Omaha while Ashley Witt set a season high with 13 against UMKC.
SIUE's defense set a season best with 89 digs in the UMKC match. It was just the second time this season the Cougars have recorded more digs than their opponents.
Katie Shashack led SIUE with 24 digs, leading four players with double-digit digs in the team's first four-set match of the season.
Johnson said she feels like the team in making solid progress with four sophomore attackers and a sophomore libero.
AUSTIN PEAY 3, GARDNER WEBB 2
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Austin Peay (3-6) won the opening set in wire-to-wire fashion only to watch Gardner-Webb (3-6) grab the lead when it won the second and third sets. The Runnin' Bulldogs overcame a five-point deficit to win the third set, then opened the third set with a 7-1 run and never looked back.
Austin Peay countered by winning the fourth set in wire-to-wire fashion again, posting 15 kills and a .300 attack percentage. Gardner-Webb scored the opening point in the fifth set and maintained its lead until it committed back-to-back errors to give APSU a 7-6 lead. The Lady Govs fended off a pair of ties and used a block by sophomore Ashley Slay and Kristen Stucker to build a three-point lead at 13-10 and would hold on to win the match.
Freshman middle blocker Kaylee Taff led Austin Peay with a 13-kill, seven-block performance. Slay (11 kills) and freshman Cecily Gable (10 kills) also reached double-digit kill territory.
Tyra Montour led Gardner-Webb with 14 kills.
Austin Peay continues its stay at the Scenic City Showdown with a 9 a.m. (CT), Saturday contest against UAB.
SOUTHERN MISS 3, BELMONT 1; BELMONT 3, BUFFALO 0
OXFORD, Miss. - Belmont volleyball drops the match against undefeated Southern Mississippi by a deficit of 3-1. Set scores were 24-26, 22-25, 19-25 and 15-25. Bruins came out fighting in the first two sets, but Southern Miss powered back with their offense taking home the victory.
The Bruin offense was lead by Senior Jocelyn Youngdahl (Stillwater, Minn.) who posted 10 kills and only two errors on 17 attempts recording a .471 hitting percentage. Sophomore Arianna Person (Lenexa, Kan.) recorded 15 kills for an average of .136 on the match. The team as a whole recorded 51 kills in four sets. Sophomore Emma Price (Fort Mill, SC) recorded 39 assists and nine digs in the match, while sophomore Emily Richards (Penfield, N.Y.) led the defense with 11 digs.
Belmont lost a close first set 26-24 against Southern Mississippi. After trailing Southern Miss 8-3, a kill by Youngdahl, Person, and Price along with a few hitting errors by the Golden Eagles, the Bruins tie up the set at eight a piece. With a service ace by Person Belmont took a 12-9 lead. Shortly after Southern Miss strung together six straight points to take a 15-12 lead. From that point on it was a point-for-point battle until a kill by the Golden Eagles closed out set one.
Set two was a battle for points until the Bruins took an 11-7 lead with Youngdahl at the service line. Belmont would hold this lead, at some points leading by as many as five points and close out set two with a score of 25-21. The two teams were locked in at one set a piece heading into the intermission.
Set three proved to be a battle for the Bruins. Southern Miss took an early 5-1 lead. In the middle of the set Youngdahl and freshman Tori Simmons (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) put down a couple kills to give the Bruins their only lead of the set with a score of 16-15. The Golden Eagles would once again take the lead back, but held onto it this time. With five straight points the Golden Eagles close out set three 25-19 now leading the match two sets to one.
Set four started as many other Bruin matches start with each team trading point for point. Belmont would tie up the score a few times but Southern Miss maintained the lead for the first half of the set. Despite a tough battle by the Bruins the undefeated Golden Eagles would take set four and the match 25-15.
Belmont finishes off the weekend with a win over Bufflo in three straight sets, 31-29, 25-14 and 25-22. This victory finishes the weekend with a 1-2 record and an overall record of 3-6.
Sophomore Arianna Person (Lenexa, Kan.) posted 16 kills with only two errors for an average of .438. Sophomore Brie Lewis (Stillwell, Kan.) recorded nine kills while senior Jocelyn Youngdahl (Stillwater, Minn.) and Redshirt freshman Alexa Nichols (Walton, Ky.) both recorded eight. The team as a whole recorded 50 kills with an average of .235. Person also led the team in digs with 11 while Sophomore Emma Price (Fort Mill, SC) recorded 43 assists on the evening.
In the second set the Bruins posted a hitting average of .440 as a team. The team also recorded four blocks as a whole with Youngdahl leading the team with three block assists.
Person was named to the All-Tournament team.
The Bruins head back home to face off with Western Kentucky this Tuesday, September 15 at 6:00pm central time in the Curb Event Center.