SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 3, Belmont 0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-21
@Tennessee Tech 3, Eastern lllinois 1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-19,
SIUE 3, @Tennessee State 2 (26-24, 25-20, 15-25, 22-25, 15-9)
@Murray State 3, Southeast Missouri 0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-21)
@Austin Peay 3, UT Martin 2 (14-25, 17-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-10)
MOREHEAD STATE 3, BELMONT 0
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Grad student Olivia Lohmeier became just the fourth volleyball athlete in Ohio Valley Conference to reach 1,900 career kills with 11 today as the Eagles celebrated Lohmeier and fellow seniors Mia Swearingen, Taylor Hodges and Raegan Alexander with their second consecutive straight-set win over Belmont.
MSU won its 14th straight match, equaling a win streak it had during the spring 2021 season, as the Eagles won 25-18, 25-21, 25-21 to improve to 18-9 overall and 14-2 in the OVC.
Lohmeier moved her career terminations total to 1,904, passing former Jacksonville State three-time OVC Player of the Year Abbey Breit for fourth place in the OVC in career kills.
Fellow outside hitter Abby Hulsman led the Eagles with 12 kills today, while freshman Irene Wogenstahl landed eight kills and had a career-best three solo blocks plus an assisted rejection. Fellow frosh Maycie Welborn also had eight kills and hit .353 off the right side.
The defense, which leads the conference in limiting opponents' attack efficiency, held the Bruins to just .142 as junior libero Allison kept 16 attempts off the floor, and sophomore Andrea Grimes had 11 digs. Hodges had a pair of aces to give her 95 solo serve points in her career.
The Eagles made a statement right off the bat, hitting .438 with 17 kills in the first set. They had 19 more successful spikes in the second frame.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.- Make it three wins in-a-row for the Tennessee Tech volleyball team, as the Golden Eagles (14-13, 9-7) racked up an impressive 58 kills on their way to a 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-19, 25-21) victory Eastern Illinois Saturday afternoon.
Completing its second series sweep of the Panthers (10-16, 3-13) in as many seasons, the purple and gold hit .248 while accumulating 13.5 blocks and six service aces in a victory that very closely mimicked the team's performance from the night before.
Similar to the first match of the weekend, the Golden Eagles ran out to a big lead in the opening set, taking a quick five-point lead at 9-4. This time, EIU battled back and eventually took a one-point advantage, but Tech proved much too strong in the game, using three kills from the middle to secure a 25-22 win. In the set, the home squad totaled a staggering 19 kills on a .314 hitting percentage.
Set two also took on a familiar outcome from Friday, with the Golden Eagles opening a four-point lead as late as 17-13. The Panthers replied with an 8-2 run, moving out in front by a pair and never relinquishing the lead on their way to a 25-22 victory to even the match.
Yet again, it was déjà vu to begin the third set of the night, with the two sides trading blows back and forth to the tune of a 16-16 tie. The Golden Eagles and their 16 kills on .419 hitting in the set finally broke through late, using a 4-0 run to essentially clinch the game. Taking a 2-1 lead in the match, Tech took the set 25-19.
The fourth and final set saw Eastern Illinois erupt for its largest lead of the weekend, jumping out of the gates to the tune of a 7-2 advantage. Tech held its own, gradually fighting back and eventually tying things up at 8-8.
The Panthers aimed to pull away again, moving back to a four-point lead at 13-9. A timeout from Tech head coach Jeannette Waldo pulled the purple and gold together and the team responded with a 7-2 run, taking control and, eventually, its own four-point lead.
EIU fought tooth-and-nail, clawing back for four-straight points to tie things at 20-20, forcing another timeout from the home bench. The tactic worked for the Golden Eagles, as the team rolled off five of the next six points for a 25-21 win.
Playing in her final match in the Hooper Eblen Center, setter Ashley Hand was once again special for her squad, accumulating a whopping 52 assists for a per set average of 13.00. The Greenwood Village, Colo. native, who joined middle blocker Aynsley Stier, libero Lauren Toledo, and manager Brett Hutto in being honored in a special senior day ceremony following the match, accounted for 11 digs as well to claim her 11th double-double of the season.
Junior Taylor Dorsey put together a second-straight stellar performance, notching her fourth career double-double with 10 total blocks and 11 kills. The middle blocker hit .435 while also serving up three aces as part of 19.5 point night. She moved to within four block assists of third place on Tech's all-time career charts and sits just three total rejections shy of 400 for her career.
Outside hitter Madeline Furtado led the purple and gold with 14 kills on a .286 attack percentage, making just four errors all day. Fellow outside Madolyn Isringhausen posted 11 kills of her own, contributing four blocks and five digs to the mix as well.
Right side Morgan Gish tied her own career-high in blocks on the day, rejecting eight attempts by the Panthers while also totaling 11 kills on a .222 attack percentage. Middle blocker Skylar Boom fired up nine kills and turned in three total blocks to round out the strong offensive unit for the Golden Eagles.
For the ninth consecutive match, libero McKenna Young produced double-digit digs, leading the match with 13. She added an ace and four assists in the four-set match as well.
SIUE 3, TENNESSEE STATE 2
NASHVILLE, Tenn.- The Cougars closed out their longest conference road trip of the season in style on Saturday afternoon, claiming a 3-2 win over the Tennessee State Tigers (26-24, 25-20, 15-25, 22-25, 15-9).
The Cougars started off in commanding fashion, holding the Tigers to a match-low hitting percentage of .026 in the opening set and helping the Red & White claim a 26-24 first frame win. SIUE carried its momentum into the second set, hitting at an outstanding .438 clip en route to the Cougars' largest margin of victory of the match in a 25-20 win. The Tigers would not go down without a fight, demonstrating the strong attacking and defensive efforts to win the third and fourth sets and push the match to a decisive fifth set. The Cougars, who had last won a five-set match in their 3-2 non-conference win against Eastern Kentucky, were determined to snap their losing streak - and that's exactly what they did, pulling away from TSU late and claiming a 15-9 fifth set win.
SIUE was led by Annie Ellis, who registered a season-high 20 kills on the day and hit at a team-best .385 clip. Savannah Christian was not too far behind, recording 18 kills of her own and adding a pair of digs. Alyse Drifka led all players with 31 assists, followed closely by true freshman Grace Beekman with 24. Nicole Kijowski notched 17 digs, while Grace Hurst added 10.
MURRAY STATE 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 0
MURRAY, Ky. -The Murray State Racers volleyball (14-11, 8-7 OVC) swept the Southeast Redhawks (21-7, 12-4 OVC) on Saturday night at the Racer Arena, 25-22, 25-21, 25-21 to split the series with the Redhawks.
On their final home weekend game, Murray State honored its three seniors, Emily Matson, Kolby McClelland and Becca Fernandez and manager, Drew Langston pregame for their dedication and contributions to the Racers' program.
All three seniors had a senior night to remember as Matson played her best game of the season, putting up two solo blocks and two blocks assists as well as hitting five kills.
McClelland also had five kills, served a season-high three aces and had a major net presence with one solo block and three block assists.
In the back row, Fernandez led the Racers, digging up 17 balls and dished out five assists.
The Racers never let Southeast Missouri find their game as the Racers outhit and out blocked the Redhawks, holding their opponents to a .087 hitting percentage and only three blocks. Murray State hit .224 as a team and collected 10 total blocks, including six solo blocks.
Brooke Lynn Watts led the team with 12 kills on her way to a .273 attacking % while Jayla Holcombe downed nine kills.
In night two of the Beasley Sister Battle, Taylor had a season-high six kills on a .250 swing % with two solo blocks and one block assist.
AUSTIN PEAY 3, UT MARTIN 2
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - After dropping the first two sets, Austin Peay State University's volleyball team roared back to defeat Ohio Valley Conference foe UT Martin (14-25, 17-25, 25-19, 25-18, 15-10), Saturday, at the Winfield Dunn Center.
The Skyhawks (13-15, 9-6) took the lead after holding the Governors (18-9, 11-3) to a .033 hitting percentage in the first set and later extended its lead after posting a match-high .452 hitting percentage in the subsequent frame.
An 8-1 run by the Govs to close out a back-and-forth third set that featured eight ties and seven lead changes cut the Skyhawks' lead to one set and gave Austin Peay its first point of the night.
Brooke Moore's seventh kill gave the Govs a 7-6 advantage in what proved to be the final lead change of the afternoon. Moore and middle blocker Maggie Keenan propelled APSU to a 25-18 fourth-set victory, tying the two teams at two sets apiece after combing for 11 kills.
The Govs jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the match-deciding fifth frame and cruised to a 15-10 victory in a set that never saw them lead by fewer than four points.
Senior Karli Graham and Maggie Keenan each led the Govs with four total blocks, Saturday, as Moore posted her 14th double-double of the season with 15 kills and 12 digs.
The comeback from two sets down is the second this season for head coach Taylor Mott and company, as the Govs also came back to defeat Ohio, Sept. 18, at the WKU Volleyball Invitational.
UT Martin started the match on a 5-0 run and entered the media timeout with a 15-9 lead following a 4-1 run. The Skyhawks led by as many as 11 in the first set and took the lead after winning the first set 25-14.
Austin Peay and UT Martin were locked in a back-and-forth battle early in a second set that featured seven ties and five lead changed prior to the media timeout. A block by the Skyhawks' Olivia Saunders gave them a 20-15 advantage and forced an APSU timeout. UTM finished the set on a 5-2 run to extend their lead.
After leading 8-3 early in the third set, UT Martin cut its deficit to one following a 5-1 run. The two teams battled back and forth, with neither taking more than a two-point advantage, until two service aces by setter Kelsey Mead and a pair of Brooke Moore kills guided APSU to its first victory of the night.
Moore's seventh and eight kills of the night gave APSU an 8-6 lead in the fourth set and sparked a 6-0 run. The Govs tied the match at two sets apiece following 11 combinedkills from Moore and Maggie Keenan.
The Governors jumped out to a 7-0 lead in a final set that never saw them trail. They completed the comeback after winning the final set 15-10.