SUNDAY'S SCORES
SIUE 3, @Belmont 0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-19)
@Austin Peay 3, Tennessee Tech 0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-20)
@Murray State 3, Tennessee State 0 (25-17, 25-11, 25-21)
@Jacksonville State 3, Southeast Missouri 1 (25-20, 25-18, 20-25, 25-26)
Morehead State 3, @Eastern Illinois 1 (25-21, 18-25, 25-18, 25-16)
UT Martin 3, @Eastern Kentucky 1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 25-19)
SIUE 3, BELMONT 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - 444 days ago, SIUE volleyball fell to Jacksonville State in the 2019 OVC Tournament. For the first time since that day, the Cougars returned to the court - this time, securing a 3-0 conference win over Belmont.
The Cougar defense stifled the Bruins, holding them to a .111 hitting percentage and collecting nine blocks. The SIUE offense also proved effective, hitting at a .388 clip and registering 43 kills and a pair of service aces.
Savannah Christian led the attack for the Cougars, recording a .619 hitting percentage and a match-high 13 kills. Following closely behind was Rachel McDonald, who notched 10 kills of her own to go along with a block and seven digs. Jordyn Klein picked up right where she left off last season, leading SIUE with 16 digs, while Sarah Armendariz collected 32 assists and 12 digs. Freshman Sydney Hummert showed why she's an early favorite for OVC Newcomer of the Year, recording eight kills and six digs in a well-rounded debut outing.
Sophia Hagstrom led Belmont with eight kills.
AUSTIN PEAY 3, TENNESSEE TECH 0
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn.- Austin Peay State University’s volleyball senior outside hitter Brooke Moore posted a 13-kill, 16-dig performance and the Governors swept Tennessee Tech in three sets (25-21, 25-22, 25-20) to begin the delayed 2020 volleyball season, Sunday afternoon at the Winfield Dunn Center.
Austin Peay (1-0) closed strong to claim each of the first two sets. In the opening frame, it was a 7-3 run that turned an 18-18 tie into a 25-21 victory. APSU nearly repeated the feat in the second, using a 6-3 run after a 19-19 tie to secure a 25-22 win. However, the Governors left no opportunity for drama in the third, easing out to a 10-point lead at 19-9 and holding on to claim the match.
The Governors not only got the double-double effort from Moore, but also saw junior outside hitter Chloe Stitt chipped in 15 kills at a team-best .263 attack percentage to lead the offense. Sophomore setter Kelsey Mead finished with 18 assists and three service aces – both team bests. Austin Peay finished with 46 kills in the victory.
Tennessee Tech (0-1) got 11 kills from both senior outside hitter Ali Verzani and sophomore middle blocker Skylar Boom to pace an offense that finished with 40 kills.
MURRAY STATE 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0
MURRAY, Ky. - Murray State swept Tennessee State (25-17, 25-11, 25-21) in both teams season openers on Sunday.
Jayla Holcombe led the Racers with 14 kills and a .296 hitting percentage. Kolby McClelland had 11 kills whilel Becca Fernandez had 18 digs. Callie Anderton recorded a team-high 37 assists.
Aniya Williams led Tennessee state with 8 kills while Gina Rivera Ortiz recorded a match-high 20 digs.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Jacksonville State defeated Southeast Missouri in four sets (25-20, 25-18, 20-25, 25-16) to open up the season.
Lena Kindermann led the Gamecocks with 13 kills while Courtney Glotzbach had 11 kills. Lexie Libs had 31 assist and 11 digs. Erin Carmichael had a team-high 13 digs.
Southeast Missouri's Laney Malloy had a team-best 14 kills. Tara Beilsmith led the team with 22 digs while Claire Ochs had 34 assists.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois opened the 2020 volleyball season which has been adjusted to be played in the Spring of 2021 on Sunday afternoon at First Mid Court at Lantz Arena. The Panthers battled early splitting the first two sets with Morehead State before MSU won the final two sets for a 3-1 win.
MSU won 25-21, 18-25, 25-18, 25-16 in the opener for both schools. Under the Ohio Valley Conference format for this season, teams will face the same opponent in back-to-back days, so EIU and MSU will face off again on Monday with a 3 p.m. first serve on ESPN+.
In the match three Panthers finished with double figure kills led by senior Laurel Bailey with 15. Ireland Hieb had 11 with Kylie Michael adding ten. Hieb finished with a double-double for EIU with 11 digs and six of the Panthers nine service aces.
Olivia Lohmeier led a pair of Eagles with double figure kills finishing with 13. Lauren Rokey added ten. Bridget Bessler had 30 assists on 39 of the MSU kills.
Lohmeier had five kills for MSU in the first set as the Eagles broke a 17-17 tie with a kill by Lohmeier and two attack errors by EIU as Morehead State extended the lead to 21-17. Morehead State hit .333 percent in the opening set.
Eastern Illinois rebounded in the second set jumping out to a 4-0 lead with a pair of Hieb service aces. EIU extended the lead to 10-4 pulling away for the set win. Bailey had four kills in the set, Hieb had thee kills.
Morehead State turned the table to start the third set jumping out to a 5-0 lead. EIU would close to within 9-7 before four straight points off the serve of Lohmeier gave MSU some breathing room. MSU would have three more segments with three scored points off the serve as EIU hit .062 in the set. Mia Swearingen led the Eagles with four kills in the set.
In the final set, Allison Whitten held serve for the Eagles for 12 straight points as Morehead State opened up a 13-2 lead. Whitten dropped in three consecutive aces during the set and finished the set with four service aces, five total for the match. The Eagles played several combinations in the final set after building the big lead with three players finishing with two kills. Bailey led EIU in the set with four kills.
UT MARTIN 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 1
RICHMOND, Ky. - UT Martin defeated Eastern Kentucky in four sets (25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 25-19) to open the season on Sunday.
Logan Wallick led the Skyhawks with 17 kills and a .386 hitting percentage. Haeleigh Paulino recorded a double-double with 21 assists and 11 digs. Baillie Kearns had a team-best 15 digs.
Eastern Kentucky's Lindsey Wilkins and Sarah Mitchell each had a team-high 13 kills. Sydney Schoen led the Colonels with 15 digs.