SUNDAY'S SCORES
@Belmont 3, Tennessee State 1 (25-21, 19-25, 25-18, 25-16)
Morehead State 3, @Eastern Kentucky 1 (25-22, 20-25, 25-3, 25-15)
Southeast Missouri 3, @Eastern Illinois 0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-22)
@Jacksonville State 3, UT Martin 0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-20)
Tennessee Tech 3, @Murray State 1 (18-25, 29-27, 25-21, 25-23)
BELMONT 3, TENNESSEE STATE 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Belmont University volleyball team picked up a 3-1 win over Tennessee State on Senior Day on Sunday afternoon at the Curb Event Center.
Junior Taylor Floyd led the Bruins with 16 kills while coming up with nine digs. Freshman Izzy Schauer recorded a double-double of 46 assists and 10 digs while freshman Rachel McBride came up with 13 digs. Sophomore Laura Shoopman added 14 kills to go with a kill percentage of .448 while freshman Kristen Clemons recorded 12 kills in three sets.
Tennessee State jumped out to a 12-7 lead early in set one, but the Bruins went on a quick 4-0 run to cut the deficit to one. Belmont forced Tennessee State into three consecutive attack errors, taking a 14-13 lead in the process.
A kill from freshman Sydney Willis and a service ace from Schauer allowed the Bruins to take a two-point lead in set one, with the Bruins adding four consecutive points in order to take a 22-17 lead. Kills from senior Mackenzie Harless and Shoopman capped off a set one victory for Belmont, who claimed the first set 25-21.
After Tennessee State won set two 25-19, Belmont opened set three with three unanswered points to take the early lead. A kill and service ace from Schauer allowed the Bruins to take a quick 10-4 lead in set three, with three consecutive points by Tennessee State allowing the Tigers to cut the deficit in half.
The Bruins, however, strung together five of the next six points to push their lead back out 20-14. Tennessee State cut the Belmont lead 22-18 late in set three, but the Bruins cruised to a 25-18 set three victory thanks to an attack error, a kill from Clemons and a service ace from McBride on the final three plays of the set.
Following the Tigers snatching the first point of set four, Belmont answered back with five consecutive points to take an early 6-1 lead. Going back-and-forth through the first half of set four, kills from Harless and senior Halee Van Poppel along with a Tennessee State attack error allowed the Bruins to take a seven-point lead and only needed nine more points to claim the match.
Belmont extended their lead to as many as seven points in set four, with Belmont claiming the next four points out of the final five possessions to clinch the victory. The Bruins' 55 kills off a .234 kill percentage marked a season-high for Belmont in matches played at the Curb Event Center in 2021. The Bruins also recorded eight service aces, marking a new season-high and being the first time since Sept. 6, 2019 that the Bruins had at least eight service aces in a match.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 1
RICHMOND, Ky. - Behind the strength of a match-high 19 kills and a career-best 12 digs, senior outside hitter Olivia Lohmeier recorded her fourth-career double-double to lead Morehead State volleyball to a four-set victory over in-state rival Eastern Kentucky.
Entering the match leading the Ohio Valley Conference in points per set (5.04), Lohmeier proved her ranking by posting a match and season-best 23.0 points—nearly half of Eastern Kentucky's team total (50.0). She posted a season-high-tying 19 kills in the match while adding a season-high six total blocks, including a career-high-tying two solo blocks in Sunday's match.
Lohmeier completed the stellar afternoon by scooping up a career-high 12 digs, seven of which were dug up in the fourth and final frame, to post her first double-double since Oct. 5, 2019.
Joining Lohmeier with double-figure kill totals were sophomore right-side hitter Abby Hulsman and senior outside hitter Lauren Rokey who added 11 and 10 kills, respectively. The trio combined for 40 total kills, a total that nearly equaled the Colonels 44 team kills.
Four Eagles finished the match hitting .300 or better, paced by middle blockers, junior Mia Swearingen (8-2-14) and redshirt freshman McKenzee Wagener (5-0-13) who posted efficiencies of .429 and .385, respectively.
Sophomore setter Bridget Bessler led the Eagles to a .239 team hitting percentage, passing out a season-best 49 assists, surpassing 40 assists in a match for the third time this season.
For the third time this season, Morehead State finished a match with four players reaching double-digit digs with junior libero Allison Whitten pacing the way with a season-high 22 digs. Defensive specialists, redshirt junior Taylor Hodges and junior Olivia Montelisciani, along with Lohmeier each chipped in 10 or more digs, digging 10, 11, and 12 balls, respectively.
The Eagles were also stout at the net, collecting 10 total blocks in the match as five players finished the match with a block, including four who tallied three or more total blocks. Lohmeier led the group with six total blocks while Swearingen finished just behind with four blocks.
Morehead State also dropped in a pair of service aces with Bessler and Hulsman landing the winners. The ace for Hulsman is the second of her career, having landed one in each of the past two series openers.
Molly Michalak posted a team-best 12 kills on the contest. Seniors Lindsey Wilkins and Jovana Bulatovic had 10 kills and nine kills.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0
CHARLESTON, Ill. -
Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (11-2, 11-2 OVC) extended its win streak to 11 matches with a 25-18, 25-15, 25-22 sweep of Eastern Illinois Sunday evening at Lantz Arena.
The 3-0 sweep was SEMO's fifth in the 2020-21 campaign.
Laney Malloy and Zoey Beasley each tallied 12 kills to pace the SEMO attack. Malloy chipped in nine digs to finish just shy of a double-double.
Talia Gouard connected on a career-best nine kills on a .333 hitting clip. Colby Greene added seven kills, connecting at a rate of .400.
Claire Ochs dished out 33 assists with seven digs.
Libero Ally Dion led the defense with 15 digs in her third-straight start at the position.
SEMO opened the match with a 4-1 early lead. The Panthers pulled ahead 8-6 and then distanced themselves from the Redhawks with a 4-0 run (12-8).
SEMO gradually chipped away at the deficit, coming within a point on a Greene kill, 14-13.
Trailing 17-14, the Redhawks concluded the frame on an 11-1 run to take the set, 25-18.
Kayla Closset notched back-to-back service aces during the rally and served out the set with SEMO leading 19-18. She finished the match with two aces, six digs and three assists.
In the second set, SEMO utilized a 7-1 rally to pull ahead 17-11. Ochs would then elect for a kill over an assist to make the advantage, 18-12.
The Redhawks then wrapped up the frame on a 7-1 run (25-15) with Ochs serving the final three points.
SEMO hit a match-high .448 in the middle stanza Sunday and only committed three errors to go-along with 16 kills.
The Redhawks then claimed the series opener with a 25-22 third set, paced by Malloy's six kills.
The Panthers jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the frame that grew to 15-12 on a kill from Laurel Bailey.
SEMO then switched the lead in favor of the visitors with a 5-0 run (17-15) keyed by four kills (two each) from Greene and Beasley.
Back-to-back kills from Greene and Gouard made the margin 19-17.
The Panthers retook the lead 20-19 before SEMO closed out the match on a 6-2 run.
Addy McAleer slammed a kill to make the scoreboard read 21-20. She concluded the contest with nine digs and two kills.
Malloy then registered consecutive kills after a winner from Gouard to bring on match point at 24-21.
Danielle Allen would add a kill for the Panthers before a rally stopper from Malloy sealed the victory.
SEMO outhit EIU .265 to .182 with 46 kills compared to the Panthers 31.
The Redhawks also placed eight aces while Eastern Illinois only had one. Malloy, Ochs and Closset each had a pair while McAleer and Dion finished with one apiece.
SEMO led the blocks differential, 3-1, paced by Maggie Adams (3) and Greene (2).
The Redhawks also led the assists (40-28) and digs (54-46) categories statistics-wise.
Bailey and Allen led the Panthers attack with 12 kills each.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, UT MARTIN 0
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Jacksonville State volleyball team swept visiting UT Martin on Sunday night, 3-0, to continue one of the best seasons in school history with a 13-0 record heading into its final home match on Monday.
The Gamecocks' undefeated start to the year trails only Texas (20-0), Bowling Green (18-0) and Western Kentucky (16-0) for the most wins without a loss. Just 12 Division I programs remain undefeated as of March 21, but only seven have played at least 10 matches.
JSU's 25-19, 25-17, 25-20 win on Sunday dropped UT Martin to 5-8 in the Ohio Valley Conference, while JSU matched its OVC win total from 2019's 13-3 championship squad.
Junior Lena Kindermann showed her dominance once again with a team-best 14 kills on .345 hitting clip. She was joined in double figures by senior Kaylie Milton, who now has 10-or-more kills in four of her last six matches. The flurry of offense didn't stop with those two as Katie Montgomery hit .455 with six kills, while Addie Halverson, Courtney Glotzbach and Carolina Kasson each put down five kills. The offense was directed by senior setter Lexie Libs' 39 assists.
Sophomore libero Erin Carmichael finished one shy of a season-high with 23 digs, after UTM had 107 attacks in an intense battle. JSU out-blocked the Skyhawks, 5-2, as four Gamecocks, including freshman Sadie Brown, got their hands on stops.
Tied 11-11 in the first, Kindermann and Milton went back-to-back with kills, followed by an ace from Carmichael as JSU started a 7-1 run that would be the difference for the set. The two sides exchanged points until JSU took a 25-19 opening set win. In the second, It was an 8-2 run, powered with a trio of Milton kills, that broke an 8-all tie early. Up 24-14, JSU needed a few set points before putting the Skyhawks away, 25-17.
Kasson, Halverson and Anna Nelson each hit the floor early in the third as the Gamecocks have stayed true to exercising its depth all season. Freshman Macie Garrison would lift Libs midway through the frame to finish with five assists as JSU clinched the sweep with a 25-20 victory.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, MURRAY STATE 1
MURRAY, Ky. - Perseverance and tenacity in the second set proved key for the Tennessee Tech volleyball team Sunday evening, as the Golden Eagles (6-7, 6-7) regrouped for a 3-1 (18-25, 29-27, 25-21, 25-23) victory at Murray State (5-8, 5-8) in Racer Arena.
The Racers opened the match at full throttle, hitting a game-high .243 in the first set. The home team claimed the opener 25-18, and looked well on its way to a set two victory, but Tech had other plans.
Trailing by as much as five at 22-17, Golden Eagle head coach Jeannette Waldo called for a timeout, allowing her squad to collect itself and dial in for a final push. The result? Five-straight points from the purple and gold tied the match at 22-22.
Both sides traded blows fighting to take the all-important second set, but a Skylar Boom kill gave Tech the last lead they would need at 28-27. On the next point, Murray State missed the mark on an attack from Taylor Beasley and the Golden Eagles pulled off the 29-27 win.
Murray State jumped back out in front to kick off the third set, taking as much as a four-point advantage at 14-10. Tech channeled the momentum from its previous win and turned things around over time, squaring things at 17-17 before taking the lead for good.
Three more points from the Tech squad proved enough for the visitors to last through the end, taking a 25-21 win to clinch a 2-1 lead in the match.
It was an intense battle in the fourth and ultimately decisive set with neither side taking more than a two-point advantage until the Racers at the 20-17 mark. One more time, the Golden Eagles relied on its grit to flip the script and turn in an 8-3 run to end the match and register a 25-23 win in the set.
Junior middle blocker Taylor Dorsey continued her strong season with a team-high 15 kills and .364 hitting percentage. She also totaled six blocks on her way to a match-high 19.0 points.
Fellow middle blocker Skylar Boom was a beast on both sides as well, collecting six total blocks and blasting 13 kills on a .280 hitting percentage for 17.0 points. Redshirt sophomore Madeline Furtado rounded out Tech's three-headed monster on offense for the night, hitting .242 with 14 kills. She added 10 digs as well for her second double-double of the year.
Rookie libero McKenna Young tallied a team-high 19 digs in the contest while senior Ali Verzani produced a season-high 16 digs with five kills and four block assists. Turning in her fifth double-double of the year was setter Ashley Hand, who led the Golden Eagles with 41 assists. She also registered a season-high 16 digs on the night.
As a team, the Golden Eagles totaled 14 blocks, the fourth time during the 2020-21 campaign the team posted double figures in the column. Tech's 55 kills marked the second-highest total of the year while the 70 digs was also the second-largest total this season for the Golden Eagles.