SATURDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Kentucky 3, @Austin Peay 1 (25-21, 25-14, 24-26, 25-20)
@Eastern Illinois 3, UT Martin 1 (25-14, 25-22, 18-25, 25-15)
@SIUE 3, Southeast Missouri 1 (29-31, 25-14, 25-23, 25-16)
@Murray State 3, Morehead State 1 (25-20, 27-25, 21-25, 25-10)
@Jacksonville State 3, Belmont 2 (18-25, 25-19, 25-22, 20-25, 15-13)
Tennessee State 3, @Tennessee Tech 0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-19)
EASTERN KENTUCKY 3, AUSTIN PEAY 1
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - The Eastern Kentucky University volleyball team snapped Austin Peay State Universitys 11-match winning streak, downing the Governor’s in 3-0 at the Winfield Dunn Center Saturday afternoon.
The Colonels won by scores of 25-21, 25-14, 24-26 and 25-20.
In the first set APSU quickly jumped out to a 7-1 lead. Then middle blocker Kaylin Johnson came up with a kill sparking a 6-1 Colonel run and moving the score, 8-7. The squads were in an even heat, exchanging points and the lead until Kennedy Wilson notched a kill, followed by a Cassie Knutson service ace to move a 20-20 tie to a 22-20 EKU lead. A kill and service ace from senior Celina Sanks followed by a bad set from the Govs ended the set in favor of EKU, 25-21.
Both teams, again, took turns throwing punches to open up the second stanza. At the 9-9 mark an attack error from Austin Peay’s Ashley Slay aided EKU in opening up a 9-1 run to pull ahead of the Govs 18-10. APSU would cut into the lead four more times, 20-14, but the deficit proved insurmountable. The Colonels rattled off five unanswered points to take the set and a 2-0 lead, 25-14.
EKU fell behind for much of the third frame but notched six in a row to take its largest lead of the set, 21-17. The Governors then responded with five unanswered points to even the score 23-23. A kill from Cecily Gable and block from Kaylee Taff and Gable spoiled the sweep for the Colonels, 26-24.
The squads went point-for-point down the stretch in set four. A commanding block from Lauren Kolenik and Clairissa Hankinson pushed EKU out in front, 19-15. The Govs made a final effort at the lead with a kill from Cecily to spark a 4-1 run, bringing APSU within one, 20-19. A service error from the Governors followed by another huge block from Knutson and Johnson and then two kills from the duo forced match point, 24-19. Nikki Drost put down the final ball, giving EKU the match, 25-20.
Austin Peay had won 15 straight sets coming in to today’s contest dating back to Sept. 23. The streak in-part due to solid .221 hitting percentage on the season. EKU held APSU to a .177 percentage and out-blocked the Govs 9-to-6. Eastern Kentucky hit an impressive .393 clip in set two and a .375 in the final set.
Drost led all players in kills with 16, Sanks followed closely behind with 12 to compliment her 15 digs for another double-double on the season. Knutson and Maria Ferragonio combined for 48-of-55 assists.
EKU junior libero Chloe Rojas led all players with 20 digs.
Austin Peay's Christian White recorded 14 kills and a .200 attack percentage. Senior Ashley Slay added 13 kills but was held to a .141 attack percentage. Austin Peay finished the match with 49 kills and a .177 attack percentage.
EKU moves to 7-13, 5-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference while Austin Peay falls to 17-3, 5-1 OVC. The squads are tied for the first place spot.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, UT MARTIN 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois volleyball played host to UT Martin in an OVC conference matchup Saturday afternoon. The Panthers beat the Skyhawks stretching their winning-streak to three matches winning in four sets (25-14, 25-22, 18-25, and 25-15).
The Panthers showed aggressiveness early dominating the first set. Maria Brown led the Panthers offense with six of her team-high 14 kills in the match. Gina Furlin helped spread the ball around offensively for the Panthers leading the first set with nine assists.
The second set featured dominance from the Skyhawks as they tried to even out the match. The Panthers were able to spark a late comeback in the set with the help of Laurel Bailey. Bailey led the offense power surge for the Panthers totaling a set-high six kills. Defensively Bailey and Anne Hughes each claimed ten digs to lift the Panthers over the Skyhawks in the second-set.
UT Murray would spoil the Panthers shot at a second consecutive OVC sweep in the third set winning 25-18. Jemima Idemudia led the Skyhawks with six of her team-high 14 kills on the day. Kenzie Hinshaw would also help UT Martin get the offensive push they needed all-match with eight of her team-high 22 assists.
Similar to last night the Panthers closed out the match with a dominant block party. EIU would total a set-high ten blocks in the fourth set which proved to be the difference maker. Taylor Smith, Allie Hueston, and Maggie Runge each totaled three blocks in the set. The fourth set included the highest hitting percentage for the Panthers on the day totaling an average of .375.
Smith grabbed her fourth triple-double of the season with her 13 kills, 22 assists, and season-high 20 digs. Furlin led the Panthers in assists with her 25 assists. Defensively leading the Panthers was Bailey who totaled 22 digs, and Hueston led in blocks with six.
SIUE 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE volleyball collected its fourth straight Ohio Valley Conference victory Saturday with a four-set win over Southeast Missouri at the Vadalabene Center.
The Cougars, now 14-4 overall and 4-2 in the OVC, bested the visiting Redhawks 29-31, 25-14, 25-23, 25-16. Southeast Missouri fell to 6-14 overall and 1-5 in the OVC.
SIUE marked a wide disparity in kills for the match 64-39, using a season-high 18 kills from Ashley Witt.
Taylor Joens turned in another strong performance for the Cougars with 16 kills and a .400 hitting percentage. She missed a triple-double by two blocks, finishing with 12 digs and eight blocks.
Emily Harrison recorded 11 kills while Kiana Fields finished with eight kills and a .300 hitting percentage for the match.
Samantha Knight also posted a career high with 40 assists.
Krissa Gearring paced the Redhawks with 14 kills. SEMO hit .115 for the match and outblocked the Cougars 12-10.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, BELMONT 2
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - For the second time in as many days, the Jacksonville State volleyball team pieced together a crucial five-set victory, downing preseason conference favorite Belmont to complete the weekend sweep of the league's Nashville-based squads.
Jax State (16-8, 3-3 Ohio Valley) remains undefeated at home in 2017 (7-0) and pulls back to .500 in the league standings after a tough start to the conference season. Belmont fell to 4-2 in the OVC and out of a tie for first-place.
Senior Charis Ludtke had 16 kills to lead a trio of Gamecocks with double-digit put-aways joined by Allyson Zuhlke (12) and Mackenzie Rombach with 12. Sophomore Kaylee Frear added eight kills and matched a team-best with five blocks. A day after 34 assists against Tennessee State, senior Jennifer Hart dished 31 versus the Bruins.
The Gamecocks won the blocking battle, 11-9, and dug 74 balls as a team led by Hart's 20 and Hannah Kirk with 14. Defensive efforts among the rotating back row in Ashley Clingan, Rachel Perucki, Madison Cooler and Kaylie Milton were key in the win as the Gamecocks held a strong Bruin attack in check all afternoon.
The teams exchanged similar opening sets as BU won the first (25-18) and JSU took the second (25-19) to even the match going into the third set. JSU weathered a 10-1 run in the third as Belmont came from behind for the 14-10 advantage. The Gamecocks fought back to even the set at 16, before pulling out to a 20-17 lead late. Once securing the third, JSU looked to finish things in the fourth, but a veteran Belmont squad wouldn't go lightly. JSU trailed since an early 3-3 tie, but pulled within one at 21-20, before the Bruins went on a 4-0 run to send the match to a decisive fifth frame.
The fifth didn't begin the way the Gamecocks planned as JSU trailed 8-4 at the changeover. A critical kill by Cooler sparked JSU's final rally. Ludtke then recorded five late kills to vault the red and white to match-point where Zuhlke sent the last ball home for the second straight day.
The Bruins were led by Arianna Person's 18 kills. Alexa Nichols pitched in 12 kills and a team high four blocks, while Maggie Mullins finished with 29 assists after becoming the primary setter midway through the action.
MURRAY STATE 3, MOREHEAD STATE 1
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State volleyball team rebounded nicely Saturday afternoon at Racer Arena with a four-set victory over Morehead State. Set scores went 25-20, 27-25, 21-25 and 25-20. The win improved the Racers to 12-6 overall and 4-2 in OVC play.
Olivia Chatman led the Racers offensively with a career-best 13 kills while Rachel Holthaus had 12 kills and hit a match-high .455 and led the team with three total blocks. Rachel Giustino notched another double-double in the win, collecting 11 kills and 12 digs. Liza Gober, Katirah Johnson and Megan Lindsay all had five kills each.
Callie Anderton led the way with 47 assists on the afternoon and also added five digs and an ace. Alex Kaufmann and Becca Fernandez each tallied double-digit digs in the back with 21 and 13, respectively.
Murray State hit .177 in the win while the Eagles (10-9, 1-5 OVC) hit .196 and had a 13-5 edge in total blocks. However, the Racers tallied 10 service aces and just three errors while Morehead had nine aces and nine serving errors. Fernandez led Murray State with a career-high five service aces alone.
Morehead State was led by Jordan Jones with 16 kills and 20 assist. Chandler Clark also had a double-double with 16 assist and a team-best 16 digs. Danielle McCarson and Liz Allen each had 15 digs in the match.
TENNESSEE STATE 3, TENNESSEE TECH 0
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee State defeated Tennessee Tech in three sets on Saturday. The Tigers improved to 6-13 overall and 2-4 in OVC play while the Golden Eagles fell to 3-15 overall and 1-5 in leauge action.
Maya Evans led TSU with 10 kills and a .318 hitting percentage in the win. Samnatha Beltran nearly notched a double-double as she 34 assist sand eight digs. Cherlie Adorno-DeJesus recorded a team-best 15 digs in the win.
Tennessee Tech was led by Shaneice James with seven kills in the three sets. Susie Jeziorowski just missed a double-double with 22 assist sand eight digs. Kristen Brugere led all players with 16 digs in the match.