Ohio Valley Conference

SATURDAY'S SCORES
Jacksonville State 3, Alabama A&M 1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-17, 25-11)
Lafayette 3, Morehead State 2 (25-17, 25-20, 18-25, 23-25, 15-10)
Eastern Illinois 3, Toledo 2 (25-12, 21-25, 21-25, 25-18, 15-5)
Dayton 3, UT Martin 0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-6)
UNC Greensboro 3, Tennessee Tech 2 (25-15, 23-25, 19-25, 25-18, 15-13)
Louisiana Tech 3, @SIUE 0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-21)
Samford 3, @Tennessee State 2 (21-25, 24-26, 25-15, 27-25, 15-11)
@Belmont 3, Memphis 2 (25-23, 15-25, 15-25, 26-24, 15-12)
Lehigh 3, Morehead State 1 (25-22, 16-25, 25-22, 25-21)
Murray State 3, Buffalo 0 (25-22, 25-8, 25-21)
Southeast Missouri 3, The Citadel 2 (23-25, 28-30, 25-17, 25-22, 15-8)
@UAB 3, Austin Peay 0 (25-21, 25-16, 21-12)
@Tennessee 3, Eastern Kentucky 0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-16)
ULM 3, @Jacksonville State 0 (26-24, 25-12, 26-24)
@Southern Illinois 3, UT Martin 0 (25-10, 25-17, 25-21)
Northern Kentucky 3, @SIUE 2 (25-27, 25-21, 25-20, 18-25, 15-7)
@DePaul 3, Eastern Illinois 1 (25-21, 24-26, 26-24, 26-24)

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LAFAYETTE 3, MOREHEAD STATE 2; LEHIGH 3, MOREHEAD STATE 1
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Morehead State volleyball team closed out the Crosstown Challenge today by falling to Lafayette in five sets and then to Lehigh in four. They fell 25-17 (LAF), 25-20 (LAF), 25-18 (MSU), 25-23 (MSU), 15-10 (LAF) to Lafayette and then lost to Lehigh 25-22 (LEH), 25-16 (MSU), 25-22 (LEH), 25-21 (LEH).

In the loss to Lafayette, a match that started at 10 a.m., they fell behind 2-0 before getting off the mat to force a fifth set. They jumped out to early leads in both the third and the fourth sets, cruising to a 25-18 win in the third and then holding on to a 25-23 win in the fourth. But, playing their second five-set match in a span of around 14 hours would prove too much as the Eagles ran out of gas, falling 15-10.

Against the eventual Crosstown Challenge Champion Lehigh, Morehead State battled, but they were unable to force their third straight five-set match. The opening set was knotted at 19 before Lehigh reeled off four straight points and eventually took the set, 25-22. The Eagles then cruised to a 25-16 win the second, but struggled late in both the third and the fourth sets, before falling 3-1.

Freshman Merideth Jewell continued to shine for MSU as she was named to the Crosstown Challenge All-Tournament Team. In the opener against Lafayette, she led the team with 18 kills and then followed that with 25 versus Lehigh. In the four-game event, she finished with an impressive 88 kills.

Junior Sydney Schuler had a strong performance against Lafayette, finishing with 16 kills, while hitting .333. Senior Hannah Sigala impressed against Lehigh as she had 15 kills and hit .542. Junior Bailey Nichol continued to set up the Morehead State big hitters as she recorded 88 assists in the two matches. She also had eight kills in the loss to Lafayette.

The Eagles travel to Pullman, Wash. next weekend to face Washington State, Utah Valley, and Ball State in the Cougar Challenge.

TENNESSEE 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Eastern Kentucky suffered a 3-0 loss at Tennessee on Saturday, the final day of the DISH Tennessee Volleyball Classic.

The Vols (8-0) won by scores of 25-18, 25-23 and 25-16.

A kill by Celina Sanks followed by a Tennessee attack error gave EKU a 22-20 lead in the second set as the Colonels tried to tie the match.  However, the Vols scored four straight to reach set-point.  Moments later, Lexi Dempsey’s kill finished off the set and put UT on top 2-0.

Sanks finished with a match-best 11 kills.  Rachel Vick had seven kills and five blocks.  Chloe Rojas totaled 13 digs.  Rojas earned a spot on the all-tournament team.

Raina Hembry and Bri Holmes had 10 kills each to lead Tennessee.  Hembry made just three errors in 15 attacks for a .467 hitting percentage.  Bridgette Villano, the tournament MVP, had 20 digs.

EKU (0-7) had just nine fewer kills and made only two more errors, but the Vols came up with 16 more digs than the visitors.

USC UPSATE 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1; SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, THE CITADEL 2
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - The Southeast Missouri volleyball team closed tournament play at the AmericInn Runnin' Bulldog Classic Saturday. The Redhawks (2-4) split a pair of matches with a 3-1 loss to South Carolina-Upstate and a come-from-behind five-set victory over The Citadel.

Southeast fell to South Carolina-Upstate (6-0) by a score of 3-1 (25-23, 19-25, 20-25, 23-25) in the first match. Down two sets to none against The Citadel (2-5), the Redhawks battled back to earn a thrilling five-set victory over the Bulldogs (23-25, 28-30, 25-17, 25-22, 15-8).

South Carolina-Upstate 3, Southeast Missouri 1
Set one saw an early back-and-forth battle with neither team claiming more than three points in a row. Heading into the Spartans second time out, the Redhawks found themselves ahead 22-17. After another Redhawks kill, the Spartans would mount a five-point run, finding themselves behind 23-22. The Redhawks maintained their lead throughout the frame, finishing the set 25-23 and taking a 1-0 lead. Krissa Gearring led the Redhawks in set one with five kills with Nzingha Clarke closely following with four.

The close contest continued throughout the second frame which saw eight ties and four lead changes. The Redhawks held control at 19-17 entering a Spartans timeout late in the set. The Spartans took advantage of the stoppage, going on an eight-point run and eventually taking the frame from the Redhawks, 19-25, tying the match at a set apiece.

The Spartans continued their momentum in the third set, eventually taking a 20-12 lead on the Redhawks. The Redhawks began a comeback, scoring five straight points. The run would be stopped short however, allowing the Spartans to take the third set 25-20 and a 2-1 lead in the match.

Set four saw the Spartans jump to a 10-7 lead before the Redhawks took control with a five-point run. With the Redhawks leading 18-15, the Spartans exited their timeout answering with a five-point run of their own. The Redhawks attempt to take the set fell short, as the Spartans went on the take the frame 25-23, and the match in four sets, 3-1.

Gearring posted a double-double, leading the Redhawks with 11 kills along with 16 digs. Clarke finished with 10 kills and was involved in four blocks. Katarina Rotta tallied 36 assists as well as assisting on four blocks.

Southeast Missouri 3, The Citadel 2
Set one was a close battle, with six ties and three lead changes. Tied at 20, the Bulldogs scored three straight points, prompting the Redhawks to call a timeout. Southeast continued to battle, but was unsuccessful in taking back the lead, dropping the set 25-23. Gearring and Clarke both had six kills in the frame with hitting clips over .500. As a team, the Redhawks had an attack percentage of .421 in the set.

Set two saw The Citadel take a 6-5 lead only to be see Southeast answer with a five-point run. The Bulldogs battled back to tie the game at 21 all, forcing the Redhawks to take a timeout. The remainder of the frame was point-for-point until the Bulldogs took two in a row and jumped ahead 26-25, prompting the Redhawks to use their second timeout. The battle continued until The Citadel claimed the game, 30-28. Clarke again posted six kills, raising her attack percentage to .550 in the match.

The Redhawks took a stand early in the third at 11-5, forcing an early timeout from the Bulldogs. Southeast never looked back, claiming the game 25-17 and pushing the match to 2-1 in favor of the Bulldogs. During the set, Gearring had five kills with Marie Less closely following with four. Haley Roberts would also add two service aces during the frame.

Set four continued the back-and-forth pace from earlier in the match with four early ties and two lead changes. With the game tied at 12, Southeast began to pull away with a four-point run. The Bulldogs fought back to within one, but the Redhawks finished strong and took the set 25-22, evening the match at two sets each. Clarke and Less both tallied four kills while the Redhawks had a team attack percentage of .367 for the set.

Southeast carried their momentum into the final frame, starting off with a 4-0 lead. The Redhawks remained in control throughout the frame, claiming the set, 15-8, and match, 3-2. Clarke took command at the end of the game with three kills for the final four Redhawks points.

Clarke finished the match with 24 kills while sporting a .500 hitting clip. Gearring followed with 20 kills and a .400 attack percentage. Clarke and Gearring both were named to the All-Tournament team based on their weekend performances. Less posted a double-double, tallying 14 kills and 21 digs. Rotta ended the night with a 62-assist performance, capturing four service aces in the process.

The Redhawks will resume play next weekend in Fayetteville, Arkansas at the Razorback Invitational.

MURRAY STATE 3, BUFFALO 0
SEATTLE, Wash. - The Murray State volleyball team got back on the winning tract Saturday in Seattle, Wash., as the Racers improved to 4-1 on the year with a three-set sweep over Buffalo. Set scores went 25-22, 25-8 and 25-21.

Taylor Olden led the Racers with a season-best 13 kills in the victory, and also added a team-high four aces and six digs. Alyssa Lelm added 10 kills of her own, both Lelm and Olden hit .286 in the match. Scottie Ingram added nine kills, while Kristen Besselsen and Olivia Chatman had six each. Chatman led MSU by hitting .364 in the win.

Besselsen led the Racers with a season-high 14 digs in the match while Audrey Lewis collected 10 digs from her libero spot. Sam Bedard added eight digs of her own in the matchup and also recorded 30 assists against the Bulls. Lelm led the team with three total blocks.

As a team the Racers hit .264 while holding Buffalo to just a .067 clip. MSU also had a 6-2 service ace advantage on the afternoon. Murray State trailed just once in the first set, didn’t trail at all in its convincing set two victory, and ended the third set on a 10-3 run to close for the victory.

MSU returns to action next weekend as it will hit the road to the state of Indiana and the Holiday Inn Classic, hosted by Indiana State in Terre Haute.

AUSTIN PEAY 3, FIU 0; UAB 3, AUSTIN PEAY 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Head coach Taylor Mott has taken a big swing with her starting six and her team responded has responded in kind at the Blazer Invitational. The Lady Govs won their second straight outing with a three-set sweep (25-11, 25-15, 25-11) of Florida International, Saturday afternoon at Bartow Arena.

Mott’s big swing, which was revealed in Friday’s win, came in the form of a new starting lineup with three freshmen – outside hitter Logan Carger, outside hitter Cecily Gable and setter Kristen Stucker – in the lineup and bringing junior outside hitter Sammie Ebright off the bench. The results weren’t readily apparent in its first outing but were much clearer in Saturday’s contest.

Austin Peay (2-4) dominated the bulk of the match. The first two sets featured back and forth action early, but the Lady Govs took control at 9-8 in the first frame and 13-12 of the second set. The third set was anticlimactic as APSU broke out to a 5-1 lead and never looked back.

Sophomore Ashley Slay has 13 kills without an attack error for a career-best .650 attack percentage. Ebright and sophomore outside hitter Peyton Walker combined for five kills of the bench, primarily from the back row.

Austin Peay needed just 40 kills to secure the win, but posted an efficient .308 attack percentage. The Lady Govs service game was also in top form with five service aces – with Slay and Walker each posting a team-leading two aces.

Katie Friesen led FIU with six kills. The Panthers (3-2) were held to 24 kills and a .049 attack percentage.

Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team started strongly in its match against UAB but could not build on its momentum and lost in three sets (21-25, 16-25, 12-25) in the final match of the Blazer Invitational, Saturday, at Bartow Arena.

Austin Peay (2-5) opened the match impressively, building a quick 3-1 lead that eventually grew to a five-point, 10-5 advantage. UAB would erase the APSU lead with a 6-2 run, tying the set 18-18. After the teams traded points, the Blazers closed the set by scoring the final five points, three coming courtesy Lady Govs errors.

UAB (4-3) built off that run, opening the second set with a 3-1 burst. Austin Peay would rally to tie the set at 5-5 courtesy a UAB error but could not gain the lead. UAB would slowly ease away the rest of the set for the win.

The Blazers opened the third set with a 6-1 run and didn’t look back. Austin Peay could only get within two points, 12-10, but UAB scored 10 of the next 15 points to break the set open.

Austin Peay sophomore Ashley Slay led all hitters with 11 kills – the only player for either team to reach double-digit territory. The Lady Govs were held to 26 kills and a .011 attack percentage in the match.

Gabby Deshotel led UAB with eight kills. The Blazers needed just 35 kills and a .235 attack percentage to secure the win.

With the loss, Austin Peay finished the Blazer Invitational with a 2-1 record, good for second place. The Lady Govs return home to prepare for a 7 p.m., Tuesday contest at Western Kentucky.

EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, TOLEDO 2; DEPAUL 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 2
CHICAGO, Ill. - In pursuit of their second tournament title in consecutive weekends, the Panthers were set to face Toledo in their first game of day two, followed by tournament-host, DePaul, in the night-cap of the DePaul Invitational Saturday (Sept. 5).
EIU 3, Toledo 2

The morning session of day-two at the DePaul Invitation began with Eastern Illinois facing a team in the Toledo Rockets that the EIU volleyball program has struggled against in years past, going 1-4, in those meetings. The Panthers were eager to face an unfamiliar foe, and came out victorious winning the match 3-2 (25-12,21-25,21-25,25-18,15-5).

The Panthers had their way in the first set, as they continued with their dominating play they displayed the night before (Sept. 4) in their 3-0 victory over Evansville. A kill from Allie Hueston gave the Panthers a slight 3-2 edge, but from there EIU never looked back the rest of game one as they took the set easily by a score of 25-12.

The first set loss appeared to be a wakeup call for the Rockets, as things were not as easy in set two for the Panthers. EIU took the first point in the second set, but were only able to tie the game on two different occasions, as the Rockets never trailed in the set. After the Rockets got themselves out to a fairly comfortable lead, the Panthers were able to cut the lead down to three due to back to back kills from Abby Saalfrank and Chelsea Lee, but to no avail as EIU dropped the second set 21-25.

The third game saw a lot of alternate scoring throughout the set. Taylor Smith squared the set up at 11-11 following a kill of her own, but the Panthers could not make a run out of it as the Rockets took control of the set, and once again, would not trail as EIU lost game three 21-25.

The Panthers sought to keep their title hopes alive heading into game four, and another Lee kill was the answer they were looking for. An ace from Stephanie Wallace put EIU ahead by three points, but the Rockets were able to tie the set up at 18-18 from a kill by their Haley Sendelbach. EIU called a timeout to regroup and to talk some strategy. The timeout worked in the Panthers favor, as a kill from Abby Knight mixed in with two Rocket errors gave EIU a 25-18, victory in game four.

The Panthers were appearing in another five set match in consecutive weekends. The Panthers came away with a 3-2 win in their previous such match last weekend, (Aug. 29), against Central Michigan at the IPFW Invitational. The experience paid off for the Panthers, as the pressure would not get to them, and take game five steadily 15-5. A pair of aces from Hueston, and another, from the likes of Marah Bradbury clinched game five and the match for EIU.

Hueston and Lee caused havoc for the Rocket defense as they tallied a match-high 16 kills each. Wallace, lead the way for the Panthers on the defensive side, digging out 16 attacks, while Smith and Anne Hughes both chipped in 10 digs apiece.

After the game, Coach Wolinski was pleased with her team’s efforts… “We fought back through adversity of sets two and three to come back to win in sets four and five. This was a total team effort both on and off the court. In sets four and five we got back to playing our style of volleyball, and controlled the tempo of the game. Our block was impressive in the last two sets. Chelsea (Lee) and Allie (Hueston) did a great job earning kills for us!”
 
DePaul 3, EIU 1
Much like their scenario last weekend at the IPFW Invitational, the Panthers saw themselves in the championship game against the host opponent, this time, DePaul.

The Panthers took an early 7-4 lead against DePaul following a Knight kill for the Panthers, but the Blue
Demons would go on an 6-0 run for a 7-10 advantage over EIU. A Saalfrank kill brought the Panthers within two, but with the help of the home crowd, DePaul would win the first set over EIU 21-25.
A fairly evenly played second set, saw the game tied on 12 different occasions, with the last happening following a DePaul service error knotting the set at 24-24. The Panthers would take advantage of the Blue Demon error, as they earned the next two points with the help of another DePaul error, and a kill by Hueston to complete the 26-24 win.

Much like the second set, the third set again saw a close battle between the two squads. Maria Brown put the Panthers ahead, 4-1, but the Blue Demons would steal the lead rather quickly rallying off the next four points. A Josie Winner kill squared the set at 5-5, and the exchange of lead changes would begin. The Panthers were looking to take the third set after a kill from Smith earned EIU a serve for set point at 24-22. EIU was unable to connect for the set point, as DePaul would win the next four points and the set 24-26 over the Panthers.

In hopes of forcing a game five and keeping their title chances alive, the Panthers would need to find a way to steal a close match away from the host, Blue Demons. DePaul appeared to be on their way to a tournament title of their own, until EIU won four straight points to tie the set up at 24-24 with a kill from Brown. The Panthers used what they had left in the tank, but the Blue Demons rolled off the next two points taking the set, 24-26, and the match, 1-3.

Lee and Saalfrank earned double-digit kills with 13 and 11 respectively, while Wallace pitched in a match-high 21 digs.

The Panthers are back in action next weekend ,(Sept. 11-12) at the Dayton Flyer Invitational in Ohio. EIU is scheduled to face Cleveland State on Friday, (Sept. 11) at 3 p.m., while facing Dayton at 11:30 a.m., and Baylor at 2 p.m. on Saturday, (Sept. 12).

LOUISIANA TECH 3, SIUE 0; NORTHERN KENTUCKY 3, SIUE 2
EDWARADSVILLE, Ill. -  SIUE volleyball's Kristen Torre was named to the All-Tournament team at the Cougar Classic presented by Doubletree, but the Cougars dropped a pair of matches Saturday.

SIUE volleyball responded strongly from a loss early Saturday but dropped a five-setter to Northern Kentucky to close out the tournament. The Cougars dropped to 1-5 overall with a 25-27, 25-21, 25-20, 18-25, 15-7 loss to Northern Kentucky. Louisiana Tech upended the Cougars 25-21, 25-21, 25-21.

Torre led the Cougars with nine kills against Louisiana Tech and added 10 against Northern Kentucky. The Cougar senior needs 38 more kills to become the ninth player in school history to record 1,000 career kills.

Joens powered the Cougar offense for a career-high 17 kills against Northern Kentucky, the fourth time she has recorded double-digit kills this season.

Haley Libs, also a member of the All-Tournament team, topped all players with 20 kills.

SIUE finished with eight service aces in the NKU match, including four from Ashley Witt.

The Cougars now head to their final tournament of the regular season at the UMKC Kangaroo Klassic in Kansas City, Mo. SIUE will face Omaha, UMKC and Bradley at the two-day tournament.

UNC GREENSBORO 3, TENNESSEE TECH 2
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - It was a battle in Knoxville. Day three of the Tennessee Volleyball Invitational was a tough one for the Tennessee Tech volleyball team (0-6, 0-0 OVC) as they took on the UNC-Greensboro Spartans (4-2) on Saturday. The Spartans edged the Golden Eagles, 3-2, in a close battle while taking winning set scores of 25-15, 23-25, 19-25, 25-18, and 15-13.

Back-to-back kills from Cody Dodd and Shaneice James opened first set play for Tech who took the 4-2 lead before UNCG game back to tie the score at 4-4. From there, the Spartans went on a 6-1 run to pull ahead of the Golden Eagles 10-5. Kills from Kellie Williams and Dodd brought Tech back within two, 11-9, of UNCG, however, the Spartans recovered and extended their lead by seven points, 17-10, over the Golden Eagles. UNCG continued to capitalize on their lead and took a first set victory 25-15.

Tech took the early 6-3 lead in the second set. The Golden Eagles continued to play tough and pulled ahead of the Spartans, 11-6. UNCG came within two points, 12-10, of Tech, however, the Golden Eagles went on a 5-2 run and extended their lead to 17-12.  From there, Tech minimized errors and maintained a strong offense to pull ahead 22-16. UNCG battled back pulling within one point, 24-23, but the Golden Eagles held on to win the second set 25-23.

It was a tight third set. UNCG opened with a 7-4 lead until Tech went on a spree of kills and took an 8-7 lead due to a kill from James followed by three-in-a-row from Dodd. The Golden Eagles took control of the set and pulled ahead 13-9, however, the Spartans fought back and tied the score at 14-14. The two teams remained in close proximity of each other until Tech went on a 7-3 run and pulled ahead of UNCG 21-17, before sealing a third set triumph 25-19.

The Spartans came out strong in the fourth set, taking an 8-3 lead over the Golden Eagles. Kills from Dodd and Williams helped Tech pull within three, 10-7, of UNCG, however, the Spartans continued to extend their lead to 15-11. UNCG went on a 6-2 run to pull ahead 21-13, and then cruised to a fourth set victory 25-18.

Kills from Williams, James, and Shealene Little helped Tech take the early 5-1 lead in the fifth set. The Golden Eagles then extended their lead to 8-3 with kills from Dodd. UNCG battled to come within two points of Tech at 8-6, and then continued to tie the score at 9-9. From there, the two teams battled for control until the Spartans took a slight lead at 13-11 causing the Golden Eagles to take a time out. A kill from Dodd brought Tech back within one, 13-12, but UNCG edged out the win 15-13.

Dodd led the Golden Eagles with 25 kills, three blocks and a .305 hitting percentage. Anderson collected 38 assists and 12 digs in the match, while teammates Wade gathered 26 digs and James totaled six blocks. Ashley Muench led the Spartans with 19 kills and a .319 hitting percentage.

Tech will travel to Memphis, Tenn. on Fri.-Sat., Sept. 11-12, for the Memphis Invitational. There, they will face opponents of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Little Rock, host Memphis, and Auburn.

DAYTON 3, UT MARTIN 0; SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 3, UT MARTIN 0
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team concluded its participation in the 2015 Saluki Invitational today, falling by 3-0 margins to Dayton (18-25, 12-25, 6-25) and host Southern Illinois (10-25, 17-25, 21-25) at SIU Arena.
            
Madison Wessling and Lael Ceriani each shared the team lead with 15 kills (2.50 per set) today while Ellie Cain piled up 45 assists (7.50 per set). Both Colleen Larson (12) and Cain (10) reached double-digits in digs today while Kiah Cheatham swatted away a team-high three blocks.
            
UT Martin (2-7) returns to action on Monday, Sept. 7 when it travels to Alabama A&M. First serve is set for 7 p.m.

Dayton
The Skyhawks competed early before the Flyers caught fire to claim the victory.
            
Three ties took place to begin the first set before Dayton went on a 6-2 run to go ahead by a 9-5 margin. Wessling, Cheatham and Alisha Erves all posted kills while Cain followed with a service ace that sliced UT Martin’s deficit to two points but the Flyers answered with seven of the next nine points. The Skyhawks then unreeled three straight points – two of which came via Wessling kills – but Dayton concluded the set on a 7-4 run.
            
UT Martin accounted for a .224 attack percentage as a team in the opening set, as Wessling reached five kills while Cain amassed 13 assists and five digs.
            
Cain got the Skyhawks off on the right foot in the second set, slamming down a kill for the first point of the set. However, Dayton soon opened up an 11-3 lead before kills by Amanda Crask, Cheatham and Wessling swung temporary momentum in UT Martin’s favor. The Skyhawks continued to battle but the Flyers were able to fend off a potential rally to end the set on a 13-6 surge.
            
The Skyhawk offense once again performed well in the second set, committing only three errors in 28 attempts for a .214 team percentage.
            
Dayton began the third set with eight unanswered points until Ceriani and Erves were responsible for back-to-back kills. However, the Skyhawk offense struggled to find a rhythm for the remainder of the set, as the Flyers used a late 9-0 run to put the finishing touches on the victory.

Southern Illinois
The Skyhawks could not shake off a slow start in their third and final match against the host Salukis.
            
Ceriani accounted for UT Martin’s first two points with a pair of kills in the first set but Southern Illinois was able to grab an 8-2 lead right out of the gate. Cheatham wrangled up a pair of kills during a brief 3-0 spurt to pull within six points (15-9) until the Salukis reeled off eight straight points to end the first set.
            
Rachel Noffsinger gave UT Martin a spark to begin the second set, racking up two kills and contributing a hand into an assisted block that resulted in a 3-1 Skyhawk lead. Southern Illinois then scored seven consecutive points before Noffsinger put an end to the run with another kill that made the score 8-4. Back-to-back kills by Cain and another Noffsinger kill willed UT Martin within two points (13-11). Three kills by Wessling kept the Skyhawks within striking distance but Southern Illinois concluded the set with four unanswered points.
            
Noffsinger’s five kills paced UT Martin in the second set while Wessling provided four kills with zero errors in eight swings.
            
The Skyhawks and Southern Illinois played to a 4-4 tie early on in the third set before the Salukis went ahead by a 10-6 margin. Cheatham followed with a kill before Ceriani tallied three consecutive kills to get UT Martin back in the contest. The Skyhawks clawed back to tie the set four times (13-all, 14-all, 17-all and 20-all) but once again Southern Illinois ended the set strong, accounting for five of the final six points.
            
Ceriani slammed down four of UT Martin’s 12 kills in the final set.

BELMONT 3, MEMPHIS 2
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -  Belmont battles to take home a five set victory over Memphis notching the second win of the weekend making them the tournament champions. After taking the first set 25-23, Memphis dominated the next two taking both with a score of 25-15. Bruins came back fighting taking set four 26-24 and set five 15-12.

Sophomore Brie Lewis (Stillwell, Kan.) led the offensive attack with a career-high 20 kills hitting for an average of .357; followed by Redshirt Freshman Alexa Nichols (Walton, Ky.) with 10 kills and only one error hitting for an average of .429, Sophomore Arianna Person with 13 kills and an average of .212, and Senior Jocelyn Youngdahl finished with 10 kills. Sophomore Ellie Ivancich (Naperville, Ill.) led the defensive effort with 19 digs; the team posted 60 digs on five blocks in the match. Sophomore Emma Price (Fort Mill, SC) recorded 53 assists on the match.

Bruins take a first set battle 25-23; it was an all around effort with the team attacking hard notching 17 kills on the set. Nichols recorded one kill, Mullins and Youngdahl both recorded three kills, Person recorded four kills and Lewis lead the team with six kills on the set. After being down 18-15 Belmont earned all 10 of their points to close out the match. Within those 10 points were three kills by Person, an ace by Youngdahl and Ivancich, a kill by Mullins, and Nichols, two kills by Lewis and a block from Lewis and Nichols.

Memphis came out strong in set two jumping out to an early 11-8 lead. Despite another 10 kills by the Bruins in the second set, Memphis takes it 25-16. Lewis recorded another four kills in the second set to make her total 10 while hitting for an average of .348.

Memphis once again comes out strong jumping out to a 5-1 lead. From this point it was a point-for-point battle between the Bruins and the Tigers. With their seventh block in the set Memphis takes the largest lead of the match 22-12. Belmont put together another 10 kills in set three, but with 11 hitting errors and Memphis recording nine kills and seven blocks the Tigers take set three 25-15. Memphis now leads the series two sets to one.

Throughout the entire fourth set it was a point-for-point battle with no team holding more then a two-point lead. With the Bruins up 18-16, Memphis rallied together four straight points to take a 20-18 lead. Person and Nichols put together a strong front to once again give the Bruins the lead at 23-22, Person recorded two kills an ace and a block along side Nichols who also recorded a kill. With Tigers up 24-23 Belmont ropes together three kills, two by Price and one by Lewis, to take the set 26-24. Bruins hit a phenomenal .394 on the set with 16 kills as a team.

Bruins went down 6-3 in set five but with two kills and an ace by Lewis, and a little help from the Tigers Belmont strings together four to go up 7-6. Belmont switched sides up 8-7. Bruins take a three-point lead going up 11-8 after two big kills by Youngdahl and Person. With a missed serve by Memphis, Belmont takes a 13-10 lead. Two kills by Memphis brought the Tigers back within one at 13-12. After Head Coach Tony Howell calls a time-out Nichols puts down two kills to take the set 15-12.

Lewis was named as the Tournament MVP finishing the weekend with 41 kills, 5 aces, 28 digs and three block assists. Person was also named to the All-Tournament team finishing the weekend with 47 kills, seven aces, 43 digs and six block assists.

JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, ALABAMA A&M 1; ULM 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 0
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. -  The Jacksonville State volleyball team wrapped up its Gamecock Invitational on Saturday with a 1-1 mark on the final day defeating Alabama A&M, before falling to UL Monroe in the nightcap.

JSU (4-3) downed the Bulldogs of Alabama A&M (1-6) in four sets (25-19, 21-25, 25-17, 25-11) in their opening match of the day. The Gamecocks jumped put to a 7-2 lead, but would not extend that lead any further until the final point of the game. A .435 team hitting percentage in the opening frame guided JSU to taking the first, 25-19.

AAMU responded winning the following set, 25-21. The two teams went back-and-forth before a 5-0 run for the Bulldogs broke a 14-14 tie.

JSU won the third set 25-17 to regain a set advantage, and then finished off the match running away with the fourth and final set, 25-11.

Senior Emily Rutherford notched a double-double in the win with 12 kills and 11 digs. Sophomore Charis Ludtke finished with a team-high 16 kills hitting .341 against AAMU. Defense was key for JSU as it held the Bulldogs to hitting .142 combined. Sophomores Hannah Kirk and Jennifer Hart posted double digit digs with 16 and 11, respectively. Sophomore Allyson Zuhlke had four blocks to go along with her 11 kills.

In the final match of the two-day tournament, JSU lost a tough one to UL Monroe (26-24, 25-12, 26-24). The three-set match twice required the teams to play beyond the 25th point.

The first set against the Warhawks (5-3) was very tight never separating by more than three points either way. Jax State went from trailing 21-19 to taking a late one-point lead forcing ULM to call for time. After the break, ULM came from behind winning four of the next six points to escape with a 26-24 set win.

After having the first set slip away, the Gamecocks struggled to get started in the second falling behind early en route to a 25-12 defeat. The third frame was back tight again, and unfortunately, like the first, had a tough ending for JSU. The Gamecocks again led late, 22-20, when a 4-0 ULM sealed the match for the Warhawks winning, 26-24.

For the second time of the day, Ludtke led the Red and White in kills with 13. She finished with 29 on the day. Freshmen Mackenzie Rombach and Kim Krutsinger each had six kills in the loss to ULM. Hart dished 32 more assisted giving her a total of 70 for the final day of the tournament. On defense, Kirk led with 12 digs followed by Rutherford with 11.

JSU resumes non-conference play next weekend with a trip to Grand Forks, N.D., to play four games in the University of North Dakota Tournament. The Gamecocks will open with South Dakota on Friday morning. Jax State returns home to play at the newly renovated Pete Mathews Coliseum on October 2 against Jackson State.