FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 3, Delaware State 0 (25-10, 25-17, 25-13)
Ohio 3,
Murray State 0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-23)
Belmont 3, Elon 0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-16)
Penn State 3,
UT Martin 0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-8)
Denver 3,
Tennessee State 0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-10)
Townson 3,
Jacksonville State 0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-20)
Murray State 3, Southeastern Louisiana 0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-21)
SIUE 3, Toledo 2 (21-25, 25-15, 31-29, 21-25, 15-11)
Tennessee Tech 3, NC Central 0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-16)
Youngstown State 3,
@Morehaed State 0 (25-23, 30-28, 25-20)
@Austin Peay 3, UMKC 0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-16)
Fordham 3,
Southeast Missouri 1 (25-21, 25-9, 18-25, 25-19)
Southeast Missouri 3, Alcorn State 0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-17)
Green Bay 3,
@Eastern Illinois 0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-22)
@Austin Peay 3, Marshall 1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-18)
Eastern Kentucky 3, @San Diego State 1 (25-20, 25-21, 15-25, 25-17)
MOREHEAD 3, DELAWARE STATE 0; YOUNGSTOWN STATE 3, MOREHEAD STATE 0
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State volleyball opened the 2017 season with a 3-0 victory over Delaware State. The Eagles won by scores of 25-10, 25-17, and 25-13.
Hitting .247 on the day, the Eagles came out on fire with a .526 hitting percentage in the first set. Junior Jordan Jones led the way with nine kills and three digs overall, ending the match hitting .429.
Morehead State tacked on 11 service aces, relinquishing only one to the Hornets. Senior Alli Evans and freshman Olivia Lohmeier logged five kills apiece, while redshirt sophomore Danielle McCarson recorded 13 digs.
Despite eight blocks from junior middle blocker Maddie Fella, Morehead State volleyball's battle against Youngstown State came up on the short end (3-0) Friday night. YSU edged the Eagles 25-23, 30-28, 25-20.
The Eagles slipped to 1-1 after defeating Delaware State 3-0 earlier in the day.
The Eagles also got nine kills apiece from freshman outside hitter Lauren Rokey and sophomore right-side hitter Jordan Jones. After not seeing action in the opening set, Rokey came off the bench to record all nine of her kills, plus three blocks, in the last two frames while hitting a team-best .312. She had seven spikes alone on nine swings in the second stanza.
Defensively, Morehead State saw sophomore libero Danielle McCarson lead all players with 17 digs. Freshman defender Taylor Hodges contributed 14 digs, and freshman setter Chandler Clark had her first career double-double with 31 assists and 12 digs.
The Eagles nailed 14 kills in the first two sets apiece and really heated up in set two with a .294 attack efficiency. The hosts trailed 17-11 in the second set but rallied later to tie the set 24-24 following a Rokey kill and back-to-back blocks by Jones and Fella.
MSU finished with a 59-41 advantage in the dig column and notched 12 team blocks.
The Eagles close the opening-weekend tournament Saturday at 2 p.m. ET against Winthrop.
OHIO 3, MURRAY STATE 0; MURRAY STATE 3, SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA 0
BIRMINGHAM ,Ala. - The Murray State volleyball team opened its 2017 campaign by splitting a pair of matches at the Courtyard by Marriott Samford Invitational Friday in Birmingham, Ala. The Racers lost their opener in three sets to Ohio, 25-19, 25-19 and 25-21, before closing the day with a sweep of their own, 25-13, 25-17 and 25-21 over Southeastern Louisiana.
Rachel Holthaus was a force for MSU (1-1) in the win over the Lions, leading the way with a match-high 13 kills on just 17 swings. Rachel Giustino added 12 kills in the sweep and had her first double-double of the year with 10 digs. Dacia Brown and Megan Lindsay chipped in with seven and six kills, respectively.
Courtney Radle had a solid match at setter in the win, tallying 38 assists, seven digs and three kills while Becca Fernandez and Alex Kaufmann each had 10 digs apiece to lead the way in the back row defensively.
As a team, the Racers out-hit Southeastern .287 to .052 while also recording two more service aces (5-3). Lindsay led MSU with a pair of aces in the win.
The Racers struggled in their season opener against the Bobcats, hitting just .081 in the loss while Ohio hit .315 as a team. The Bobcats also out-blocked MSU 7-1 in the match.
Giustino led MSU with 12 kills in the match and was the only Racer in double digits. Brown chipped in with five kills while Holthaus had four. Fernandez had 17 digs to lead the way in the day’s first match while Ashley McBee tallied 17 assists.
The Racers return to action Saturday as they face host-Samford in a 3:30 p.m., match to close the invite.
BELMONT 3, ELON 0
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Belmont Volleyball (1-0) displayed its prowess on both sides of the ball in its season opener Friday afternoon at the Charlotte Invitational. The Bruins rolled to a 3-0 victory over first-time opponent Elon (1-1).
After going back and forth in the early points, BU called timeout early to slow a hot streak by Elon that put them ahead 9-5. After the brief break, the Bruins came storming back and pulled ahead by one point, 16-15, forcing the Phoenix to call their own timeout. Belmont continued to gather steam and add on the points. At the end of the scoring onslaught, BU was ahead 22-19. Kills by seniors Jessica Vestal (Concord, Calif.) and Brie Lewis (Stillwell, Kan.) helped secure the 25-22 win in the opening set.
Belmont wasted little time maintaining its momentum from the previous set in the second stanza, jumping out to a 4-1 lead. However, Elon dug in its heels and grabbed the lead, going up 11-8 before the Bruins called a timeout. The pause was all BU needed as it once again picked up steam down the stretch. After a flurry, Belmont had tied the set up 18-18 following a service ace by senior Ellie Ivancich (Naperville, Ill.). The Bruins refused to let up down the stretch, using aces by to lift them to the 25-20 win.
The Bruins once again jumped out to an early lead to start a set, pulling away 13-5 fueled by back-to-back service aces by senior Emma Price (Fort Mill, S.C.). The Phoenix called timeout but the Bruins would not relent, building a double digit lead that forced Elon to burn nearly consecutive timeouts. Belmont kept pushing, expanding its lead to 22-12. The Phoenix were only able to add four more points as BU cruised to its first win of the season, 3-0, with the 25-16 win.
Senior Arianna Person (Lenexa, Kan.) led all attackers with 15 kills, followed by Lewis with 10. Price led all setters with 31 assists. Price, Ivancich and junior Alexa Nichols (Walton, Ky.) each recorded a pair of service aces.
Belmont returns to action on Saturday morning for day two of the Charlotte Invitational. The Bruins take on host-UNC Charlotte beginning at 11 a.m. CT and will face off against Southern Utah at 2 p.m. CT.
TOWSON 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Jacksonville State volleyball team fell to a tough Towson squad, 3-0, in the season-opener Friday afternoon inside the Ramsay Center on the campus of Western Carolina.
The opening match of the 2017 season was a learning experience for several of the Gamecocks. Senior setter Jennifer Hart and redshirt-sophomore Kim Krutsinger returned to the floor after each missed most of 2016 with injury. Hart led the team with 17 assists, while Krutsinger had a kill on three attempts and added two blocks.
While some upperclassmen were shaking off the rust, a trio of freshmen made their collegiate debuts for the red and white on Friday. Among them, Fullerton, Calif., native Kaylie Milton made her first career start in the opener. Madison Cooler and Dani Steele made their debuts coming off the bench in the second set of the contest. Cooler had a strong showing, finishing tied for a team-best with eight kills and a .316 attack clip.
Every player in uniform saw action for the Gamecocks on Friday. Seniors Allyson Zuhlke and Charis Ludtke paced the offense with eight and seven kills, respectively. On defense, senior libero Hannah Kirk recorded 13 digs, while Rachel Perucki had 7 and Maddie Cloutier added five.
JSU started slow falling 25-13 in the opening frame, before making a much tougher battle in the second set. After tying the set at 7-7, the two schools went point-for-point until the Tigers pulled away from a 16-all deadlock with a 9-2 run to seal the win.
In the third, JSU fell behind early, but rallied late with a 7-2 run to pull within four, 23-19. The comeback would come up short as Towson took the set and the match with a 25-20 score.
For Towson, a team that went 24-9 a season ago, the Colonial Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year, Jocelyn Kuilan, led the way with 11 kills.
The Gamecocks continue play in the Catamount Classic on Saturday with a 10 a.m. local time (9 CT) match against Charleston Southern before taking on the tournament host, WCU, later in the day.
SIUE 3, TOLEDO 2
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - SIUE volleyball captured a five-set victory over Toledo in the opening match of the Fort Wayne Invitational Presented by Hyatt Place, defeating the Rockets 21-25, 25-15, 31-29, 21-25, 15-11.
SIUE continues play Saturday with two matches. The Cougars face host Fort Wayne in an 11 a.m. CT match followed by the finale against Quinnipiac at 3:30 p.m. CT.
The Cougars handed Interim Head Coach Kendall Paulus her first collegiate victory.
Joens recorded the final two kills of the match and led the Cougars with 18. That matched her career high set last season against UIC.
Three more Cougars piled on double-digit kills as the team finished with 69 for the match, more than in any match last season. Emily Harrison recorded 13. Ashley Witt came off the bench for 12. Sophomore middle blocker Kiana Fields set a career high with 10 kills in her first collegiate start.
It was the third straight time in the short series between the two schools that the match has gone to five sets. SIUE now leads the series 2-1.
The Cougars were matched up against a squad that finished with 17 blocks. Toledo's Saige Thomas led all hitters with 24 kills. Paulus said some adjustments during the match put Toledo out of sync at the right time.
SIUE finished with 10 blocks with four each from Joens and Fields.
Sophomore Samantha Knight and sophomore transfer Mallory Nicholson took care of the setting duties in the opener for the Cougars. Knight led SIUE with 39 assists, a career best.
SIUE's defense collected 90 digs with libero Katie Shashack leading the team with 18 followed by 17 from Jackie Scott.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, NC CENTRAL 0
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Tennessee Tech volleyball began its 2017 season on a high note, sweeping North Carolina Central in three sets (25-17, 25-13, 25-16) at its Hampton Inn Holly Springs Invitational opener Friday afternoon.
North Carolina Central, having lost earlier in the day to The Citadel, fell to an 0-2 record. Today’s match marked the Golden Eagles’ and Eagles’ first-ever meeting.
After overcoming some opening-match struggles early in the first set, Tech (1-0) went on to dominate NCCU offensively. The Golden Eagles posted a hitting percentage of .364, its highest since it hit .374 against Prairie View A&M on Sept. 13, 2014.
A big storyline resulting from today’s match turned out to be Taylor Houck, who made her official debut as a Golden Eagle after redshirting the 2016 season due to injury. She led Tech with 10 of its 41 team kills, totaled a .412 hitting percentage and had two service aces.
Outside hitter Shealene Little fell just shy of a double-double, collecting nine kills and eight digs and also assisting on a block. Setter Susie Jeziorowski picked up a career-high 31 assists and two service aces and helped out defensively with two assists on blocks. Allison Morrett totaled 11 digs at libero.
Tech concludes its appearance in the tournament with a double-header Saturday, taking on The Citadel at 12:30 p.m. CT and host Campbell at 4:30 p.m. CT.
FORDHAM 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1; SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, ALCORN STATE 0
NEW ORLEANS, La. – Southeast Missouri (1-1) volleyball split their first two matches of the 2017 season at the New Orleans Invitational Friday at the Human Performance Center.
The Redhawks fell in the first match to Fordham (1-0) 25-21, 25-9, 18-25, 25-19 but rebounded to defeat Alcorn State in straight sets 25-18, 25-13, 25-17.
Fordham 3, Southeast Missouri 1 (25-21, 25-9, 18-25, 25-19)
The Rams jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the first set but the Redhawks clawed their way back to make the score, 6-3. The first set featured seven tie scorelines and four lead changes.
Junior setter Keegan Fornoff rallied off three straight aces to bring the opening game to 20-20 but SEMO would only score one more point as the Rams took the first game 25-21. Fornoff ended the match with four aces from the service line.
The Redhawks only managed to earn nine points in the second set as Fordham extended their lead to 2-0 in the match with a 25-9 win.
In the third set, Yankus switched to sophomore Emily Boggetto at the libero position. Freshman Ally Dion started for SEMO at the back row position.
The third set was the most productive hitting-wise for Southeast. The team hit a .375 clip and converted on 76 percent of their side outs. Sophomore Mikayla Kuhlmann converted a huge kill to bring the score to 24-18 before SEMO finished the set 25-18.
Southeast fell in the fourth set 25-19 to lose their first match of the season.
Senior outside hitter Krissa Gearring led the team with nine kills and senior middle blocker Nzingha Clarke added seven kills.
Southeast Missouri 3, Alcorn State 0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-17)
In the second match of the day, the Redhawks faced the Alcorn State Lady Braves (0-2). Southeast took the opening set 25-18 over Alcorn State. The first set was deadlocked at 12-12 and 13-13 before SEMO took the set under control. The Lady Braves would only score five more points as Southeast pulled away to take the game.
The Redhawks battled past the Lady Braves in the second set thanks to a 5-0 rally that brought Southeast's lead to 15-5. Kuhlmann had two service aces and Haley Bilbruck added a kill and a dual block with Nzingha Clarke to punctuate the run. Bilbruck finished the match with five kills and Clarke added seven kills with four blocks. Southeast closed out the set 25-13.
Kuhlmann continued her dominance into the third set adding six kills to finish the second match with a team-high 11. She also added four blocks and four digs and accounted for 15.5 points.
Southeast led the whole third set and received two aces and two kills from junior outside hitter Madeline Grimm to seal the third set 25-17 to win the match.
The Redhawks finish the New Orleans Invitational tomorrow when they face tournament host, New Orleans, at 1 p.m. CT at the Human Performance Center.
PENN STATE 3, UT MARTIN 0
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team battled against the No. 6 team in the nation today but ultimately Penn State was too much for the Skyhawks in a 3-0 setback (13-25, 13-25, 8-25) in the WVU Invitational.
Freshman Kenzie Hinshaw tallied team-highs in assists (seven) and digs (seven) this afternoon for UT Martin, who also received seven digs from junior newcomer Brooke Gyori. Macy Reigelsperger came away with a team-best five kills while Kelly Lean added six assists for the Skyhawks.
Each of the first two sets featured five tie scores and four lead changes. The Nittany Lions secured the first point of the match but UT Martin came roaring back for three straight points, as Justine Walker (kill), Rachel Noffsinger (solo block) and Megan Fair (service ace) each contributed to give the Skyhawks a 3-1 lead. Penn State followed with four unanswered points but a Reigelsperger kill moments later pushed UT Martin back ahead by a 7-6 margin. However, the Nittany Lions came back with an 11-3 run and the Skyhawks would not come any closer than five points for the remainder of the first set.
Gyori was responsible for four digs in the opening set but Penn State would outhit UT Martin by a .346 to -.040 margin.
Reigelsperger slammed down three kills in the early phases of the second set, allowing the Skyhawks to go ahead by a 4-2 margin. The Nittany Lions nabbed a brief lead before three consecutive attack errors and yet another Reigelsperger kill tilted the score back in UT Martin’s favor at 8-6. Penn State then went on a 6-0 run to fuel a span where the Nittany Lions scored 10 of the next 11 points. Noffsinger collected a late kill but ultimately the Skyhawks could not recover.
UT Martin was paced by Reigelsperger in the second set, as the senior from Coldwater, Ohio hit an even .500 without an error in eight swings. The Skyhawks hit .150 as a team in the second set but Penn State was able to generate a .375 attack percentage in the stanza.
The Nittany Lions used the late momentum from the second set to score the first 15 points of the final set. Jemima Idemudia, Hayley Gray and Fair each compiled kills in the latter stages of the set but UT Martin could not dig itself out of the early hole.
The Skyhawks tallied nine digs in the third set but Penn State hit .464 with just three miscues on 28 attempts.
UT Martin will look for its first victory of the season on Saturday, Aug. 26 when it takes on host West Virginia (11:30 a.m. Central Standard Time) and Delaware (3:30 p.m. CST) on Day Two of the WVU Invitational.
GREEN BAY 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Eastern Illinois volleyball team squared off against Green Bay in the final game of the opening night of the EIU Panther Invitational. Eastern Illinois dropped a three-set match to Green Bay, losing by scores of 22-25, 18-25, and 22-25.
Tournament play will resume tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. with Green Bay facing Bradley. Eastern Illinois will play the 1 p.m. game against Memphis and will complete the tournament against Bradley at 7 p.m.
With the loss, Eastern Illinois drops to 0-1 on the season.
Green Bay led most of the first set with the Panthers fighting back to challenge the Phoenix lead, tying the match six times. Freshman Laurel Bailey led the charge for the Panthers with five first set kills. Maggie Runge had three of her team high seven blocks in the opening set.
In the second set Green Bay jumped out to a quick lead with the help of senior middle blocker Lydia Deweese who tallied 18 kills on the day. The Panthers would battle to keep it close but fell short 18-25.
EIU challenged in the third set taking a 15-10 lead following Green Bay attack error. The Panthers would push the lead to 19-16 on a kill by Katie Sommer. Green Bay answered with a 4-0 run eventually putting away the match 25-22.
Taylor Smith had 17 assists while Anne Hughes added 12 digs. Bailey led EIU with nine kills.
DENVER 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Tennessee State Tigers opened its season with a 3-0 loss to the Denver Pioneers (25-17, 25-22, 25-10) at the Hampton Inn and Suites Classic in TD Arena on the campus of College of Charleston. Friday marked the first match in Donika Sutton’s head coaching career for the Tennessee State Tigers.
Katora Roberts, senior middle blocker, led the team in kills (11). Senior libero Cherlie Adorno DeJesus led defense as the team recorded 47 digs. Setter Samantha Beltran dished out 24 assists and two kills. In her first match as a Tiger, freshman middle blocker recorded four kills and two digs.
In the first set, Freshman Maya Evans scored her first two kills of her college career in the first set against the Pioneers. Recording seven attack errors within the set caused Tennessee State to lose 25-17.
In the second set, Rachel Henderson put the Tigers on the board in the second set with a kill. The team fed off of the six service errors by Denver and put up 12 kills. After a hard-fought set, the Tigers fell 25-22.
After a 13-point run by the Pioneers and a Tiger timeout in the third set, Katora Roberts came back with two straight kills and a push to the backcourt to get the Tigers back in it. TSU closed the last set of the match falling 25-10 to the Pioneers.
AUSTIN PEAY 3, UMKC 0; AUSTIN PEAY 3, MARSHALL 1
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team got its 2017 season off to a strong start with victories against UMKC and Marshall in the Culvers Governors Challenge, Friday.
Austin Peay (2-0) shook the rust off in its season-opening match against UMKC, winning in three sets (25-20, 25-23, 25-16). The Govs offense started out slowly, posting just a .114 attack percentage in the opening set followed by a .182 mark in the second frame. However, a powerful 15-kill, .314 attack percentage powered APSU to a wire-to-wire win in the third set.
Senior Ashley Slay notched 10 kills in the opening match of 2017. Sophomore Jenna Panning surprised with an impressive nine-kill, .500 attack percentage outing. Freshman Brooke Moore had six kills and a team-best three service aces in her first collegiate match.
The night cap saw a multitude of Governors supply key moments in a come-from behind four-set (23-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-18) victory against Marshall. After losing the opening set, Austin Peay nearly saw Marshall rally from a 23-21 deficit to steal the second set.
However, the Govs stalled the Thundering Herds’ rally at 23-23 when Slay hammed home a kill to force set point. Junior Logan Carger secured the set with a block to tie the match, 1-1.
The third and fourth sets saw Austin Peay fend off Marshall rallies late in each frame. The Thundering Herd rallied from a 17-13 deficit in the third to force a 17-17 tie. But a junior Kaylee Taff kill was followed quickly by back-to-back service aces by redshirt junior Christina White to catapult the Govs to a 25-20 victory. In the fourth, Marshall got within two points late, 16-14, but committed back-to-back attack errors to hand the momentum back to Austin Peay.
Slay finished the Marshall contest with 20 kills – two shy of her career high – and also had two service aces. White added 18-kills, one off her career best, along with three service aces, 13 digs and two blocks. They led a group of seven different Govs with a kill in the win.
Junior Kristen Stucker notched 57 assists in the night cap win, and added two kills, two aces and two blocks. Sophomore Ginny Gerig had 22 digs and three service aces against the Thundering Herd.
Austin Peay resumes play in the Culvers Governors Challenge when it faces No. 19 Missouri in a 3 p.m. contest at the Dunn Center. The Tigers opened their Clarksville stay with wins against Marshall and Middle Tennessee.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 3, SAN DIEGO STATE 1
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Junior San Diego, California native Cassie Knutson racked up 16 kills to help lead the Colonels to a four set win over San Diego State in the first day of the Aztec Invitational.
After dropping the third set, 25-15, the Colonels (1-0, 0-0 OVC) came thundering back with a chip on their shoulder in the fourth and final set.
EKU came out swinging, hitting .348 in the set. The Aztecs pulled within three, 18-15, after much back-and-forth during the fourth set. Senior Nikki Drost then came up with a commanding kill followed by a service ace to extend the EKU lead to five and spark a 5-0 Colonel run, 23-15. Knutson came up with a kill of her own to bring the Colonels one point within finishing the match, 24-16. EKU only trailed one time during the set.
The first and second sets were both back-and-forth battles. The Aztecs found themselves in front 11-10 before catching a plague of errors. They committed a total of six throughout the set allowing the Colonels to pull ahead 23-20. A kill from Knutson followed by a service ace from Ciera Koons helped EKU claim the set.
In the second set both teams found themselves going point-for-point yet again. SDSU had the 9-8 advantage before Drost came up with a kill to begin an 8-4 run for the Colonels that ended in a kill from Celina Sanks, forcing the Aztecs to take a timeout, 16-11. EKU did not trail the remainder of the set.
As a team the Colonels hit .256 on the evening, complimented by a .433 percentage in the second set alone.
Sanks and Drost tallied 11 kills each while Rachel Woody notched 36 assists. Koons came up with seven blocks.
Indigo Thompson, SDSU, led all players with 44 assists.
The Colonels play two tomorrow. First is California State University, Northridge at 12 p.m. followed by Portland State at 8 p.m.