SATURDAY'S SCORES
Austin Peay 3, @Morehead State 0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-18)
Jacksonville State 3, @Tennessee State 2 (18-25, 25-18, 25-19, 14-25, 15-19)
@Belmont 3, Tennessee Tech 1 (25-11, 23-25, 25-19, 25-20)
@Southeast Missouri 3, Eastern Illinois 2 (25-17, 20-25, 25-22, 21-25, 15-7)
SIUE 3, @UT Martin 2 (25-22, 12-25, 25-18, 24-26, 15-13)
AUSTIN PEAY 3, MOREHEAD STATE 0
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Brooke Moore scored 16 kills and Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team clinched the 2017 Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title outright with a three-set (25-23, 25-20, 25-18) victory against Morehead State, Saturday afternoon at Wetherby Gym.
Austin Peay (27-5, 14-2 OVC) did not trail in the matches first two sets, though they did have to fend off late Morehead State rallies in each frame. The Govs offense chugged along in the first two sets with 16 kills in the first frame followed by 18 kills in the second.
Morehead State (14-15, 5-11 OVC) got off to a quick start in the third set for its only lead of the match. The Eagles owned a 7-4 lead in the third before the Govs offense asserted itself with a 7-1 run to take control. Austin Peay posted its best offensive outing of the match with 15 kills and a .423 attack percentage in the frame.
Moore notched her 16 kills while committing just two attack errors for a .500 attack percentage.
Ashley Slay added 11 kills at a .450 attack percentage along with two blocks. Austin Peay finished with 49 kills and a .364 attack percentage that was its best mark in conference play this season.
Olivia Lohmeier led Morehead State with 13 kills. The Eagles were held to 35 kills but outpaced the Govs in both service aces (8-4) and blocks (8-4).
MURRAY STATE 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0
RICHMOND, Ky. - The Murray State volleyball team made it five straight wins Saturday afternoon at Eastern Kentucky as the Racers swept the Colonels in straight sets, 25-22, 27-25 and 25-22. The win assures the Racers of at least the No. 3 seed in next week’s OVC Tournament and also gives MSU its fourth consecutive 20-win season, extending the program record.
The Racers (20-8, 12-4 OVC) used a balanced attack offensively in the win as Rachel Giustino was the only Racer with double-figure kills as she notched a team-best 12 on the day. Meanwhile, four Racers all recorded nine kills each in Dacia Brown, Rachel Holthaus, Megan Lindsay and Courtney Radle. Holthaus and Brown hit .350 and .304, respectively in the sweep.
For the match, MSU hit .188 while the Colonels (12-18, 10-6 OVC) hit .167. EKU did out-block the Racers 5-2 on the day but MSU had a 4-1 edge in service aces and also committed one fewer serving error (4-3).
Callie Anderton paced the offense as she recorded a match-high 39 assists and tied a career-high with 15 digs. Becca Fernandez led the way with 22 digs in the victory while Holthaus added 10 and Giustino chipped in with nine.
Eastern Kentucky's Chloe Rojas led all players with 25 digs while Clairissa Hankinson and Kaylin Johnson led all players with three blocks apiece.
BELMONT 3, TENNESSEE TECH 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont Volleyball cemented its place in next week's Ohio Valley Conference Tournament with a win on Saturday afternoon in the Curb Event Center. The Bruins (14-14, 9-7 OVC) held off in-state rival Tennessee Tech (4-24, 2-14 OVC), 3-1, in their regular season home finale thanks to strong performances from the senior class.
Belmont jumped ahead to a 7-3 lead and never looked back in the opening frame. Kills rained down all over the court courtesy of graduate student Jessica Vestal (Concord, Calif.), junior Alexa Nichols (Walton, Ky.), seniors Arianna Person (Lenexa, Kan.) and Brie Lewis (Stillwell, Kan.). By the time the Golden Eagles called their second timeout of the set, BU led 17-9. The Bruins closed the stanza with an 8-1 flurry to take the win, 25-11.
The Bruins opened with five unanswered points to start the second set. However, Tennessee Tech rallied and eventually knotted the score, 7-7. BU expanded its lead to four points but it was a short lived advantage. The Golden Eagles played Belmont close and surged to again knot the score, this time at 16-16. Belmont called timeout to refocus and immediately Vestal smashed a kill down the left side to put the home team back on top. However, TTU refused to back away and pushed hard down the stretch. Fueled by a final 3-0 run, the Golden Eagles were able to take the set, 25-23.
The teams began trading points at the top of the third stanza, falling into a whopping eight ties before BU used back-to-back kills by Lewis and Vestal put the team ahead, 11-9. The Bruins used a 5-0 run to go up, 16-10, thanks to three consecutive kills by Vestal. Belmont saw the Golden Eagles roll off five straight points to make it one point set, 17-16, forcing it to call timeout. Immediately out of the brief break, Person knocked down a kill and classmate Ellie Ivancich (Naperville, Ill.) followed with a service ace to open up a 6-1 run that put the Bruins on top, 23-17. Senior Emma Price (Fort Mill, S.C.) bookended the run with a service ace but TTU eked out two more points to keep things interesting. However, Person slammed home another kill to secure the 25-19 win.
Belmont exploded for four straight points to open the fourth frame but Tennessee Tech refused to go away quietly. TTU battled back to hold a slim one point advantage until a cross court kill by Person knotted the score, 11-11. The Golden Eagles kept pressing and used a 5-0 flurry to take a 17-14 lead. The Bruins called a timeout in the midst but it wasn't until Vestal knocked down a kill that the Bruins saw victory closing in. A service ace by junior Haley Sullivan (Lemont, Ill.) knotted the score at 17 and the Bruins dug in. Behind the serving of junior Tori Simmons (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), Belmont expanded its lead to 22-19. The Bruins were able to close the set with a 3-0 run to win, 25-20, and take the match.
Three BU players reached double digits in kills led by Person, who finished with a match-high 20 kills. She was followed by Vestal and Nichols, who contributed 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Senior Emma Price (Fort Mill, S.C.) finished with a match-high 52 assists, compared to the entire TTU team total of 33. Person was the lone player to record a double-double with 11 digs. Ivancich tallied 12 digs to lead the team.
Tennessee Tech's K'Vonna Johnson led the team with 11 kills while Kirsten Brugere had a team-best 20 digs.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 2
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (11-19, 6-10) competed in its second consecutive five-set match of the weekend on Saturday afternoon at Houck Field. After dropping a 3-2 decision on Friday night to SIUE, the Redhawks prevailed on Senior Day Saturday over Eastern Illinois (14-14, 8-8) in their regular season finale, 3-2 (25-17, 20-25, 25-22, 21-25, 15-7).
Prior to the contest, seniors Krissa Gearring, Nzingha Clarke, Jessica McElderry, Marie Less and Allie Henkelman were honored for their Redhawks careers.
Gearring recorded her 12th double-double of 2017 on Saturday with 13 kills and 17 digs. Clarke added nine kills in the match with five blocks (two solo, three assists). McElderry posted her second-straight seven-kill performance of the season on a season-best .500 hitting percentage. Less tallied five kills and nine digs with two service aces and Henkelman had a team-high 31 assists with seven digs.
Southeast opened the match with a 25-17 first set win on a match-high .361 hitting clip. The Redhawks jumped out to a 7-2 lead prompting an early Panthers timeout. A kill from Clarke and a Less service ace brought the score to 16-9 and another Eastern Illinois timeout.
Gearring and McElderry teamed up for a block to give SEMO a 20-11 edge. Eastern Illinois went on a 4-0 run to cut the deficit to five, 15-20. The Redhawks called their timeout and then rallied off three straight kills from Haley Bilbruck, Allie Henkelman and Clarke to seal the opening set, 25-17.
In the first set, all six of the Redhawks attackers had two or more kills.
Eastern Illinois then took the second set, 25-20, to tie the match at 1-1 heading into the break. The Panthers hit a match-best .300 in the second frame with Taylor Smith and Allie Hueston each recording four kills in the set.
Down 22-13, Southeast went on a 5-0 run bookended by kills from Bilbruck to bring EIU's lead to 22-18. The Redhawks would come as close as 20-23 with kills from Less and Clarke but the Panthers took the set, 25-20.
After the break, SEMO would take a 2-1 edge in the match after a 25-22 third set win. The Redhawks grew their lead in the third stanza to 9-4 with kills from Madara Bajare, McElderry and Gearring. Another kill from Gearring plus an Eastern Illinois attack error made the score 20-13.
At set point, 15-24, the Panthers mounted a comeback behind a 7-0 run to come within two points, 22-24. An EIU attack error gave the set to Southeast, 25-22.
Eastern Illinois knotted the match at 2-2 with a 25-21 fourth set win. The Panthers hit .286 with their backs against the wall to force a fifth set.
In the fifth and final set, Southeast outhit EIU, .222 to -.136. The Panthers started the tiebreaker with an early 3-0 lead before a Bilbruck kill and Gearring service ace put SEMO on the board, 2-3.
Three-straight Eastern Illinois attack errors along with a kill from Mikayla Kuhlmann gave the Redhawks an 8-5 lead. Southeast went on another 4-0 run to grow their fifth set lead to 12-6 with kills from Bajare and Clarke along with a service ace from Less.
SEMO then closed out the set to claim the match on a block assist from Gearring and McElderry, 15-7.
Bilbruck led the Redhawks offense with a career-best 15 kill outing on a .393 hitting percentage. Bajare recorded six kills on a season-high .667 hitting percentage as she entered the match in the second set.
Libero Ally Dion led the defense with 20 digs.
With the victory, Southeast finishes the season with an 11-19 overall record and a 6-10 mark in the Ohio Valley Conference. The win also even the 2017 series with EIU at 1-1 with both school's victories occurring at their home court.
Eastern Illinois' Taylor Smith notched a triple-double with 17 kills, 25 assist and 18 digs.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, TENNESSEE STATE 2
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - In the final regular season match of the season, the Jacksonville State volleyball team notched its 23rd win of the year, and capped its conference record at 9-7 to secure the first winning season in league play since 2014.
The Gamecocks (23-12, 9-7 Ohio Valley) needed five sets to down a scrappy Tennessee State squad that was playing purely for pride on the final weekend of the season having already been eliminated from postseason contention. For Jax State, the Gamecocks went all five sets in eight of their 16 conference matches this season.
Senior Charis Ludtke finished the match with her 20th kill of the afternoon to set a new career-high in her first 20-kill performance for the red and white. The Hamburg, Germany, native's previous best came during her freshman season with 19 putaways at UT Martin. She led all Gamecocks, followed by Allyson Zuhlke with 15 kills and Mackenzie Rombach with 12 on a .348 hitting clip.
Sophomore Rachel Perucki directed an offense that hit .259 overall on the road with 30 assists, while senior Jennifer Hart dished 21 assists.
On defense, Kim Krutsinger turned away eight Tiger attacks to lead JSU, while Rombach was in on seven blocks as the Gamecocks tallied 15 total team blocks. Along the back row, 12 different Gamecocks collected digs led by senior Hannah Kirk with 15.
TSU opened the match controlling the first set in a 25-19 win. The Tigers led by as many at 10 at 18-8, before JSU made a push to cut the deficit to 19-13. The Gamecocks returned the favor in the second with a 25-18 victory of their own to even the match score. Down 18-17, JSU ran off the final eight points in a row led by Zuhlke and Ludtke on the outside.
The Gamecocks kept the momentum rolling after the intermission jumping out to a 4-0 start in the third which quickly became a 12-4 advantage. JSU racked up 15 kills for the second straight match on its way to a 25-19 win and a 2-1 match lead. However, the fourth took a dramtic turn as the Tigers, knowing it was their final match, responded with a dominating 25-14 set win to send things to a fifth and final set.
The two teams battled point-for-point to begin the fifth. TSU led 8-7 at the changeover, but the Gamecocks benefitted on a couple of Tiger errors to reel off a 5-0 run to grab a 12-8 advantage. From there, a kill by Kaylie Milton helped Jax State reach match point before Ludtke sealed the deal with her 20th kill of the afternoon.
SIUE 3, UT MARTIN 2
MARTIN, Tenn. - SIUE volleyball will have momentum heading into next week's Ohio Valley Conference Tournament after closing out the regular season with a five-set victory at UT Martin.
SIUE heads into the OVC Tournament with a four-match winning streak and having won 13 of its last 14 matches. The Cougars will be the No. 2 seed and face seventh-seeded Eastern Illinois in the opening match Thursday at 1:30 p.m. The tournament will be held at top-seeded Austin Peay.
The rest of the tournament first round includes No. 3 Murray State vs. No. 6 Jacksonville State at 11 a.m., No. 4 Eastern Kentucky vs. No. 5 Belmont as well as No. 1 Austin Peay vs. No. 8 Southeast Missouri at 7 p.m.
Saturday's 25-22, 12-25, 25-18, 24-26, 15-13 win allowed Head Coach Kendall Paulus to collect the most volleyball wins in school history for a first-year head coach, passing Joe Fisher who had 22 in 1999. SIUE is 23-5 this season with a 13-3 mark in OVC play.
After a back and forth match Saturday against UT Martin, Jackie Scott recorded the final two kills in set five. SIUE was down 5-1 in the final set and never took the lead until Scott's kill at 14-13.
Joens and Scott led the Cougars with 12 kills apiece. Jemima Idemudia collected a match-high 18 kills for UT Martin, which finished the season with an 11-18 overall and 5-11 in the OVC.