FRIDAY'S SCORES
Tennessee State 3, Alcorn State 0
(25-10, 25-11, 25-19)
Tennessee State 3, @New Orleans 1 (22-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-20)
Evansville 3,
SIUE 0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-22)
SIUE 3, Purdue Fort Wayne 2 (20-25, 25-19, 25-19, 14-25, 15-11)
Alabama 3,
Austin Peay 1 (19-25, 25-14, 25-20, 26-24)
Austin Peay 3, Miami 2 (19-25, 27-25, 21-25, 25-15)
Arkansas State 3,
UT Martin 1 (25-27, 25-18, 25-15, 28-26)
Wichita State 3,
UT Martin 0 (25-16, 25-15, 26-22)
Murray State 3, New Hampshire 1 (25-12, 25-20, 23-25, 27-25)
Murray State 3, Stetson 1 (25-22, 25-18, 21-25, 25-15)
Southeast Missouri 3, DePaul 1 (28-26, 19-25, 25-22, 25-23)
Eastern Illinois 3, IUPUI 0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-23)
Georgia 3,
Morehead State 0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-21)
Auburn 3,
Tennessee Tech 0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-19)
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, DEPAUL 1
PEORIA, Ill. – Southeast Missouri women's volleyball (1-0) fought past DePaul (0-1), 3-1 (28-26, 19-25, 25-22, 25-23), Friday afternoon at the Renaissance Coliseum for the Redhawks first victory of the 2021 campaign.
Three Redhawks finished with double-doubles in SEMO's first match at Bradley's CEFCU Invitational. Zoey Beasley paced the Redhawks with a career best 20 kills, 10 digs and four blocks for her first career double-double. Laney Malloy chipped in 16 digs, 10 kills, five assists and three blocks. Claire Ochs dished out 48 assists with 20 digs and six kills in the season opener.
Colby Greene was second on the Redhawks offensively with 17 kills and three blocks on a .245 clip.
SEMO won the first set, 28-26, hitting at a rate of .224.
Malloy notched a kill to provide the Redhawks a 12-9 lead before the Blue Demons tied it at 14-14 in the opening frame.
Beasley keyed a 3-0 run for SEMO to pull the lead back in favor of the Redhawks, 17-14. Beasley had a pair of kills during the rally and finished the opening set with a team-high six.
Malloy added a rally stopper before Tara Beilsmith placed a service ace to regrow the SEMO edge to 22-17 and prompt a DePaul timeout.
Out of the break, the Blue Demons responded with a 3-0 run to pull within two (22-20).
Kills from Greene coupled with a DePaul attack error then brought on set point at 24-21.
The Blue Demons didn't go quietly in the opening set, knotting the frame at 24-24, 25-25 and 26-26.
Beasley then blasted a kill before a DePaul error as the Redhawks grabbed the opening set, 28-26.
DePaul evened the match at 1-1 with a 25-19 second set. The Blue Demons utilized a 3-1 run to take a 17-13 lead and distance themselves from SEMO.
Beasley knocked a kill to cut into the DePaul advantage, 21-18, before the Blue Demons secured the set with a kill from Emma Price.
DePaul hit a match-best .234 clip in the second frame.
SEMO then closed out the match with third and fourth set wins. The Redhawks jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the third stanza and built that advantage to 18-15 after consecutive kills from Malloy and Beasley.
Ochs added another kill before a 4-0 run by the Blue Demons flipped the score in favor of DePaul, 20-19.
Beasley knotted the frame at 20-20 with a rally stopper and Elissa Moylan chipped in a kill to make the scoreboard read 21-20. Beasley compiled six kills in the third set.
SEMO and DePaul then exchanged kills to retie the set at 22-22.
The Redhawks rallied off three straight points to claim the third set, 25-22. Malloy blasted a kill before a solo block from Talia Gouard and a block assist by Gouard and Malloy.
Friday's season opener between SEMO and DePaul was a tightly contested match that featured 34 ties and 17 lead changes.
The fourth set alone had 15 ties and 10 lead changes.
SEMO hit the 10-point plateau first and went on a 4-0 run for an early 12-9 advantage in the fourth stanza.
Moylan slammed a kill before teaming up with fellow Iowan, Greene, for a block assist for a slight 18-17 lead.
Moylan finished with a career-best six blocks along with three kills and a dig. She made her first start at middle blocker since the 2018 season (Nov. 10 at Jacksonville State).
Kayla Closset then hit an ace after a kill from Beasley for a 20-19 lead. Donna Brown evened the set at 22-22 with a rally stopper before consecutive kills from Greene and Malloy.
Greene had seven kills in the final set on a stellar .400 hitting percentage.
SEMO clinched the match with a kill by Gouard after a Redhawks error, 25-23.
Gouard finished with a balanced outing of five kills and five digs to go along with a career-best matching seven blocks.
SEMO out blocked the Blue Demons, 13-9.
Beilsmith paced the SEMO defense on her birthday with 29 digs. For Beilsmith, it was her first match back since March 8, 2021, after missing the rest of the 2020-21 season with an injury.
Ally Dion chipped in 11 digs and an assist.
Freshman Megan Harris made her SEMO debut in the third set. She finished with a dig.
Jill Pressly led DePaul with 18 kills. Ashley Cudiamat tallied 21 assists and Rachel Krasowski paced the team defensively with 38 digs.
Thursday's win is SEMO's first in a season opener since a 3-0 sweep of Southern (Louisiana) to open 2018. It was also the Redhawks' first-ever win over DePaul after going winless in the past five meetings.
SEMO concludes the CEFCU Invitational Saturday against tournament host, Bradley, and Central Michigan. Saturday's match times are set for 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. The Bradley match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
ALABAMA 3, AUSTIN PEAY 1; AUSTIN PEAY 3, MIAMI (OHIO) 2
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Outside hitter Brooke Moore opened with back-to-back double-doubles, including a 20-kill performance in the season opener, as Austin Peay State University's volleyball team opened the season by splitting its two matches at the Marshall Invitational, Friday, at the Cam Henderson Center.
Moore's 20-kill, 15-dig performance paced Austin Peay (1-1) in its four-set loss (25-19, 14-25, 20-25, 24-26) to Alabama to begin the season. Moore got plenty of support in the season's second match with middle blocker Tegan Seyring and right-side hitter Mikayla Powell each joining her in double-digit kill territory for a five-set win (19-25, 27-25, 18-25, 25-21, 15-10) against Miami (Ohio).
Austin Peay closes out its season-opening weekend when it faces host Marshall in an 11:30 a.m., Saturday contest.
Austin Peay opened the season with a first-set victory against Alabama. After the Tide closed within a point at 19-18, the Govs rattled off four straight points – three off the arm of Brooke Moore – to force an Alabama time out. The time out stifled the run momentarily, but after an Alabama point Moore and Powell combined for consecutive points to win the set.
Alabama's defense stepped up in Set 2, holding Austin Peay to a negative attack courtesy 21 digs and three blocks as they posted the 25-14 victory.
The Tide used the momentum it gained in the second to lead the third set wire-to-wire. The
Govs were held to 10 kills and a .114 attack percentage while Alabama was slightly better with 12 kills and a .226 attack percentage.
The fourth will be known as the set that got away for the Govs, despite a 10-kill effort by Moore in the frame. They led 20-13 thanks to a long-winded 11-2 run. Alabama charged back with a 6-0 run to get within a point at 20-19. The Govs traded points with the Tide and got to set point first at 24-23 on Moore's 10th kill of the set. But Alabama won the final three points to secure the victory.
Miami used runs of 6-3 and 7-1 to hold Austin Peay at bay when it closed within a point twice during the set. The 7-1 burst turned a 10-9 lead into a 17-10 advantage that the Redhawks used to ease to the win.
The second set was a back-and-forth affair with 10 ties and four lead changes. The Govs offense battled to find its rhythm, scoring 12 kills but committing 11 errors. However, four of those kills came in the closing moments – Jaida Clark gave the Govs a set point chance at 24-23, Powell added one for a second opportunity at 25-24 but it was Powell and Moore's back-to-back kills that secured a 27-25 win.
After it broke out to a 4-0 lead in the third set, Austin Peay saw Miami edge its way to an 8-6 lead. Once the Redhawks had the lead, they would only work to add to their advantage the rest of the way, easing to a 25-18 win.
Austin Peay gained control of the fourth set late. Trailing 17-15, the Govs scored five straight points to get to 20 first. That was enough for the Govs to trade points the rest of the way for a 25-21 victory.
The Govs drained any drama the fifth set might have offered thanks to a 6-2 run that turned a 3-3 tie into a 9-5 lead. From there it was a simple matter of trading points again to the 15-10 decision.
GEORGIA 3, MOREHEAD STATE 0
ATHENS, Ga. - Morehead State volleyball ran into an efficient offensive game plan by the host Georgia Bulldogs Friday night as UGA hit .410 en route to defeating the Eagles 3-0 in both teams' season opener at Stegeman Coliseum as part of the Classic City Clash.
The 'Dogs, who nailed 27 kills and had just two errors by the conclusion of the second set, won 25-13, 25-16 and 25-21.
Sophomore outside hitter Abby Hulsman led the Eagles with 11 kills, while grad student and fellow Cincinnati, Ohio native Olivia Lohmeier contributed 10. Lohmeier's streak of 31 straight matches in double digit kills added another notch to 32. She reached the 10-kill mark late in the third set. Hulsman's double-digit night was her sixth career match with 10+ terminations.
Sophomore setter Bridget Bessler dished out 20 assists. Junior back liner Olivia Montelisciani led the Eagles in digs with six.
The home team only had one player in double-digit kills (Phoebe Awoleye with 11) but used seven blocks, five aces and a 38-30 advantage in digs to get the win.
Morehead State totaled 33 kills and hit .163. Set two included a match-best 13 kills for the visiting Eagles.
A 10-3 opening set run set the tone for the match for Georgia. MSU has set two tied 10-10 but saw UGA outscore it 8-3 in the next few minutes to distance itself. 18-15 was the closest the Eagles managed. In the final set, Morehead State led 6-4 but could not hold the advantage as an 8-0 run turned the tide in the home team's favor.
The Eagles return to the court in Athens for a twinbill Saturday. No. 22 Pepperdine provides the opposition at 12:30 p.m. ET, while Winthrop is the team across the net at 5 p.m.
ARKANSAS STATE 3, UT MARITN 1; WICHITA STATE 3, UT MARTIN 0
JONESBORO, Ark. – The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team came up just short in its quest for a season-opening victory today, falling 3-1 to Arkansas State (27-25, 18-25, 15-25, 26-28) and 3-0 to Wichita State (16-25, 15-25, 22-25) on Day 1 of the A-State Invitational.
Karen Scanlon’s 19 kills (2.71 per set) topped the Skyhawks today while she was also tied for second on the squad with 15 digs. Addison Conley (18 kills, 2.57 per set) and Francela Ulate (team-best four service aces) also led UT Martin offensively while Haeleigh Paulino (36 assists, 15 digs) and Addy Vaughn (26 assists, 15 digs) shared duties at setter.
Defensively, Dylan Mott piled up 31 digs (4.43 per set) to top the Skyhawks. Baillie Kearns recorded 15 digs (3.00 per set) and Olivia Saunders turned away a team-high four blocks on the day.
UT Martin wraps up the two-day tournament tomorrow when it takes on Missouri State at noon.
Arkansas State
Conley (15 kills, 10 digs) and Vaughn (18 assists, 10 digs) each recorded double-doubles but it wasn’t enough as the host Red Wolves escaped with a four-set win.
Paulino got the season started off right with a service ace on the first point of the match. After Arkansas State scored five unanswered points, Vaughn supplied a kill to temporarily halt the Red Wolves’ momentum. Following a Skyhawk timeout after Arkansas State took a 19-13 lead, UT Martin closed out the set on a 14-6 run. Jessica Reynolds had three kills in the span of eight points while Saunders completed the comeback with back-to-back kills to break a 25-25 tie. The Skyhawks sided out at 60 percent thanks in large part to a stellar defense, keyed by Mott’s nine digs.
A pair of Reynolds kills – sandwiched around a Mott service ace – gave UT Martin an early 6-5 advantage in the second set. The Red Wolves went on a 6-0 run but the Skyhawks later responded right back with five consecutive points, capped off by a Ulate service ace that evened the score at 12-all and forced Arkansas State to burn a timeout. The Red Wolves accounted for four straight points out of the timeout and UT Martin could not get any closer than three points for the remainder of the set. Conley had five kills on six swings for an .833 attack percentage to lead a Skyhawk offense that hit .276 in the stanza.
Arkansas State opened the third set on a 4-0 run and later tacked on six unanswered points. The duo of Conley and Scanlon joined forces for four kills in the span of seven UT Martin points but the early deficit proved to be too much of a challenge for the Skyhawks to overcome. Mott came away with six digs to once again lead UT Martin defensively in the set.
The Skyhawks were on the verge of forcing a decisive fifth stanza, facing set point at 24-23 before the Red Wolves concluded the match on a 5-2 run. Reynolds, Kambree Lucas and Scanlon tallied kills on three consecutive possessions midway through a set that featured 17 ties and five lead changes. Seven different UT Martin players came away with kills over an eight-point span, resulting in a 24-23 advantage. Arkansas State stayed alive with back-to-back points before eventually converting its third chance at match point. The Skyhawks hit .279 (17 kills against only five errors) in 43 attempts in the stanza, led by four kills apiece out of Conley and Scanlon.
Wichita State
Kearns accumulated a team-best 13 digs but UT Martin could not find a rhythm in its first-ever matchup against the Shockers.
The Skyhawks raced out to a 4-1 lead in the opening set as Lucas slammed down a pair of early kills. Conley amassed back-to-back kills to extend UT Martin’s lead out to 9-5 but Wichita State immediately went on a 6-0 run to take its first lead of the match. A Saunders kill pulled the Skyhawks within a single point at 16-15 but the Shockers reeled off five unanswered points as part of a 9-1 run to close the set. Kearns (nine) and Lucas (six) combined for 60 percent of UT Martin’s 25 digs in the opening stanza.
The Skyhawks once again got off to a great start in the second set, claiming a 5-2 advantage that included a Ulate service ace, a Vaughn kill and a Saunders solo block. Ulate and Scanlon each piled up two kills during a 6-2 UT Martin surge that gave the Skyhawks a 13-12 lead. However, Wichita State was responsible for 13 of the final 15 points on its way to a 2-0 lead in the match. Saunders hit .333 and had a team-best two blocks in the second stanza.
Scanlon struck for kills on each of UT Martin’s first three points in the final set but the Shockers soon claimed an 18-11 lead. The Skyhawks fought back to take a pair of late leads, courtesy of an 8-0 run that included kills by Zoe Merriweather and Scanlon. Ulate then caught fire for three straight kills to give UT Martin a 22-21 advantage but the Skyhawk comeback bid stalled after a 4-0 Wichita State run closed out the match. Scanlon managed five kills with just one error in the set to guide UT Martin.
EVANSVILLE 3, SIUE 1; SIUE 3, PURDUE FORT WAYNE 2
FT. WAYNE, Ind. - SIUE volleyball opened up the 2021 season in the Hoosier State on Friday, starting with a loss to Evansville in the morning before closing out opening day with a thrilling five-set victory over Purdue Fort Wayne.
Match 1 - SIUE vs. Evansville
The Cougars started off slow and couldn't find their footing in their early morning match against Evansville, dropping the contest in straight sets (19-25, 12-25, 22-25). A highlight of the contest came with Alyse Drifka, who recorded her first collegiate double-double with a 22-assist, 12-dig performance. Assists and digs were a strong point for the Red & White, as the Cougars and Purple Aces finished the match nearly even in both statistical categories. Annie Ellis notched six kills on 12 attacks with no errors, good for an impressive .500 hitting percentage. Julia Treichel was not far behind, with six kills on 12 attacks with just one error for a .417 clip. The Cougars, who ranked among college volleyball's most formidable defensive forces during the spring season, seem to have kept their form this fall - SIUE registered seven total blocks in the three-set contest, more than doubling Evansville's three.
Match 2 - SIUE vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
The Red & White closed out the night with a match against host Purdue Fort Wayne and the return of a longtime rivalry which dates back to both programs' NCAA Division II era did not disappoint. SIUE and the Mastodons would trade blows for the entire five sets, but it would be the Cougars who would come away with the thrilling victory (20-25, 25-19, 14-25, 25-19, 15-11).
Drifka continued her outstanding form in the nightcap, recording her second double-double of the day with a 35-assist, 14-dig outing. Sydney Hummert would join Ellis and Treichel to lead the Cougars with 11 kills each, while Ellen LeMasters registered a team-high three service aces. Jessica Vineyard led the Cougar defense with five total blocks, followed closely by Ellis and true freshman Ainsley Ranstead.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, IUPUI 0
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Eastern Illinois volleyball team won its season opener against IUPUI during the EIU Panther Invitational presented by Unique Suites. EIU won 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-23).
The Panthers started off their first set strong with six kills from Danielle Allen and another three from Kylie Michael. Eastern pulled away by winning the set 25-12.
EIU started the second set with a 4-1 lead, and was led by Summerlyn Smith with two points and one assist during that run. The Panthers ended the second with a score of 25-16 with the help of four services aces from Emily Wilcox.
IUPUI kept the third set close with the score tied 22-22 with three kills by Millai Madison, but the Jaguars gave up the final point of the match to Allen who finished with 14 kills in her first career match.
Michael added eight kills, and Smith added 25 assists to help the Panthers defeat the Jaguars in three sets. As a team, EIU had a 29% attack rating.
IUPUI was led by Madison and Briana Brown with six kills apiece and Darragh Dixon added 16 assists.
MURRAY STATE 3, NEW HAMPSHIRE 1; MURRAY STATE 3, STETSON 1
MACON, Ga. - The Murray State Racers volleyball team (2-0) began their 2021 season with two wins on the first day at the Mercer Bear Classic.
The Racers won the opening game over New Hampshire (0-1) in four sets, 25-12, 25-20, 23-25, 27-25, and finished the day, winning also in four sets over Stetson (0-2), 25-22, 25-18, 21-25, 25-15.
Becca Fernandez moved into third place on the Racers' All-Time Dig List, picking up 15 digs against UNH and 35 digs against Stetson, moving past Kim Koehler with 2,022 career digs.
Brooke Lynn Watts made a statement in her collegiate debut, knocking down 46 kills over the two matches. She hit .333 with 25 kills in the first match and then followed it up with 21 kills in the night cap.
Bailey DeMier also making her collegiate debut, dished out 84 assists and dug 34 balls.
Game One – Murray State 3, New Hampshire 1
The Racers came out firing, easily taking the opening set 25-12 over UNH. Murray State went on a 9-2 run to begin the match and never looked back, building their lead to as many as 13.
UNH put up more of a fight in the second set tying the game at 13 before Murray State pulled away thanks to a 7-2 run and closed out the set 25-20 to go up 2-0.
Set three was a back-and-forth affair with neither team never leading by more than three points. Up 22-20, New Hampshire went on 5-1 run to close out the set.
The fourth set was an even closer game with 16 ties and seven lead changes. Tied at 25, a kill from Watts and a block from Morgan Price and Bailey DeMier sealed the Racers first victory of the 2021 season.
Game Two – Murray State 3, Stetson 1
For the second game in a row, the Racers got off to a hot start, jumping ahead 7-3 and then 14-7 in the first set. Stetson tied to mount a comeback but were only able to get within two of the Racers as the Racers took a 1-0 advantage in the match.
Fast starts were the theme as Murray State went up 8-2 in the second set and then cruised to a 25-18 for a 2-0 lead.
The third set proved to be tougher for the Racers as they fell behind and couldn't make up the distance, fighting off two set points for Stetson before dropping the third set, 21-25.
Bouncing back from their set three loss, Murray State charged ahead 8-4 after rattling off four straight points. The Racers continued to put pressure on the Hatters all game, going on a 5-0 scoring run to push the lead to nine at 22-13. Kills from Darci Metzger and Jayla Holcombe sealed the second opening day victory, 25-15, in the 3-1 win.
Murray State returns to action tomorrow against tournament host Mercer at 1 p.m. CT/ 2 p.m. ET at Hawkins Arena.
AUBURN 3, TENNESSEE TECH 0
AUBURN, Ala. - In its first taste of non-conference action since 2019, the Tennessee Tech volleyball team fell to Auburn in the 2021 season opener Friday evening, 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-19). The contest marked the opening match of the War Eagle Invitational hosted by the Tigers at Auburn Arena.
The opening set featured an early lead for the home squad, with Auburn jumping out by as much as five points at 9-5. Tech closed the gap to a single marker at 13-12, but the Tigers never let the visitors get any closer in set one, closing things on a 4-0 run for a 25-17 win.
Set two was a slugfest over the first half of battle, with both sides squared at 9-9. Auburn began to pull away after that point, using an impressive 16-3 run down the stretch to pull away for a 25-12 victory and 2-0 lead in the match.
Never surrendering without a fight, the Golden Eagles again fought point-for-point early on in the third set, tying things at 7-7. A small Tiger run saw the home team pull ahead by seven at one point, but Tech quickly shrunk the advantage back to three at 19-16. Auburn found enough of a groove to claim the third and decisive game, 25-19.
Leading the entire match with a career-high 15 kills was returning freshman Madolyn Isringhausen, who nearly doubled her total output from her entire true freshman campaign. The Edwardsville, Ill. native hit .211 on the night, adding in five digs, a block and a service ace for a match-high 16.5 points.
Setter Ashley Hand posted a double-double to open her senior season, registering 26 assists and a team-high 12 digs. She chipped in a block and a kill for good measure.
Making her collegiate debut, true freshman Payton Lombardi gathered up 11 digs while contributing in all three sets on the night. Libero McKenna Young led Tech with a pair of service aces and added eight digs and three assists.
Tech will wrap up play at the War Eagle Invitational Saturday morning, taking on Jackson State in an 11:30 a.m. CT tilt at Auburn Arena.