FRIDAY'S SCORES
SIUE 3, @UT Martin 0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-17)
Jacksonville State 3, @Tennessee State 0 (25-19, 25-15, 26-24)
Tennessee Tech 3, @Belmont 0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-21)
@Southeast Missouri 3, Eastern Illinois 0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-16)
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Jacksonville State volleyball struck early and often and eliminated what can be one of the more hostile environments in the Ohio Valley Conference, putting away Tennessee State in straight sets.
JSU secured its 10th win of the season and moved to 10-7 overall following its third-straight victory. The Gamecocks continue to hold a share of the conference lead, improving to 4-1 in conference play, while the Lady Tigers fell to 2-3.
Sophomore Lena Kindermann and redshirt-junior Sadie Anderson led the way offensively in double-digits with 13 and 10 kills each. Junior Kaylie Milton finished with nine, while senior Kaylee Frear added seven with a .500- hitting percentage. Frear also recorded one of JSU's five team blocks to notch her 399th of her career to tie Nicole Merget (2011-14) for third on JSU's Division I list.
Junior Lexie Libs dished 35 assists as the Gamecocks only needed 45 kills on the night to put away TSU. She matched freshman Erin Carmichael with a team-best 11 digs. The reigning OVC Setter of the Week also punctuated her night with three blocks, while freshman Taylor Pribyl turned in a pair of rejections.
An 8-0 run for the Gamecocks early in the opening set broke a 6-6 deadlock, allowing JSU to build a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Kindermann converted for five kills as Jax State maintained its comfortable margin in the second half for a 25-19 win. The second looked similar as JSU jumped out to a 5-1 advantage and continued to use TSU's mistakes to control the match. The Tigers cut the deficit to 18-14 midway through the frame, but the Gamecock finished strong on a 7-1 run for a 25-15 decision.
At the intermission the Gamecocks were hitting almost .300, while the Lady Tigers held an .052 team percentage.
The third set brought a much tighter battle than the previous two stanzas. The Lady Tigers opened with a 5-2 lead which the Gamecocks quickly erased with three-straight points. The two side continued to go point-for-point until a kill from Anderson broke a 19-all tie. TSU didn't go away, overcoming a late two-point gap to force another tie at 21, and again at 23.
TSU fought hard to extend the match, but big plays from Libs and Frear in the final points secured JSU's first road sweep over TSU since 2009.
Tennessee State was led by Khalia Jordan with eight kills while Julia Pierson had seven kills and a team-best 13 digs.
SIUE 3, UT MARTIN 0
MARTIN, Tenn. - SIUE has won their third straight Ohio Valley Conference game by defeating UT Martin 25-23, 25-16 and 25-17.
Rachel McDonald who ended the evening with nine kills and seven digs led the Cougars. Also for the team, Savannah Christian contributed seven kills to the team's win and Annie Ellis and Kiana Fields each added six kills. Fields ended the evening with an impressive .385 hitting percentage while also tallying three solo blocks.
Mallory Nicholson notched another double-double for the Cougars by recording 14 assists and 10 digs.
UT Martin was led by Logan Wallick with 12 kills while Hannah Phillips had a team-best 14 digs. Kenzie Hinshaw nearly had a double-double with 24 assists and nine digs.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (12-7, 4-1 OVC) swept Eastern Illinois (1-16, 0-5 OVC), 25-22, 25-16, 25-16, Friday night at Houck Field House to extend its Ohio Valley Conference win streak to three matches.
The sweep was the sixth for the Redhawks in 2019 and the second in OVC play.
Southeast utilized a balanced attack with Krista Berns and Laney Malloy leading the way with eight kills each. Annie Wehrheim added seven while Mikayla Kuhlmann had six and Maggie Adams registered five. SEMO connected at a .253 hitting clip in the 3-0 win.
The Panthers opened the match with a 6-2 lead in the first set that grew to 12-6. Southeast responded with an 8-1 run to pull ahead 14-13.
Back-to-back EIU errors pushed the edge to 16-14.
Berns then blasted a kill as Southeast distanced themselves from the Panthers, 21-19.
Bailey Chandler and Katie Sommer each hit kills to tie the set at 21-21 and prompt a SEMO timeout.
Out of the break, Kuhlmann notched a kill before a block assist from Claire Ochs and Adams brought on set point, 24-21.
Malloy then sealed the set with a rally stopper, 25-22.
In the second frame, Southeast jumped out to an 11-0 advantage that opened with an Ochs kill and concluded with an Ochs service ace.
Consecutive kills from Berns coupled with an ace by Emily Boggetto made the edge, 17-6.
Malloy chipped in a kill to bring the score to 21-10.
The Panthers came as close as 22-16 before Southeast closed out the set, 25-16.
SEMO grabbed the match with an identical 25-16 third and final set.
Like the opening frame, EIU extended its lead early to 8-3 before Southeast stormed back with five straight points that included a pair of service aces from Boggetto to knot the set at 8-8.
Three kills from Kuhlmann gave the Redhawks a four point cushion, 14-10, before a rally stopper from Wehrheim along with a service ace from Ally Dion made the scoreboard read, 19-13.
With the ace, Dion has now tied Jade Mortimer (2013-16) for the program record of 93 career service aces during the 25-point rally scoring era (2008-present).
Kills from Berns coupled with consecutive Boggetto service aces propelled the Redhawks to the 3-0 sweep with a 25-16 third set.
Boggetto registered a career high five service aces Friday including four in the final set. Southeast finished with nine and led the service battle on EIU, 9-4.
Ochs tallied a match high 30 assists with nine digs.
Tara Beilsmith paced the defense with 12 digs and Malloy added eight.
Sommer led the Panthers with seven kills.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, BELMONT 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A late rally was not enough to lift Belmont Volleyball over the hump on Friday evening to earn another Ohio Valley Conference victory. The Bruins (2-18, 1-4 OVC) fell to in-state rival Tennessee Tech (7-11, 3-2 OVC), 3-0, in the Curb Event Center.
The Bruins took an early lead in the first set, thanks to multiple kills by sophomore Taylor Floyd (Louisville, Ky.) before the Golden Eagles were able to knot the set, 9-9. Each surge BU made, Tennessee Tech kept pace through the midpoint of the set despite kills from junior Halee Van Poppel (Argyle, Texas) and sophomore Mary Catherine Ball (Hendersonville, N.C.). TTU hit the 20-point threshold first, pushing the Bruins to call for a huddle session. After the quick break, Belmont rallied and closed the scoring differential to just two points, 22-20. The Golden Eagles crept up to set point but the Bruins pushed back and made it a two point set once again, 24-22. However, TTU was able to collect the final point take the set, 25-22.
The start of the second stanza was a repeat of the first as Belmont once again grabbed an early lead, 5-3, behind kills by sophomore Kailee Bass (Aurora, Ill.), Floyd and Van Poppel. The Golden Eagles soon pulled ahead, 13-8, with the help of a 4-0 run. The sudden flurry saw BU call for a timeout to regroup. Belmont came out swinging and used a block by senior Huntir Bass (Mobile, Ala.) and Van Poppel to move within one point, 16-15. The sudden rally saw the Golden Eagles burn a timeout. The pause in the action was enough to help Tennessee Tech build momentum down the stretch as it went on to take the stanza, 25-18.
At the top of the third frame, the Bruins rolled off four straight points looking to get back on track. Tennessee Tech was able to pull within three, 9-6, but Belmont used back-to-back kills down the middle of the court from Huntir Bass to stay ahead. The Golden Eagles pressed in and were able to tie the score at 10, lifted by a 3-0 run. TTU built a three-point advantage and carried it through the midpoint of the set, eventually building it to as many as five, 21-16. Belmont dug in its heels and surged in the waning points, using a pair of kills by Floyd to close the gap to three, 23-20. With BU within striking distance, Tennessee Tech called for a timeout. Unfortunately, Belmont was unable to make up the distance, falling 25-21.
For the match, Floyd posted a match-high 18 kills. Classmates Carly Mason (Forsyth, Ill.) finished with 34 assists while Peyton Kelley (Normal, Ill.) recorded a match-high 19 digs.
Rachel Thomas led Tennnessee Tech with 14 kills while Ashley hand notched a double-double with 40 assist and a team best 16 digs. Taylor Dorsey added 11 kills in the win.