SUNDAY'S SCORES
@SIUE 3, Murray State 0 (25-13, 25-2, 28-26)
Southeast Missouri 3, @Belmont 1 (17-25, 25-15, 25-21, 25-10)
@UT Martin 3, Eastern Illinois 0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-13)
Jacksonville State 3, @Tennessee State 0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-16)
Morehead State 3, @Austin Peay 0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-20)
@Tennessee Tech 3, Eastern Kentucky 0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-15)
SIUE 3, MURRAY STATE 0
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE volleyball made quick work of the visiting Murray State Racers on Sunday evening, earning a 3-0 win to sweep the season series over the Racers and improve to 4-2 on the season.
The Cougars earned straight set victories, winning 25-13, 25-20, 28-26, thanks to another balanced team performance that saw SIUE lead Murray State in kills, hitting percentage, digs, and blocks.
SIUE was led by Edwardsville native Annie Ellis, who notched nine kills and seven total blocks, and freshman Sydney Hummert, who recorded eight kills, seven digs, and five total blocks. Savannah Christian, Hope Everett, and Rachel McDonald each posted seven kills, while Jordyn Klein once again led all players with 29 digs. Sarah Armendariz also contributed 29 assists and three total blocks.
Emily Matson led the Racers with eight kills while Becca Fernandez had a team-best 21 digs.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, BELMONT 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Three Redhawks finished with double-digits kills as Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (3-2, 3-2 OVC) defeated Belmont (0-3, 0-3 OVC) 17-25, 25-15, 25-21, 25-10, Sunday afternoon at the Curb Event Center.
Zoey Beasley led the SEMO attack with a career-best 17 kills on a .333 hitting clip. Colby Greene added 13 kills, converting at a .296 rate with four blocks, for her fourth straight double-digit kill match this season.
Laney Malloy and Claire Ochs each registered double-doubles in the series opener with the Bruins. Malloy tallied 11 kills and 15 digs for her second double-double this campaign (34th career) while Ochs finished with 43 assists and 13 digs as the Redhawks hit at a mark of .200. Ochs has posted a double-double in each of the last four SEMO matches and now has 40 in her career.
For the third straight match, SEMO dropped the opening set before rallying for the four set victory.
The Bruins jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the first set and extended their margin to 11-5 after a Redhawks attack error. After a SEMO timeout, the Redhawks would go on a 5-1 run to cut the advantage to 12-10.
A Bruins block assist coupled with a kill from Kristen Clements widened the gap to 21-15. SEMO would come as close as 23-17 before Belmont nabbed the next two points for the opening set win.
The Redhawks struggled hitting in the first set, posting eight kills and eight errors. Belmont notched its best percentage of the match with a .194.
SEMO responded from its slow start with a dominating second set to even the match at 1-1. The Redhawks hit at a rate of .222 during the frame.
SEMO burst out to a 6-1 advantage that swelled to 15-4 after an 8-0 Redhawks rally.
Back-to-back kills from Malloy and Greene pushed the edge to 20-8. Ochs added a service ace to make the scoreboard read 21-8.
Belmont then went on a 5-0 run to cut the SEMO lead to 22-13. Beasley connected with two of her six second set kills down the stretch to claim the set, 25-15.
The third set was a back-and-forth affair with 15 ties and 10 lead changes. Kendall Washington made her 2020-21 debut with a service ace to provide SEMO a slight 6-5 lead. She also tallied a dig in the contest.
Down 15-13 in the set, head coach Julie Yankus called a timeout. Out of the break, SEMO would go on a 3-0 rally to pull ahead 16-15.
Maggie Adams tallied a kill to knot the set at 17-17. Beasley and Malloy then each added rally stoppers to bring the lead in favor of SEMO, 22-20.
Tara Beilsmith placed a service ace to bring on set point, 24-20, before a kill from Greene provided SEMO a 25-21 third set win.
The Redhawks posted a match-high hitting percentage of .467 in the fourth and final set.
With a 5-4 lead, SEMO went on a 5-0 rally to pull ahead 10-4.
A block assist from Greene and Adams extended the lead to 16-7. Greene and Beasley then blasted a pair of kills to grow the margin to 20-8.
Elissa Moylan and freshman Lexie Smith both made their season debuts in the fourth set. Smith tallied her first collegiate kill right after she was substituted in to make the score, 22-9.
Moylan then hit a kill to make the SEMO advantage, 23-10.
Addy McAleer then sealed the Redhawks victory with a service ace, 25-10.
Beilsmith led the defense with 17 digs and four assists. Ally Dion chipped in 16 digs.
SEMO tallied six blocks in the match while Belmont had seven. Adams led the Redhawks with five blocks to go along with three kills.
The Bruins hit at a .066 percentage in the match. Laura Shoopman led Belmont with 11 kills and five digs. Carly Mason dished out 17 assists. Rachel McBride led the Bruins defense with 21 digs.
UT MARTIN 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
MARTIN, Tenn. - The first home match in 2020-21 for the University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team was a rousing success as the Skyhawks cruised to a three-set victory over Eastern Illinois (25-23, 25-17, 25-13) this evening.
UT Martin improved to 2-1 on the season after hitting .311 for the match, committing only 11 attack errors in 106 swings. The Skyhawk offense improved in each set as they hit .243 in the first stanza, followed by .312 in the second set and a sizzling .378 in the final stanza.
Addison Conley delivered a team-best 10 kills on a .333 hitting percentage while ranking second on the squad with eight digs. Karen Scanlon (nine kills against zero errors, .643 attack percentage) and Logan Wallick (eight kills, .267 hitting percentage) also performed well while Kenzie Hinshaw distributed 35 assists in her season debut for UT Martin.
Freshman Baillie Kearns helped the Skyhawks limit Eastern Illnois to an .058 team attack percentage as the libero out of St. Louis, Mo. scooped up a match-high 14 digs. She also added a pair of service aces while Dylan Mott and Kayla Carrell each generated seven digs apiece. Olivia Lucia swatted away a match-high two blocks and hit .400 with five kills for UT Martin.
Eastern Illinois (0-5) took a 6-2 advantage to begin the first set but the Skyhawks soon rallied. Conley slammed down three kills in the span of four UT Martin points before a bad set by the Panthers gave the Skyhawks their first lead at 12-11. A pair of Scanlon kills kept UT Martin ahead until a 4-1 Eastern Illinois run resulted in a 20-19 Panther advantage. The Skyhawks then scored six of the final nine points, capped off by Conley’s set-clinching kill. Scanlon (five kills on six attempts) and Hinshaw (13 assists) guided UT Martin to the opening 1-0 lead.
The Skyhawks never trailed in the second stanza as Lucia and Wallick each came away with kills during a 3-0 run to start the set. A Lauren O’Neill kill doubled up the score at 10-5 but Eastern Illinois roared back to claim five of the next six points. UT Martin immediately responded with a 5-0 run of its own featuring a Hinshaw kill and a Kearns service ace. Wallick dialed up three kills down the stretch as the Skyhawks clinched a 2-0 match advantage. Kearns’ five digs and two service aces were both team-highs in the second set for UT Martin.
The Skyhawks put on an offensive clinic in the third stanza as Hinshaw handed out 14 assists and seven different players combined for 15 kills with only one error. Seeing her first action of the night, Jessica Reynolds got UT Martin going with a kill for the first point of the set. Conley piled up three kills while the trio of Lucia, Scanlon and O’Neill each had two kills during a 18-5 run to put the score out of reach. Reynolds tacked on two more kills late before an Addy Vaughn kill pushed the Skyhawk lead out to 13 points at 24-11. Lucia soon followed with a kill on match point to put the finishing touches on a triumphant home opener.
Kylie Michael finished with 14 kills and 11 digs while hitting .303 for Eastern Illinois.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Jacksonville State volleyball team completed a 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-16) sweep on the road at Tennessee State Sunday night to continue its perfect start to the spring 2021 season.
The Gamecocks (5-0 Ohio Valley Conference) quickly put away the host Tigers (0-5) in straight sets inside Kean Hall to remain atop the conference standings after starting 5-0 in league play for the first time since 2014.
Freshman Courtney Glotzbach had another impressive outing, leading JSU with 12 kills behind a .579 hitting percentage. Senior setter Lexie Libs had 38 assists in the quick outing, and secured a double-double with 10 digs finishing one behind sophomore libero Erin Carmichael with 11. Behind Glotzbach, Libs guided the offense to eight kills from junior Lena Kindermann, followed by six apiece by freshmen Sadie Brown and Caroline Kasson. For Kasson, it was a career-high after a strong final set.
Midway through the first, a 6-1 JSU run turned a one-point game into a 17-10 Gamecock lead. The Gamecocks added another late 4-0 stretch capped by a Katie Montgomery ace to secure the 25-15 win. In the second, Jax State held another large advantage, 19-11, when TSU began to chip away at the deficit with a 5-2 run, but the Gamecocks shut the door in the final points and a block by Montgomery and Addie Halverson sealed the second set.
Kasson had five of her six kills in the third and final frame. TSU stayed with the Gamecocks through 8-7, but the strength of JSU's attack was too much in the long run. Halverson, Brown and Kasson helped JSU open a 15-9 edge and the Gamecocks wouldn't look back. After relieving Libs in the late stages, freshman Macie Garrison led JSU to four-straight points to end the match, capped by a service ace from the Sellersburg, Indiana, native.
Kariely Santa Delgado and Aniya Williams led the Tigers on the offensive front with assists from Kristian Marshall. Kendall Bullock spread the floor notching five kills, a team-high nine digs and two blocks.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, AUSTIN PEAY 0
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Behind the strength of a stellar defensive effort that produced nine team blocks and 60 team digs, Morehead State volleyball collected its fourth consecutive sweep Sunday, defeating Austin Peay in straight sets.
The Eagles (5-0; 5-0 OVC) downed the Governors (4-1; 4-1 OVC) behind scores of 25-22, 25-15, and 25-20 while holding Austin Peay to a .098 team hitting percentage. Morehead State's defensive performance held the Governors to a sub-.100 hitting efficiency for the first time since Oct. 30, 2018—a streak of 41 matches.
Helping the team to nine total blocks, a pair of Eagles tied career highs when turning away Governor attacks at the net. Redshirt freshman middle blocker McKenzee Wagener collected six total blocks, including her first career solo block, to lead Morehead State. Joining Wagener in setting a career-high, senior outside hitter Olivia Lohmeier tallied a pair of block solos for the first time in her career.
Behind the block, the Eagles' back row scooped up 60 total digs as three Eagles reached double-figure digs with all four of the team's defensive specialists scooping up five or more balls each.
Sophomore setter Bridget Bessler led Morehead State with 13 digs, finishing one dig shy of equaling her career-best total while junior defensive specialist Olivia Montelisciani and junior libero Allison Whitten joining her in double-figures with 11 digs apiece.
Finishing just shy of double-digit digs, sophomore defensive specialist Andrea Grimes dug up a career-high total, collecting nine balls Sunday.
Bessler added 34 assists in the match to tally her 11th career double-double, her first since the season-finale versus High Point in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship Opening Round.
Leading all attackers in the match, Lohmeier put away 15 terminations, pushing her streak of 10 or more kill matches to 17 straight—the second-longest streak of her career. She also chipped in seven digs, nearing a double-double for the second time in the past three games.
Morehead State also continued to press the service game after entering the match as the Ohio Valley Conference's top serving team. The Eagles picked up seven service aces Sunday and have now landed five or more winners in all five matches this season. Bessler and redshirt junior defensive specialist Taylor Hodges led Morehead State with three aces apiece with Bessler tying a career-high in the category.
Brooke Moore led Austin Peay with 11 kills while Chloe Stitt had 10 kills. Nina Korfhage notched a team-high 14 digs.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - – The Eastern Kentucky University volleyball team fell in straight sets to Tennessee Tech on Sunday night in Cookeville.
The Golden Eagles won by scores of 25-12, 25-16 and 25-15.
In set one, the Colonels raced out to an early 6-1 lead after an attack error by Tennessee Tech. TTU answered back with a 15-2 run after a service ace by Ali Verzani to take a 16-8 lead and not look back. Tennessee Tech took the opening set 25-12.
In set two, the Golden Eagles jumped out to an early 5-1 lead on the Colonels. Eastern scored the next two points to cut the lead to 5-3 after a kill by Lindsey Wilkins, but the Colonels could never get any closer. The Golden Eagles took the second set 25-16.
The Colonels jumped out to early lead in set three taking a 5-2 lead after a Molly Michalak kill. But Tennessee Tech went on an 11-2 run to take a commanding 15-8 lead into the media timeout. Eastern scored three quick points out of the timeout to make it 15-11, but the Colonels could never get any closer. Tennessee Tech took the final set 25-15.
Wilkins and Michalak led the way for the Colonels with six kills. Michalak led the team with 13 digs and Audrey Eurton posted 20 assists.
Madeline Furtado paced the Golden Eagles with a match-best 10 kills.
Tennessee Tech had 14 service aces.