FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 3, Eastern Illinois 0 (25-15, 25-9, 25-19)
SIUE 3, @Eastern Kentucky 0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-20)
Southeast Missouri 3, @Tennessee State 0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-18)
UT Martin 3, @Belmont 0 (28-26, 25-16, 25-18)
@Jacksonville State 3, Murray State 1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-21, 25-19)
@Tennessee Tech 3, Austin Peay 1 (22-25, 25-15, 25-16, 25-19)
MOREHEAD STATE 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State swept Eastern Illinois Friday night. The Eagles (16-6, 7-2 OVC) downed the Panthers (2-19, 1-8 OVC) by scores of 25-15, 25-9, and 25-19.
In the straight-set victory, Morehead State's defense permitted Eastern Illinois to hit .094, digging up 65 Panther attacks on the evening. The Eagles' 65 digs are the most in a three-set match this season as the team averaged a season-best 21.67 digs per set. Sophomore libero Allison Whitten dug up a season-high 21 balls, averaging 7.0 scoops per set to pace the Eagle backline while sophomore defensive specialist Olivia Montelisciani who dug up 10 balls joined her in double-figures.
Offensively, the Eagles recorded a .324 hitting percentage, committing just 10 errors on 111 swings while collecting 46 team kills. Leading Morehead State's attacking unit, junior outside hitter Olivia Lohmeier led the way with a match-high 13 kills as she was the lone player in double-figures. Behind Lohmeier on the scoresheet were junior outside hitter Lauren Rokey (nine), sophomore middle blocker Hannah Keating (seven), sophomore middle blocker Mia Swearingen (six), and redshirt junior right-side hitter Liz Allen (five).
Orchestrating the offense, setters, freshman Bridget Bessler and redshirt junior Chandler Clark, conducted the Eagle offense to a .324 hitting percentage, the third-highest for the team this season. Bessler collected 27 assists in two sets of work while Clark added 10 in a set and some change as the team totaled 44 assists on 46 kills.
Morehead State also continued to press the serving game, collecting five service aces. Montelisciani and Whitten pocketed a pair of aces apiece while redshirt sophomore defensive specialist Taylor Hodges added another.
Maggie Runge led Eastern Illinois with six kills while Sarah Paluch had a team-best 14 digs.
SIUE 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0
RICHMOND, Ky. - The SIUE volleyball team swept the Colonels of Eastern Kentucky 3-0, in an Ohio Valley Conference match on Friday. The Cougars defeated the Colonels by scores of 25-18, 25-22 and 25-10.
Rachel McDonald notched a double-double, her tenth on the season, by totaling 10 kills and 11 digs.
The Cougars out blocked and out hit the Colonels in terms of percentages. The team ended the evening with eight blocks, while hitting an even .200.
In addition to McDonald's 10 kills, Hope Everett contributed nine while Annie Ellis and Savannah Christian each added five.
Defensively for the team, Ellis and Christian led the team in blocks with five each.
Eastern Kentucky freshman Adria Hartley led the way for the Colonels with a match-best 10 kills. Kaylin Johnson chipped in nine kills of her own.
UT MARTIN 3, BELMONT 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team began its brief two-match road trip on a positive note, besting Ohio Valley Conference rival Belmont in three sets (28-26, 25-16, 25-18) this evening.
Once again, the Skyhawk offense operated smoothly tonight as UT Martin hit .351 with 45 kills. Five different Skyhawks accounted for between seven and 10 kills, led by Logan Wallick’s team-best 10. Karen Scanlon delivered nine kills on a .600 attack percentage (zero kills in 15 swings) while Gintare Mackeviciute and Addison Conley each secured seven kills.
Setter Kenzie Hinshaw orchestrated UT Martin’s attack with 34 assists, seven kills (against zero errors), seven digs and three blocks. Mackeviciute chipped in a match-best six blocks while Lucy Kaufman equaled a match-high with 11 digs.
The first set required 19 tie scores and nine lead changes before the Skyhawks (8-16, 4-5 OVC) came away with the win behind an offense that hit .500 with only one miscue. A Hannah Phillips service ace completed a 4-0 UT Martin run and made the score 8-6 in favor of the Skyhawks. The Bruins scored five out of six points during one stretch before a kill from Justine Walker provided UT Martin with a 19-18 advantage. The Skyhawks ended the set on a 7-4 surge behind a trio of Scanlon kills down the stretch.
UT Martin seized control midway through the second set to take a 2-0 lead in the match. Three of the Skyhawks’ first seven points came via Hinshaw kills before UT Martin unreeled six unanswered points to go on top by a 19-10 margin. Yet another Hinshaw kill ignited the run while back-to-back kills by Conley concluded the surge. The closest Belmont would get the rest of the way was five points (21-16) as the Skyhawks closed out the stanza on a 4-0 run – including back-to-back kills by Wallick.
The third set played out similarly for UT Martin, as another extended run in the middle stages heavily aided the Skyhawks to victory. Scanlon earned a pair of early kills as UT Martin led 8-5 early. The Bruins briefly held an 11-10 advantage but 12 of the next 15 points went the Skyhawks’ way. That stretch included three blocks and a kill from Mackeviciute as well as a pair of Conley kills. UT Martin clinched match point after a block assist out of Mackeviciute and Hinshaw.
Halee Van Poppel led the Bruins with a double double of 13 kills and 11 digs, with Mary Catherine Ball adding 11 kills and Taylor Floyd coming up with 10 kills for Belmont's attack. Setters Akia Warrior and Carly Mason led Belmont with 18 assists each.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, AUSTIN PEAY 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Freshman outside hitter Tegan Seyring finished with a career-high 15 kills but Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team dropped a four-set (25-22, 15-25, 16-25, 19-25) Ohio Valley Conference decision to Tennessee Tech, Friday night, at the Eblen Center.
Austin Peay (7-16, 5-4 OVC) trailed early in each of the four sets, but found a way back in the opening frame. The Govs trailed 13-9 in the early going but a 6-1 run gave them the lead at 15-14. Austin Peay took the lead for good with a second 6-1 run to take a 20-16 lead it would not relinquish.
Tennessee Tech (10-12, 6-3 OVC) would use sizable runs to hold off the Govs in each of the remaining three sets. In the second, APSU was within a point at 11-10, but TTU scored 14 of the final 19 points to win the frame. Austin Peay was within three points at 16-13 in the third, but against Tennessee Tech closed with a 9-3 run to claim the set. In the final frame, the Govs were again three points away from tying the set at 19-16, but six of the final nine points went to the Golden Eagles to clinch the match.
Seyring’s 15-kill performance paced the Governors, as did her .211 attack percentage. Junior outside hitter Brooke Moore notched her season’s 12th double-double with a 14-kill, 15-dig outing.
Ali Verzani led all hitters with a 21-kill outing that saw her also post four blocks. Taylor Dorsey was the big performer at the net, her nine-block night pacing the Golden Eagles 14-block effort.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (15-8, 7-2 OVC) extended its win streak to three with a 25-13, 25-17, 25-18, sweep of Tennessee State (9-13, 2-7 OVC) Friday evening at Kean Hall.
The win marked the third straight sweep for Southeast and ninth in 2019. The Redhawks have swept five of their nine Ohio Valley Conference matches this season.
Laney Malloy led the offense with a double-double performance of 15 kills and 11 digs on a .333 hitting percentage. The outing marked her 12th double-double this season and 23rd in her career.
Annie Wehrheim added eight kills while Maggie Adams and Mikayla Kuhlmann each notched six.
Southeast hit at a .306 clip behind a .379 opening set victory, 25-13.
The Redhawks held the Tigers at bay with 25-17, 25-18, second and third sets.
Claire Ochs dished out 29 assists and had nine digs.
Tara Beilsmith led the defense with 15 digs and a service ace.
Southeast led the service ace ratio, 3-1, as Krista Berns and Emily Boggetto each added aces along with Beilsmith.
Julia Pierson led Tennessee State with 12 kills and 10 digs.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, MURRAY STATE 1
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Senior Shayla Schmidt had a career night and the Jacksonville State volleyball team grabbed a crucial home match over defending Ohio Valley Conference tournament champion Murray State in four sets.
The Gamecocks (13-8, 7-2 OVC) are off to their best conference start since the historic 2009 season that saw Jax State sweep the league titles and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Racers (12-9, 6-3 OVC) drop from the four-way tie for first with the loss, which marks MSU's second-straight setback at The Pete in as many visits.
Schmidt put away a career-high 12 kills as one of four Gamecocks in double figures. Sophomore Lena Kindermann led with 15 kills, accompanied by senior Kaylee Frear with 12 and Kaylie Milton with 11. Junior setter Lexie Libs fed her hitters with 48 assists in a four-set match for a strong 12.0 assist-per-set average. Libs and Milton both posted double-doubles with 10 digs, while freshman Erin Carmichael had a team-high 14. At the net, Schmidt had five blocks followed by Kindermann with three.
The Racers moved out to a 7-3 lead early in the first and maintained that advantage to 15-11. Down 17-14, redshirt-junior Sadie Anderson put away a big kill to spark an 11-2 run for the Gamecocks to storm back late and win the opening stanza, 25-19.
JSU carried the momentum into the second set to double-up MSU, 16-8, out of the gate but the Racers showed their poise with a steady climb back. A service error by the Gamecocks brought MSU back even at 20-20 and the visitors would claim their first lead at 22-21 on their way to tying the match at 1-1 with a 25-23 victory.
Following the intermission, JSU found itself down 14-9 in the third before a kill by Kindermann turned things around. Schmidt pulled JSU even at 16-16 with a kill, and gave the Red and White the lead with one of her two aces on the night. Tied again at 20-all, a series of MSU errors led to a 5-1 finishing run for JSU capped by Libs set-winning ace.
The Gamecocks slowly pulled away in the fourth from an 11-8 lead to 18-13 en route to securing the 25-19 win.
Rachel Giustino led the Racers with 16 kills while Kolby McClelland and Rachel Holthaus each chipped in with 13. Alysha Smith had a solid match as well as she hit .353 with eight kills and a block.