FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Belmont 3, Morehead State 0 (25-23, 25-17, 26-24)
Eastern Kentucky 3, @Tennessee State 1 (25-16, 16-25, 27-25, 25-14)
@UT Martin 3, Tennessee Tech 1 (25-20, 27-29, 25-23, 25-18)
@Austin Peay 3, SIUE 2 (25-19, 24-26, 25-21, 17-25, 19-17)
@Murray State 3, Eastern Illinois 1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-23)
BELMONT 3, MOREHEAD STATE 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - After the teams felt each other out over the first few points, Belmont surged and used a 5-0 run, capped with a service ace by senior Emily Richards (Penfield, N.Y.) to take a 15-14 lead in the opening set. The Eagles were able to knot the score 18-18 before BU began to pull ahead down the stretch. Morehead State knotted the set again, this time at 22-22 but kills by senior Arianna Person (Lenexa, Kan.) and freshman Mackenzie LePage (Franklin, Tenn.) sealed the set, 25-23.
BU carried its surging momentum into the second frame, rolling off the first three points of the set unanswered. The teams slipped into a back and forth battle before the Bruins pulled away again by the midpoint of the set. Senior Ellie Ivancich (Naperville, Ill.) unleashed a flurry of service aces to put Belmont ahead, 13-7, and forced the Eagles to burn a timeout. However, with the significant advantage, the Bruins did not look back. Morehead State was only able to inch to within six, 22-16, before Belmont powered through to take the set, 25-17.
Morehead State got an early jump on BU to start the third stanza, taking a 7-2 lead behind a 5-0 run. BU used a timeout to regroup and quickly took it right back to the Eagles. Belmont used its own 7-2 rally to grab the lead, 17-12, putting MSU on its heels. Even after a timeout, Morehead State seemed unable to find an answer for the streaking Bruins. The Eagles would only be allowed to close the gap to five points, 20-15, as Belmont saw its point tally increase, thanks to kills coming from senior Brie Lewis (Stillwell, Kan.), LePage, and service aces from junior Haley Sullivan (Lemont, Ill.). MSU made one final push to force an extra set, using a 5-0 run to make it a one-point set, 23-22. However, the Bruins kept their wits about them with match point in sight and used a kill junior Alexa Nichols (Walton, Ky.) to reach the edge of victory. A service ace by Lewis, her lone one of the night, sealed the 26-24 set win.
Graduate student Jessica Vestal (Concord, Calif.) led all attackers with 12 kills, one shy of her season best, while Lewis notched 10 kills in the win. Freshman Akia Warrior (Fort Worth, Texas) finished with a match and career-high 36 assists. Senior Ellie Ivancich (Naperville, Ill.) set a new career high with a whopping five service aces. Ivancich and Richards each recorded nine digs.
Freshman outside hitter Lauren Rokey paced the Eagle offense with 10 kills while hitting .269. Junior middle blocker Jessie Wachtman pounded in eight kills and did not commit an error for a .636 efficiency. Libero Danielle McCarson totaled 12 of the team's 38 digs.
MURRAY STATE 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State Racers volleyball squad opened Ohio Valley Conference play as three-time defending champion and overcame a 1-0 deficit in claiming a 3-1 victory over the Eastern Illinois Panthers in Racer Arena in Murray, Kentucky.
In the process, the Racers (9-4, 1-0 OVC) extended their home win streak to 26 in a row before they welcome the SIUE Cougars into Racer Arena Saturday for a 1 p.m. match.
After losing a 20-13 lead in the first set and dropping the opening stanza to the Panthers 25-20, the Racers stormed back and took the next three sets 25-20, 25-18 and 25-22. In the final three set wins, the Racers only trailed once when it was 1-0 EIU in set two.
OVC kills leader Rachel Giustino led the Racers with 21 on the day, while the Racers got 11 from Dacia Brown and 10 from Olivia Chatman. Courtney Radle came off the bench and hit .538 when she converted 7-of-13 attempts. Alex Kaufmann led the Racers with a team-high 19 digs, while Becca Fernandez added 13 and Brown added 11.
Laurel Bailey paced the Panthers with 13 kills while Taylor Smith recorded 11 kills to gow ith 21 assist. Maria Brown added 10 kills. Anne Hughes recorded at team-high 10 digs.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 3, TENNESSEE STATE 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Great play both offensively and defensively helped guide the Eastern Kentucky University volleyball team back to the win column with a 3-1 victory over Tennessee State to open conference play on Friday night at TSU.
EKU won by scores of 25-16, 16-25, 27-25 and 25-14.
The squads came into set three even at one set apiece. But, EKU came out of the locker room hot, opening the set on a 7-2 run that began with a kill from Cassie Knutson. After a pair of kills and service aces from Celina Sanks and Ciera Koons the Colonels opened the score, 8-3. EKU never trailed through the set but the Tigers made many attempts to take the lead, tying the score four times, the final being at 25-25. Sanks again came down with a commanding kill, coupled with an attack error from TSU's Samantha Beltran to set the tone for the fourth set and give Eastern Kentucky a 2-1 advantage.
EKU made quick work of the Tigers in set four. The teams exchanged points to begin the set with neither team having clear control. Then middle blocker Kaylin Johnson notched a kill, 16-11, to begin a 6-1 Colonel rally that ended with a monster block from Sanks and Koons, 22-12. Tennessee State was able to add two more points to its score, but were unable to fend off EKU's hitters, sealing the set and match 25-14.
The team hit a stellar .375 in set four compared to TSU's .032.
In set one the Colonels found themselves knotted with the Tigers, 5-5, when junior Knutson put a ball down to spark a 9-2 run that ended with a kill from freshman Lauren Kolenik, moving the score 14-7. The deficit proved to be insurmountable for TSU, allowing the Colonels to take set one, 25-16.
The Colonels came into set two down a starter and seemed to have difficulty finding a groove, falling into a 7-1 hole immediately. The trend remained for the set, breathing new life into the Tigers heading into set three.
The all-time record between the teams moves to 53-11 in favor of the Colonels.
Knutson tied to lead all players with 15 kills, coupled with 10 digs for a double-double. Sanks also notched one of her own with 14 kills and 10 digs. Rachel Woody led all players with 42 digs, while junior libero Chloe Rojas led all players with 23 digs. Koons led all players with six blocks.
Kolenik tallied a career-high six kills.
EKU hit .238 on the night versus Tennessee State's .177.
The Colonels also topped the Tigers in four other categories: kills (53-46), assists (49-39), service aces (8-2) and digs (64-59).
Tennessee State was led by Julia Pierson with 15 kills. Rachel Henderson had 13 kills while Katora Roberts added 11. Samantha Beltran recorded a double-double with 32 assists and 16 digs.
TSU falls to 4-10 on the season, 0-1 in league action, while EKU improves to 3-12, 1-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference.
AUSTIN PEAY 3, SIUE 2
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn.- Redshirt junior Christina White posted 17 kills as Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team eked out a five-set Ohio Valley Conference victory (25-19, 24-26, 25-21, 17-25, 19-17) against SIUE, Friday night at the Dunn Center.
Austin Peay (12-2, 1-0 OVC) had to fend off a pair of match points in the fifth set with freshman Brooke Moore supplying a kill and an SIUE error helping to extend the match. White followed the SIUE error with a kill to give the Govs control with a match point opportunity at 16-15.
SIUE (10-3, 0-1 OVC) staved off a pair of match points as Jackie Scott delivered a pair of kills. But Austin Peay forced a SIUE attack error to get a third chance at 18-17 and junior Kristen Stucker ended the match with a service ace for the 19-17 win.
The matchup of the OVC’s top middle blockers – Austin Peay’s Ashley Slay and SIUE’s Taylor Joens – was essentially fought to a draw with Slay 14 kills and a .149 attack percentage while Joens had 13 kills and a .216 attack percentage.
Instead, it was special teams play that decided the match with Austin Peay receiving credit for nine service aces while SIUE finished with two aces. The Govs also held a 10-8 advantage in blocks. White led the Govs with three service aces while chipping in on two blocks.
White posted her season’s sixth double-double with the team-leading 17 kills and 16 digs. Slay added a team-best five blocks while senior Allie O’Reilly had a team-best 24 digs.
Four SIUE hitters finished with double-digit kills, Jackie Scott leading the way with 14 kills. Joens, Emily Harrison and Ashley Witt each had 13 kills.
UT MARTIN 3, TENNESSEE TECH 1
MARTIN, Tenn. - UT Martin defeated visting Tennessee Tech in four sets (25-20, 29-27, 25-23, 25-18) on Friday night. The Skyhawks improved to 2-0 in OVC and 8-7 overall while Tennesee Tech dropped to 2-12 overall and 0-2 in league action.
Megan Fair led the Skyhawks with 18 kills and 18 digs while Jemima Idemudia had 16 kills. Hannah Phillips added 10 kills. Kenzie Hinshaw notched a double-double with 24 assists and 11 digs.
Tennessee Tech's Shealena Little recorded a team-high 16 kills to go with 14 digs. Rachel Thomas and Taylor Houck each added 10 kills on the night. Kirsten Brugere led the team with 22 digs. Susie Jeziorowski also recorded a double-double with 41 assists and 18 digs.