FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Austin Peay 3, UT Martin 0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-18)
Morehead State 3, @Tennessee Tech 0 (25-22, 25-17, 26-24)
@Jacksonville State 3, Eastern Kentucky 1 (25-20, 25-19, 25-22, 25-20)
@Murray State 3, Southeast Missouri 2 (22-25, 18-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-6)
AUSTIN PEAY 3, UT MARTIN 0
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team notched its 25th victory with a dominant three-set (25-19, 25-18, 25-18) Ohio Valley Conference sweep of UT Martin, Friday night, at the Winfield Dunn Center.
Austin Peay (25-4, 12-1 OVC) posted just its third 25-win campaign in program history thanks to an impressive 44-kill effort that saw it commit just eight attack errors. That .336 attack percentage was its best performance in conference play this season and its second-best effort this season.
After Allie O’Reilly, Ashley Slay and Christina White were recognized during pre-match Senior Day ceremonies, the Govs got off to a slow start, trailing 6-2 early. However, a 5-0 burst late in the set turned the tide Austin Peay’s direction and they sailed to a first set win. The Govs won the second set in wire-to-wire fashion to post a 2-0 lead.
UT Martin (11-15, 5-8 OVC) again got out to a quick start in the third set but could not make the early lead stick. The Govs wrenched back control with a 7-1 run to take a 17-15 lead before closing with a 6-1 run to clinch the sweep.
White and junior Kaylee Taff each recorded 10 kills in the victory. White added an ace – her 45th this season – and two blocks to lead the Govs with 13 points.
UTM’s Jemima Idemudia led all hitters with 14 kills and chipped in three blocks.
MURRAY STATE 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 2
MURRAY, Ky. - For the third consecutive Friday, the Murray State volleyball team fell behind two sets to none and for the second time in the past three weeks, the Racers were able to rally to win in five thrilling sets as MSU defeated Southeast Missouri Friday night at Racer Arena, 22-25, 18-25, 25-23, 25-21 and 15-6.
The Racers (17-8, 9-4 OVC) were just three points from being swept in the match as they trailed 22-15 late in the third set. However, an 8-0 by MSU pushed it in front 23-22 and from there on out, the Racers controlled the rest of the match.
Rachel Giustino led MSU with a double-double on the night as she tallied a team-best 16 kills and was one of three Racers with 20-plus digs on the night as she notched 20. Giustino also added a career-high five assists and had three aces.
Courtney Radle had a career night offensively as she had a career-high 13 kills and hit a match-high .444. Meanwhile, Katirah Johnson and Rachel Holthaus nabbed 11 kills each and hit .417 and .333, respectively. Johnson led MSU with three total blocks in the win while Holthaus had a career-best 23 digs.
For the match, MSU hit .227 as a team while the Redhawks (10-17, 5-8 OVC) hit .184. MSU tallied a better hitting percentage in four of the five sets Friday. Ashley McBee led the Racers with 36 assists as she appeared in the final four sets while Callie Anderton had 15 assists. Defensively, Becca Fernandez led the way with 26 digs from her libero position and Alex Kaufmann chipped in with 10.
Southeast Missouri was led by Krissa Gearring with 19 kills and 21 digs. Madara Bajare added 10 kills. Ally Dion led the degense with 39 digs while Maria Less added 29. Keegan Fornoff dished out 24 assists and added 11 digs for the double-double. Allie Henkelman also notched a double-double with 22 assists and 11 digs.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, TENNESSEE TECH 0
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Behind a match-high 18 digs from sophomore libero Danielle McCarson and 14 kills off the hands of freshman Lauren Rokey, Morehead State volleyball swept Tennessee Tech 3-0 on the road Friday night. The Eagles won 25-22, 25-17, 26-24.
Morehead State improved to 13-13 overall and 4-9 in the OVC. Nine of MSU's 13 victories have come via the 3-0 decision. Tennessee Tech slipped to 3-22 overall and 1-12 in the OVC.
McCarson helped the visitors to a 56-49 edge in digs, while Rokey slammed down 14 winners and hit .308. Fellow freshman Olivia Lohmeier contributed 10 kills while hitting a team-best .333. Junior setter Jordan Jones nearly collected her third career triple-double, coming up one kill shy with nine to go along with 21 assists and 11 digs.
MSU only trailed once (2-1) in the opening set but used a 6-2 scoring spurt, capped by a kill from freshman Liz Allen, to grab momentum early. Tech maintained a slim disadvantage throughout as the Eagles' largest lead was only five.
The Eagles once again found themselves behind early (4-2) in set deuce, but an 8-3 run, spurred by a Rokey kill and ended by a block from senior Alli Evans and junior Maddie Fella, turned the tide toward MSU. Tech cut it to 12-10, but a 6-2 flurry, book ended by successful spikes from Jones and junior Jessie Wachtman, put the set out of reach.
Morehead State pushed ahead 15-9 in the final set before Tech surged back with a 10-2 run to grab a 19-17 cushion. The teams traded blows before a TTU error and a Fella kill sealed the win.
The Eagles finished with a .214 attack efficiency and piled up seven blocks, led by five block assists by Fella.
Abigail Duncan led the Golden Eagles with seven kills while Kirsten Brugere notched a team-best 18 digs. Susie Jeziorowski nearly had a double-dobule with 19 assists and seven digs.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 1
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Jacksonville State defeated visting Eastern Kentucky in four sets on Friday. Scores were 25-20, 25-19, 22-25, 25-20. JSU improves to 21-11 (7-6 Ohio Valley Conference) while EKU drops to 11-16 (9-4 OVC).
Allyson Zuhlke recorded 15 kills to lead the Gamecocks while Kaylee Frear added 11 kills. Rachel Perucki notched a double-double with 19 assist and 12 digs. Madison Cooler and Hannah Kirk each had a team-high 17 digs. Jennifer Hart dished out a team-best 25 assist.
Eastern Kentucky's Cassie Knutson poured in 14 kills, 29 assists, eight digs and a career-high five blocks while Celina Sanks led all players and matched her season-high of 20 kills and also contributed 15 digs.Chloe Rojas had a match-high of 20 digs while Mallory Maxwell followed closely behind with a season-high of 18. Maria Ferragonio chipped in 20 assists while Ciera Koons and Kaylin Johnson added four blocks apiece to the Colonel total.