SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Kentucky 3, Belmont 0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-15)
Austin Peay 3, @Eastern Illinois 0 (26-24, 26-24, 25-21)
@Morehead State 3, Tennessee State 0 (25-18, 25-11, 25-18)
Murray State 3, @SIUE 0 (25-23, 25-18, 27-25)
@Tennessee Tech 3, Southeast Missouri 1 (13-25, 25-15, 27-25, 25-18)
UT Martin 3, @Jacksonville State 1 (25-21, 16-25, 26-24, 25-20)
EASTERN KENTUCKY 3, BELMONT 0
RICHMOND, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University volleyball team brought out the brooms on Saturday against Belmont University in McBrayer Arena.
The Colonels won in straight sets, 26-24, 25-19 and 25-15.
Freshman Raegan Alexander posted a career-high 40 assists and six digs on the contest. Abby Noll posted 15 kills and nine digs. Kaylin Johnson chipped in 11 kills of her own.
Set one was a back and forth affair the entire way. The two teams traded points, leading to 13 ties in the opening set. Eastern took a 24-21 lead after a Belmont attack error, but the Bruins did not go down without a fight. The Bruins scored the next three points to tie the set at 24-24, but back-to-back kills by Johnson ended the set 26-24.
Eastern used a fast start in the second stanza and jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after a kill by Katelynn Caserma-Kloeble. Alexander continued the Colonel success in the second set, giving EKU a 14-9 lead after a kill. The Bruins did not go down without a fight as they stormed back to take a 16-14 lead after an attack error by Eastern. EKU responded with 11 of the next 14 points capped off by a Noll service ace to take the set 25-19.
After a service ace by Sydney Schoen tied the set at 5-5, Eastern scored five of the next six points to take an 11-6 lead and did not look back. Eastern jumped out to a seven-point lead, 17-10, after back-to-back kills by Jovana Bulatovic and Johnson. EKU rolled to take the final set and completed the sweep 25-15.
Mackenzie Harless paced the Bruins offense with nine kills.
AUSTIN PEAY 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Behind Brooke Moore's 17-kill performance, Austin Peay State University's volleyball team completed an unbeaten opening weekend in Ohio Valley Conference play, defeating Eastern Illinois in three sets (26-24, 26-24, 25-21), Saturday, at Lantz Arena.
Back on the court just 16 hours and 120 miles after opening OVC play at SIUE, Friday, Austin Peay (4-12, 2-0 OVC) showed early signs of travel lag as Eastern Illinois forced overtime in each of the first two sets. The Govs fended off three set points in the first set to win the frame. In the second, the Panthers returned the favor by fending off four set points, but the Govs won the final two points to take a 2-0 lead. Austin Peay pulled away in the third set, winning in wire-to-wire fashion to claim the match.
Moore opened the match with seven kills in the opening frame and finished with a match-best 17 kills and a .245 attack percentage. Jenna Panning chipped in 10 kills as the Govs posted 40 kills in the three-set match.
Ireland Hieb led the Panthers with 12 kills and a .226 attack percentage. EIU recorded 44 kills at .188 attack percentage.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Picking up where it left off last night, Morehead State volleyball improved to 2-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play with a straight-set victory over Tennessee State Saturday afternoon. The Eagles (11-3, 2-0 OVC) took the match, sweeping the Tigers (8-7, 1-1) by scores of 25-18, 25-11, and 25-18.
The victory improves Morehead State to 8-0 at home on the season. The start marks the best start for the Eagles on their home floor since 2001.
For the 26th-straight match, junior outside hitter Olivia Lohmeier recorded double-figure kills, collecting a match-best 17. The total also secured Lohmeier her eighth match this season recording 15 or more kills, a figure that leads all Eagle attackers. Fellow junior outside hitter Lauren Rokey nearly joined Lohmeier with double-digit kills, adding nine.
Sophomore middle blocker Mia Swearingen and freshman right-side hitter Abby Hulsman tallied five kills apiece while sophomore middle blocker Hannah Keating (four), redshirt junior right-side hitter Liz Allen (two), and freshman setter Bridget Bessler (two) rounded out the box score. For the match, Morehead State registered 44 kills, hitting .261 as a team. Bessler added 35 assists, averaging 11.67 assists per set.
Defensively, the Eagles collected 45 digs with sophomore libero Allison Whitten leading the team with 15 digs. Bessler scooped seven balls while redshirt sophomore defensive specialist Taylor Hodges added six digs as 11 players dug up balls for Morehead State.
Morehead State turned away five shots at the net as Lohmeier and Swearingen deterred three apiece with Keating (two) and Rokey (one) also collecting blocks. The Eagles also added five service aces in the match. Redshirt senior defensive specialist Danielle McCarson led Morehead State, landing two aces.
Elsewhere, Morehead State took advantage of eight ball-handling and three service errors by Tennessee State, picking up a combined 11 points.
For Tennessee State, sophomore libero Gina Rivera-Ortiz dug up a match-best 20 balls while freshman outside hitter Jasmine Fuqua added 10 digs. Offensively, senior outside hitter Julia Pierson and junior middle blocker Aniya Williams tallied eight kills apiece to lead the Tigers.
MURRAY STATE 3, SIUE 0
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - It was a perfect weekend for the Murray State volleyball team as the Racers swept SIU Edwardsville on the road, Saturday afternoon, to move to 2-0 in the young OVC season.
Rachel Giustino led the Racers with 14 kills followed by Kolby McClelland with eight. Ashley McBee dished out 34 assists and had six kills on nine swings while Becca Fernandez led a pack of four Racers with double-digit digs as she racked up 27 in just the three sets.
Giustino and McBee also had double-digit digs for double-doubles and were joined by Alex Kaufmann who had 11 as the Racers tallied 76 digs in the match.
SIUE started the match strong in the first set as they jumped out to a 7-2 lead but a 6-0 run by the Racers put them in front, 8-7. The set went back-and-forth until the Cougars took 23-21 lead, but with their backs against the wall, McBee notched a kill to get within one before Giustino registered three straight kills to take the set, 25-23.
After winning the last four points of the first set, the Racers won the first four points of the second set to jump out to a quick lead. The momentum in the set changed multiple times in the second set as SIUE went on a 7-1 run to take the lead before the Racers answered with a 6-1 run later in the set to take a 17-13 lead.
However, the Cougars responded once more with a 5-0 run to retake an 18-17 lead. Despite the ref looking at Coach Schwepker expecting a timeout to be called, he trusted his players on the court and they responded with an 8-0 run to win the set, highlighted by great serving from Kaufmann.
In the third set, SIUE built a six-point lead at 17-11, but a 5-1 run got the Racers back in the set. After alternating points, the Racers went on a 4-0 run to take a 23-22 lead. However, two straight points by SIUE gave them set point but a kill by McBee tied the set at 24.
After trading points, a service error by SIUE gave the Racers match point and on match point, Alysha Smith and McBee came up clutch as they teamed up to block Savannah Christian for the Racers’ first and only block of the match, giving Murray State a 27-25 set win and a sweep.
Leading the way for the Cougars were Annie Ellis and Hope Everett who both ended the day with nine kills. Also for the team, Rachel McDonald added 7 kills to the team's 39 on the day. Sarah Armendariz notched her second double-double of the season by totaling 13 assists and 10 digs.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Golden Eagle volleyball earned a dominant four-set victory in their OVC home opener as they defeated the Southeast Missouri Redhawks 3-1, on Saturday at the Hooper Eblen Center.
The Golden Eagles (5-10, 1-1 OVC) outhit the SEMO (9-7, 1-1 OVC) for a combined .116 to .107, while also leading the Redhawks in kills 56 to 40. Southeast Missouri took the opening frame in the contest, before the Golden Eagles would take three-straight to overpower the Redhawks.
Junior Ali Verzani had a monster afternoon as she tallied a career-high 23 kills and her seventh double-double of the season with 12 digs. Freshman Carly Skrabak also had a career day as she recorded a career-high 32 digs in the win. Sophomore Taylor Dorsey shined both offensively and defensively for the Golden Eagles, tallying 10 kills and tying a career-high eight blocks. Sophomore Ashley Hand led the Golden Eagles with 41 assists in the contest.
Southeast Missouri opened the match on a 4-1 run to take an early lead in the first set. The Golden Eagles responded with a 5-0 run to take their first lead of the contest, 6-4. Following a Tech 7-5 lead, SEMO would go on an 11-0 run to take a 16-7 lead. The Golden Eagles would cut the deficit back to seven, 17-10, but Southeast Missouri closed the set on an 8-3 run to take the opening frame, 25-13.
Laney Malloy led the Redhawks offense with 14 kills and 10 digs for her 20th career double-double. Claire Ochs also registered a double-double of 34 assists and 15 digs.
Tech led early in the second on a 4-1 run before the Redhawks would bring things even at four. Following a 6-6 tie, the Golden Eagles extended their lead to four, 12-8, on a 6-2 run, capped by a pair of kills from senior Rachel Thomas. The Redhawks would get one back, 13-10, but Tech followed with six unanswered points to take a commanding nine-point lead, 19-10. Tech would outscore the Redhawks 6-5 through the end of the set to even the match at one, 25-15.
The Golden Eagles maintain the momentum as they take a five-point lead to open the third and spark a SEMO timeout. Southeast Missouri would produce a 9-4 run to bring things even at 12. After battling to a 16-16 tie, SEMO tallied four-straight points to take their largest lead of the set, 20-16. Both teams would score three to bring things to a 23-19 Redhawks lead. However, the Golden Eagles locked in to score four-straight of their own and even the match at 23 all. The Redhawks would hold set-point at 24 and 25, but a pair of kills from freshman Morgan Gish and a SEMO attack error would give Tech the 2-1 lead, 27-25.
The Golden Eagles opened the fourth set with five unanswered points, 5-0. A 5-1 Redhawks run would bring the set back within one, 6-5, and SEMO would eventually bring the set even at nine. Things would remain even through 12-12, but a 3-0 Tech run would cause the Redhawks to call another timeout, 15-12. Tech would hold a two-point advantage through 16-14, before outscoring the Redhawks 9-4 through the remainder of the set and close out the four-set victory, 25-18.
UT MARTIN 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 1
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Jacksonville State volleyball team saw a lot of promise early slip away as UT Martin claimed a 3-1 win at Pete Mathews Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
JSU (7-7, 1-1 Ohio Valley Conference) failed to close out late leads in the first and third sets as the Skyhawks (5-11, 1-1 OVC) picked up their first win in Jacksonville since 2011.
Four UT Martin players reached double-digits in kills with Jessica Reynolds leading the way with 13. Gintare Mackeviciute, Logan Wallick and Karen Scanlon each had 12. Scanlon added 10 digs for the double-double. Jamie Rys led the Skyhawks with 25 digs. Kenzie Hinshaw dished out 50 assists to go with 10 digs and helped UT Martin hit .301 as a team.
Sophomore Lena Kindermann finished one-shy of her career-high with 20 kills, adding to her league-best hitting mark with a .341 average. The Gamecocks didn't struggle offensively as Kaylee Frear (12), Kaylie Milton (11) and Lexie Libs (10) all reached double figures. It was a career-high for Libs who converted on 10 of her 15 quick attacks over the net. Along with her 44 assists, she finished just three digs shy of a rare triple-double with seven.
Freshman Erin Carmichael improved her young career mark with 26 digs to lead Dani Steele (10) and Milton (10). While JSU continued to add to its numbers, so did the Skyhawks, who JSU was unable to slow down. UTM had four players with 12-or-more kills, hitting .303 as a team behind Kenzie Hinshaw's 50 assists.
The opening frame featured seven lead changes as the two side went back-and-forth early. The Gamecocks edged out to a 21-19 lead to force a UTM timeout, but a service error in the following play began a 6-0 run for the Skyhawks to steal the first set.
Jax State fell behind 3-1 to start the second set, before nearly doubling UTM with a 24-13 stretch to run away for a 25-16 set win to even the match. The third set saw seven ties and five lead changes, but JSU was again is position to close the set with a 24-21 advantage following a pair of Kindermann kills. Similar to the first, a 5-0 run to close out the third handed UTM a 2-1 match lead.
In the fourth, the Gamecocks had to call a timeout early in a 9-4 deficit. A 5-1 run midway through the set with kills from Kindermann, Pribyl and a solo block by Frear pulled JSU back with a point at 12-11. However, behind a match-high 20 kills in the final set the visitors held on for a 25-20 decision to secure a 3-1 match victory.