TUESDAY'S SCORES
Lipscomb 3,
@Belmont 2 (25-21, 19-25, 26-28, 25-20, 15-13)
@Wright State 3,
Morehead State 1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-20, 26-24)
East Tennessee State 3,
Tennessee State 0 (25-11, 25-21, 25-23)
LIPSCOMB 3, BELMONT 2
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont drops a five set heartbreaker in the Battle of the Boulevard 21-25, 25-19, 28-26 and 13-15.
Belmont combined for a total of 52 kills on the evening, lead by sophomore Arianna Person (Lenexa, Kan.) with 17 kills and a double-double with 11 digs. Along with Person, sophomore Brie Lewis (Stillwell, Kan.) recorded 14 kills and redshirt freshman Alexa Nichols (Walton, Ky.) finished the evening with nine kills and only two errors for an average of .467. Nichols also finished the evening with 10 block assists while the Bruins recorded 16 total blocks. Freshman Maggie Mullins (Nashville, Tenn.) played big at the night tonight with a total of seven block assists. Four Bruins finished the night with double-digit kills, Person, sophomore Emma Price (Fort Mill, SC), sophomore Elli Ivancich (Naperville, Ill.) and sophomore Emily Richards (Penfield, N.Y.).
Lipscomb jumped to a 5-1 lead over Belmont in the first set due to a handful of unforced errors by the Bruins. A 3-0 run by the Bruins tied the match up at 5. The teams would battle point for point until Lipscomb took a 18-14 lead which they would hold onto and finish out set one 25-21
Lipscomb jumped out to a fast start in set two leading 7-3. Two big kills by Lewis gave Belmont the lead 13-11. Two blocks and a kill by Nichols continued Belmont's streak, which gave them the 17-13 advantage. With the score at 20-16 Person puts down a kill and a block assist, Nichols records a kill and two block assists and Lewis closed out the match with a block assist and a kill.
Lipscomb came out strong in the third set taking the early lead. After a kill by Mullins and senior Jocelyn Youngdahl (Stillwater, Minn.) the Bruins tied it up at six a piece. The teams battled point for point with the Bisons maintaining the lead the majority of the set. With the score at 22-17 in Lipscomb's favor Lewis places two kills, which brought the Bruins back into the set at 20-22. A pair of blocks by Mullins and Nichols tied the set up at 23 a piece. Both teams battled point for point and a huge solo block by Youngdahl gave Belmont the 26-25 lead. A kill by Mullins and Person closes out set three with a 28-26 victory.
Lipscomb once again took control at the beginning of the set leading the Bruins 16-12. Despite a tough battle and double digit kills by the Belmont, Lipscomb took set four 25-20. The Bisons continued their momentum into set five taking a huge 7-1 lead. A couple of big block brought the set to 3-7, but the two teams switched sides with Lipscomb up 8-3. A 4-0 run highlighted by two huge blocks from the Bruins tied the set at 10.
Belmont hits the road this weekend heading to Eastern Kentucky and Morehead to kick off OVC Conference play.
WRIGHT STATE 3, MOREHEAD STATE 1
DAYTON, Ohio - The Morehead State volleyball team overcame a seven-point deficit to claim the first set, but lost the next three to fall to Wright State, 3-1. They fell 23-25, 25-20, 25-20, 26-24.
Wright State entered the game with an impressive 10-4 record and were 6-1 at home, but the Eagles gave them all they wanted at McLin Gym. At the start of the first, it was all Raiders as they jumped out to an early 10-4 lead and led by as much as seven as late as 15-8. Trailing 18-12, head coach Jaime Gordon called a timeout and then MSU mounted a furious rally. They scored five straight points off of junior Sydney Schuler's serves and quickly knotted the game at 18. A kill by freshman Jordan Jones put the Eagles up 22-21, which was their first lead since 1-0. Three points later a kill by fellow freshman Merideth Jewell would give the Eagles the set, 25-23.
MSU recorded 20 kills in the first set, as Jewell had six and junior Courtney Smith added five of her own.
Wright State, however, bounced back by taking the second and third sets, both with scores of 25-20.
But, in the fourth, the Eagles fought back once again. They jumped out to a quick 8-4 lead off of a kill by sophomore Alli Evans before the Raiders reeled off four points of their own to even the set at eight points each. Morehead State would record the next three points to go up 11-8, but the two teams would battle back and forth the rest of the way. Back-to-back errors by the Raiders late in the set gave MSU a 24-22 lead and two chances to force a pivotal fifth set. But, WSU would go on to win the set 26-24 as they scored the final four points of the match.
In a very even contest, both teams finished with 56 kills, as the Raiders hit .253 to the Eagles' .195. MSU recorded 54 assists to WSU's 52, and also led in digs, 66-64.
Jewell continued her very strong play as she led both teams with 23 kills on 60 attempts, hitting .233. Her 15 digs tied for second on the team with Smith. Smith also had a strong day at the net, finishing with 13 kills, while hitting .206. She led the team with three service aces.
This match wrapped up the Eagles' non-conference slate as they open OVC play with two games at Wetherby Gym this weekend.
EAST TENNESSEE STATE 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - The Tiger volleyball team faced East Tennessee State in their last preseason match on Tuesday. The Bucs defeated the Tigers in three straight sets, 25-11, 25-21 and 25-23.
The Tigers got out to a slow start, falling behind 15-10 in the first set. A couple of service aces and kills from ETSU would eventually give the Bucs a 22-10 lead before a kill from Ayanna Chase would tack on one more point to TSU’s score. The kill would be the last for the Tigers in the first set, as two more kills and a service aces from the Bucs would end the first set 25-11. The Bucs held the Tigers to a .077 hitting percentage, while ETSU hit a whopping .583 in the first set.
TSU jumped ahead 15-12 in the second set before four back-to-back Buc kills would give ETSU a 16-15 lead. Tiger errors and a few more kills from East Tennessee would be all the Bucs needed to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Tigers battled hard the third set, tying things up with ETSU five times throughout the set. Unfortunately, ETSU’s defense would make it difficult for the Tiger offense to produce. The Bucs held TSU to a .026 hitting percentage with only eight kills in the third, while ETSU posted a .133 percentage and 14 kills for the set.
The Tigers were led by freshman Ayanna Chase, who posted a .294 hitting percentage with six kills on 14 attempts and three blocks. Sophomore Samantha Beltran led the team with 20 assists and junior Taylor Patterson led Tigers with 10 digs through three sets.
The Tigers head to Morehead, Ky. to open up conference play against OVC rival Morehead State on Friday before making their way to Eastern Kentucky on Saturday.