SATURDAY'S SCORES
Tennessee Tech 3, @UT Martin 2 (21-25, 20-25, 25-20, 25-22, 15-13)
@Morehead State 3, SIUE 0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-21)
@Belmont 3, Murray State 1 (25-23, 25-20, 12-25, 25-18)
@Eastern Illinois 3, Tennessee State 1 (25-18, 25-18, 22-25, 25-22)
TENNESSEE TECH 3, UT MARTIN 2
MARTIN, Tenn. - Spectacular showings from both the outsides and defense led the Tennessee Tech volleyball team back from a two-set deficit Saturday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles rallied to take down in-state rival UT Martin in Ohio Valley Conference action, 3-2 (21-25, 20-25, 25-20, 25-22, 15-13).
The first set went to the Skyhawks, which accumulated 17 kills and three blocks on a .289 hitting percentage. The Golden Eagles ratcheted up 14 of their own terminations, but it wasn't enough in the 25-21 decision in favor of the home team.
UT Martin doubled its lead by taking set two, 25-20, using a hefty advantage in kills (15-09) to do the damage. The purple and gold did total six blocks in the game, but it wasn't enough to make up for the tough showing on offense, as the Skyhawks took a 2-0 lead and looked well on their way to a win.
The Golden Eagles collected themselves in the third set, fighting back from an early deficit with six straight points for a 10-6 lead. Tech kept that lead with a reinvigorated attack, totaling a match-high 15 kills on an improved .222 hitting percentage. Forcing a fourth set, the purple and gold took the set 25-20.
Holding the lead for much of the fourth game, the Golden Eagles showed their resolve when the Skyhawks took their first lead of the set at 21-20. Taking a timeout, Tech refocused and rolled of three consecutive points to build enough of a lead to end the set with a 25-22 win and force a fifth and decisive game.
The fifth was a roller coaster, despite the Tech squad dominating with 11 kills and just one attack error on a .455 attack percentage. Up by a pair at 6-4, the Golden Eagles called their first timeout following a 4-0 run by the Skyhawks.
Tech responded with its own run of 4-1, forcing a break called by the home squad. The script flipped once again, as UT Martin strung together three straight points to move back on top 12-11. Calling their final timeout of the match, the Golden Eagles forced the Skyhawks to do the same, as Madolyn Isringhausen delivered back-to-back kills for a 13-12 Tech lead.
Following the final break, Taylor Dorsey hammered home a kill, bringing up match point. UT Martin tried to stay in it, answering with a kill, but an attack error end the match, with the Golden Eagles completing the comeback to take the fifth set 15-13.
Isringhausen led a resurgent offensive attack on the night, producing a match-high 18 kills on a .317 attack percentage. The Edwardsville, Ill. native turned in a double-double with 12 digs and also added three blocks on the night.
Fellow outside hitter Madeline Furtado fired up 15 kills of her own to add to the team effort. Right side Morgan Gish hit .222 with 10 kills, but truly showed out on defense. The sophomore rejected a career-high eight attacks to help Tech reach 15 blocks as a team.
Middle blocker Taylor Dorsey also racked up eight blocks, tying Bonnie Zoss for fourth on Tech's all-time career list for block assists. Libero McKenna Young led the purple and gold with 19 digs and added five assists to the mix.
Senior Ashley Hand had a complete game, leading the match with 47 assists while hitting .462 with six kills. She contributed a double-double with 13 digs and also added a block assist.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, SIUE 0
MOREHEAD, Ky. - With her fifth dig of Saturday's 3-0 sweep over SIUE at Johnson Arena, Morehead State volleyball junior Olivia Montelisciani became the 28th member of the Eagles' 1,000 career dig club.
Montelisciani ended up with a team-high 14 digs as MSU won 25-19, 25-23 and 25-21 to run its winning streak to 12 matches and improve to 12-2 in the OVC and 16-9 overall.
The Eagles also had a 48-27 lead in total kills as grad student Olivia Lohmeier had a team-high 13 spikes. Abby Hulsman landed 11 kills.
Freshmen Maycie Welborn and Irene Wogenstahl each contributed three blocks apiece, while setter Bridget Bessler handed out 40 assists.
The Cougars had eight team blocks, limiting MSU to a .204 attack efficiency, but the Eagles also limited SIUE to only .090 hitting on the day.
MSU had control for most of the match with only five total ties and two lead changes. In set two, SIUE actually held a 23-20 cushion but three kills by Lohmeier, an ace by senior Taylor Hodges and a setting error wiped away the Cougars' hopes of extending the match.
BELMONT 3, MURRAY STATE 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - One night after falling to Murray State in straight sets, Belmont University volleyball got a measure of vengeance on Saturday afternoon, taking down the Racers, 3-1, in a crucial conference contest inside the Curb Event Center.
The Bruins won 25-23, 25-20, 12-25, 25-18, to secure their seventh OVC win and snap a five-match Murray State win streak.
The win is the first for Belmont over Murray State since the two teams met in the 2015 OVC Championship, and moves the Bruins to 7-3 at home this season.
Belmont (9-15, 7-7 OVC) collected a remarkable 12.0 blocks in the victory, their most since a loss to Chicago State back on Sept. 10. Leading the charge was Kailee Bass with six block assists, Sydney Willis with a solo block and four block assists, and Laura Shoopman with one solo block and three block assists.
Shoopman shined from the jump on Saturday, collecting a game-high 17 kills with just four attack errors, good for an efficient .351 hitting percentage.
As a team, Belmont hit .256 on the match, thanks in part to the dynamic setting of Izzy Schauer, who picked up 22 assists, and Carly Mason, who chipped in 19 assists. Schauer also led the team in digs, with 14, to power Belmont defensively.
Mary Catherine Ball recorded nine kills on a .438 attack percentage and added three block assists.
Belmont shook off Friday's disappointing performance with a great start in the first set, ripping off a 7-0 run to take a 14-8 lead.
The Bruins improved their advantage to 23-18 before Murray State (13-10, 7-6 OVC) was able to rattle off a late surge that pulled the Racers back within a point at 23-22.
However, back-to-back kills from Shoopman closed things out for Belmont, who took the opening frame 25-23.
The Bruins kept their foot on the gas pedal in the second set, hitting an eye-popping .433 to rock the Racers with a 25-20 set win. Shoopman picked up five kills and Taylor Floyd tallied four kills en route to the home side earning a commanding 2-0 set lead.
Murray State wasn't going down quietly, coming back with a dominant Game 3 that saw the Racers win 25-12. Murray State hit .478 and took advantage of nine Belmont attack errors to force the match into a fourth set.
The Bruins recovered their early-match form with another strong showing in the fourth set, closing out the Racers, 25-18, to snap their three-match losing streak.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, TENNESSEE STATE 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois (10-14, 3-11 OVC) extends their current winning streak to three matches after defeating the Lady Tigers of Tennessee State (9-14, 1-13 OVC) by a score of 3-1. These were the set scores from today's match: 25-18, 25-18, 22-25, 25-22. EIU moves into eighth place in the Ohio Valley Conference.
The Panther defense dominated in the first set after holding TSU to a .053 hitting percentage. Ashley Sharkus led the way on defense with six digs. Ireland Hieb led the way for the offense with four kills while three other Panthers collected three kills in the set. Summerlyn Smith continued her strong weekend with 11 assists. The Lady Tigers were led by Mion Weldon with three kills and Kristian Marshall with five assists.
EIU took a quick 2-0 start to the match after they collected their second set win by a score of 25-18. Defense played a huge role in the second as well as they held Tennessee State to just a .062 hitting percentage. Danielle Allen joined the action with five kills while Ireland Hieb collected four more. Smith had nine assists in the second. TSU saw Aleksandra Rojecka collect three block assists and two kills while Weldon added three kills.
Tennessee State took their only set of the afternoon in the third after defeating the Panthers 22-25. EIU was held to a .100 hitting percentage in the set. Elisavet Papageorgious had four kills in the set for the Panthers and Allen and Ella Collins added three kills each. Smith also provided 11 assists in the third. Weldon and Kendall Washington both had three kills for TSU while Aria Holmes added three block assists. The Lady Tigers had six blocks in the third.
Saturday's match came to a close in the fourth when EIU closed out the afternoon winning 25-22 in the set. Allen led the way for the offense in the fourth with a team leading six kills and Hieb chipped in five of her own. Smith collected 10 more assists while Sharkus and TaKenya Stafford played a huge role on the defensive end. Aniya Williams hit five kills in the fourth for TSU and Marshall provided nine assists.
Tennessee State was led by Weldon with 12 kills, Williams with 10 kills, Rojecka with seven kills and seven blocks, and Marshall with 26 assists and nine digs. The Lady Tigers drop their record to 9-14 and 1-13 in the OVC.
The Panthers were led by Allen with 17 kills and four blocks, Hieb with 15 kills and six blocks, Smith with 41 assists and 10 digs, and Sharkus with 24 digs. EIU improves to 10-14, and 3-11 in the OVC. They extend their win streak to three matches.