SATURDAY'S SCORES
Murray State 3, @Southeast Missouri 1 (27-29, 25-17, 25-22 25-20)
@Eastern Kentucky 3 Jacksonville State 1 (25-22, 20-25, 25-12, 25-20)
Tennessee Tech 3, @Morehead State 1 (25-17, 25-23, 18-25, 27-25)
Austin Peay 3, @UT Martin 0 (25-19, 25-21, 26-24)
@Eastern Illinois 3, Tennessee State 1 (25-15, 25-22, 23-25, 25-15)
@SIUE 3, Belmont 2 (25-14, 23-25, 25-16, 19-25, 15-10)
MURRAY STATE 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - After dropping a marathon first set, 29-27 Saturday, the Murray State volleyball team responded to win the next three sets, 25-17, 25-22 and 25-20 to defeat Southeast Missouri in four sets in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Rachel Giustino and Dacia Brown both recorded double-doubles in the victory as Brown had 13 kills and a career-best 16 digs while Giustino tallied a match-high 17 kills and also added 14 digs in the win. Katirah Johnson had a big match, recording 12 kills and hitting a match-best .556 while also recording four total blocks.
MSU (11-5, 3-1 OVC) hit .158 in the match and was led by Callie Anderton's career-high 46 assists. Anderton also added nine digs and a pair of aces in the win. SEMO (6-12, 1-3 OVC) hit .123 on the day.
In the back row, Alex Kaufmann led the way with 24 digs from her libero spot while Becca Fernandez chipped in with eight.
The Racers were out-blocked 18-9 in the win but had three more service aces (9-6) than the Redhawks and five fewer serving errors (11-6).
Senior Nzingha Clarke had a career day defensively, recording a career-best 11 total blocks with 10 assists and also led the team with 14 kills for her first double-double of the 2017 campaign. Haley Bilbruck notched a season-high 10 block assists and Krista Berns added a career-high seven total blocks. Krissa Gearring added 11 kills and a season-high 21 digs for her sixth double-double of the season.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 1
RICHMOND, Ky. - The front row dominated the defensive effort for the Eastern Kentucky University volleyball team, securing a four-set victory over Jacksonville State on Saturday afternoon at McBrayer Arena.
Eastern won by scores of 25-22, 20-25, 25-12, and 25-20.
EKU (5-13, 3-1 OVC) out-blocked JSU 14-to-8. Middle blocker Kaylin Johnson led all players with a career-high nine blocks, she set her previous high of five three times last season. Nikki Drost set a career-high seven blocks, while Ciera Koons and Celina Sanks chipped in four apiece.
The squads came out of the break with the match even at 1-1. EKU quickly opened the third stanza on a 5-0 run that came off of a kill from Sanks forcing an early JSU (14-8, 1-3 OVC) timeout. The Gamecocks then took 9-of-16 of the next points to draw within three, 12-9. But, a trio of kills, two from Sanks and one from Lauren Kolenik, sparked eight unanswered points from the Colonels, 20-9. Three kills from the Gamecocks cut into the lead, 21-12, and was the only threat they would make to a hot-hitting Eastern team. A block from Johnson sealed the set in favor of the Colonels, 25-12.
In set four EKU reached eight first, gaining the advantage when the teams switched sides. A kill from Sanks and back-to-back attack errors from the Gamecocks put the Colonels up five, 11-6. Jacksonville State called a timeout in an attempt to stifle Eastern and came out of it winning three of the next four points. JSU came within two, 14-12 after a kill from its own Allyson Zuhlke, but Drost came up with an answer of her own with a kill, then teamed up with Johnson to notch the block. After a final JSU timeout the Colonels would not back down, ending the set and the match on back-to-back kills from Sanks.
EKU did not hit a set under .200 today, shining in the third with a stout .429 hitting percentage. Jacksonville State came into today’s matchup averaging a .229 percentage, but the Colonels only allowed them to hit one set above .156.
Eastern also held JSU’s leading outside hitter, Allyson Zuhlke, who was averaging .310 to a .059 hitting percentage.
Zuhlke paced the Gamecocks with 13 kills while Jennifer Hart led all players with 37 assists.
Sanks hit a season-high 20 kills to lead all players and Cassie Knutson set a season-high 32 assists. Two other Colonels found themselves in double digits in kills: Drost (10) and Kolenik (12) while Maria Ferragonio also found herself in double-digits in assists with 22.
Chloe Rojas led all players with 21 digs.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, MOREHEAD STATE 1
MOREHEAD, Ky. - After dialing in a fourth-set comeback effort that fell just short, Morehead State volleyball (10-7, 1-3 Ohio Valley Conference) fell to Tennessee Tech (3-13, 1-3 OVC) by a final score of 3-2 on Saturday afternoon at Wetherby Gym.
The Eagles fell 25-17 in the opening set, but competed closely in a back-and-forth second set that ended in a 25-23 decision in favor of Tennessee Tech. It was after the break, however, that Morehead State regained momentum and began its second come-from-behind climb in as many matches.
Morehead State scored eight of the opening 10 points in the third, eventually holding on for a 25-18 victory. The Eagles carried that energy into the fourth set, stringing together two separate 4-0 runs. The two teams deadlocked at 24, then notched the score once again at 25.
However, Morehead State's ninth set in less than 24 hours proved to be too much. The Golden Eagles pulled away for a 27-25 victory, handing MSU its third loss in four matches.
Redshirt sophomore Danielle McCarson set a new season-high with 25 digs, complemented by three service aces. Freshman Lauren Rokey led the Eagles with 16 kills, while adding 15 digs of her own.
Tennessee Tech's Shealene Little led the team with 17 kills and 17 digs. Susie Jeziorowski also notched a double-double with 42 assists and 13 digs.
AUSTIN PEAY 3, UT MARTIN 0
MARTIN, Tenn. - The 2017 Austin Peay State University volleyball team became just the third in program history to record a 10-match win streak, reaching the mark with a three-set Ohio Valley Conference sweep (25-19, 25-21, 26-24) of UT Martin, Saturday, at Skyhawk Fieldhouse.
Senior Ashley Slay notched her 300th career block in the victory, becoming just the fifth Governors player to reach the milestone. She led Austin Peay (16-2, 3-0 OVC) with 15 kills, a .565 attack percentage and four blocks in the victory.
UT Martin (9-8, 3-1 OVC) had an opportunity to extend the match in the third when it led by three points, 22-19, late. But Austin Peay scored the next four points, including a pair of service aces by Ginny Gerig, to regain the lead, 23-22. The Skyhawks denied a pair of match points before Slay and sophomore Jenna Panning hit back-to-back kills to end the match.
Slay’s 15-kill outing led all hitters and paced an APSU attack that finished with 42 kills. Austin Peay added six aces and 10 blocks in the win.
Megan Fair led UT Martin with 12 kills and two blocks as the Skyhawks were held to 39 kills. The Skyhawks service game betrayed them with no aces while committing nine errors.
EASTERN ILLLIOIS 3, TENNESSEE STATE 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois volleyball played host to Tennessee State in an OVC conference matchup Saturday afternoon. The Panthers beat the Tigers winning a four-set match (25-15, 25-22, 23-25, and 25-15).
The Panthers showed aggressiveness early dominating the first set. Katie Sommer led the Panthers offense with three of her ten kills in the match. Anne Hughes helped keep the Panthers defense in check claiming six of her team-high 21 digs.
The Second set featured a more balanced matchup as Tennessee State put pressure on the EIU defense. The Panthers were able to hold off the roaring Tiger offense and claim the second set by a score of 25-22.
Tennessee State and EIU would total the most tie scores and lead changes in the third set of the match posting five ties and three lead changes. The Tigers hit for their best total of the match hitting for an average of .297 that would be able to spoil the Panthers sweep. Leading the Tigers offense on the day was Rachel Henderson who led the team with 21 kills on the day.
EIU would fire back in the fourth set beating the Tigers 25-15. The Panthers hit for their best average of the match hitting .464. The Panthers took a 6-0 run late in the set ignited by a Kylie Hayes service error and never looked back. Leading offensively in the set for the Panthers was Taylor Smith, Laurel Bailey, and Maggie Runge who all had three kills each.
Smith was able to claim her ninth double-double of the season and seventh consecutive double-double match finishing with 11 kills and a team-high 27 assists. Bailey led the Panthers in kills posting 12. Smith and Allie Hueston each totaled three blocks leading the Panthers defensively.
SIUE 3, BELMONT 2
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -SIUE volleyball evened its Ohio Valley Conference record to 2-2 and handed visiting Belmont its first conference loss Saturday at the Vadalabene Center.
The Cougars defeated Belmont 25-14, 23-25, 25-16, 19-25, 15-10. SIUE improved to 12-4 overall and 2-2 in the OVC while Belmont dropped to 8-7 overall and 3-1 in the OVC.
SIUE started on fire by leaping out to a 7-1 lead in the opening set, forcing the Bruins to take an early timeout. The Cougars would go on to hit .400 in the set led by five of Taylor Joens' team-leading 14 kills.
The second set, however, was about face for the Cougars. Despite Belmont continuing to struggle on offense, SIUE recorded 11 attack errors in the second set. Two SIUE attack errors ended the set.
SIUE reversed course back again in the third set, hitting .276 for the set. Dylynn Otte and Joens each had three kills in the set.
Belmont, which entered the match ranked 27th nationally in service aces per set, never found its rhythm behind the serving line. Brie Lewis had two service aces and Jessica Vestal added one, but the team combined for 17 service errors.
The Bruins pushed once more in the fourth set, collecting 12 kills and took advantage of nine SIUE attack errors.
That sent it to a fifth set where each team's offenses took over. Belmont's Arianna Person recorded five of her match-high 18 kills in the fifth set. SIUE, which raced out to a 6-1 lead in the set, used a balanced approach with three kills from Joens and three more from Ashley Witt, who finished with 11 overall.
Samantha Knight's early serving, including her only service ace of the match, provided the eventual margin of victory.
As a team, SIUE hit .156 with 49 kills. Belmont hit .097 as a team with 46 kills.