FRIDAY'S SCORES
Western Michigan 3,
Austin Peay 0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-22)
Austin Peay 3, IUPUI 1 (25-13, 26-24, 23-25, 25-19)
Murray State 3, FIU 0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-22)
@Southeast Missouri 3, Marshall 1 (18-25, 25-13, 25-18, 25-15)
@Southeast Missouri 3, Memphis 2 (25-21, 25-20, 23-25, 24-26, 15-13)
UIC 3,
Belmont 0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-18)
Chicago State 3,
Belmont 1 (25-20, 22, 25, 25-21, 25-18)
Colorado State 3,
SIUE 0 (25-12, 25-13, 25-8)
UAB 3,
SIUE 1 (25-16, 20-25, 25-21, 25-15)
Ole Miss 3,
UT Martin 1 (20-25, 25-12, 25-14, 25-9)
Samford 3,
UT Martin 1 (25-19, 25-15, 18-25, 32-30)
Eastern Illinois 3, Southern Illinois 2 (21-25, 17-25, 25-11, 25-22, 15-7)
Eastern Illinois 3, Alabama State 1 (27-25, 24-26, 25-9, 25-21)
Tennessee Tech 3, @Chattanooga 0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-21)
Tennessee 3,
@Morehead State 0 (27-25, 25-15, 25-13)
WESTERN MICHIGAN 3, AUSTIN PEAY 0; AUSTIN PEAY 3, IUPUI 1
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Austin Peay State University’s volleyball teams split its first two matches at the Indiana State Invitational, Friday, in ISU Arena. The Govs dropped a three-set decision (25-20, 25-14, 25-22) to Western Michigan to start the day before bouncing back to claim a four-set victory (25-13, 26-24, 23-25, 25-19) against IUPUI to cap the day.
In the day’s first match, Austin Peay (5-3) could not find any momentum against Western Michigan (5-2). The Governors did not lead until the third set when they built an 8-5 advantage. The Broncos turned the tide with a 9-0 to take control and ease their way to the three-set sweep.
Austin Peay got off to a better start against IUPUI (2-6) winning the first set nearly wire-to-wire. But the second frame saw the Govs battle back from a 16-12 deficit to force overtime, winning 26-24. IUPUI won the third set after taking the lead at 6-5 and did not allow APSU back into the set, forcing the fourth. Austin Peay trailed in the fourth at 13-11 but rallied to win 14 of the final 20 points to finish the match.
Tegan Seyring led the Govs with 20 kills on the day, leading the Govs against both WMU (7 kills) and IUPUI (13). Maggie Keenan enjoyed a 13-block day, finishing with six stops against WMU before adding seven against IUPUI. Jessica Lary finished with 34 digs, including 19 digs in the win against IUPUI.
Austin Peay closes out its stay in Terre Haute when it faces host Indiana State in a 1 p.m. (CT), Saturday contest.
UIC 3, BELMONT 0; CHICAGO STATE 3, BELMONT 1
CHICAGO, Ill. - Belmont University volleyball dropped two matches on Friday, 3-0 to University of Illinois-Chicago and 3-1 to Chicago State, to open up play at the UIC Invitational from the Flames Athletic Center in Chicago.
Belmont (2-3) will finish up competition at the two-day tournament with a match against Eastern Michigan on Saturday at 12 p.m. CST. Though there will not be video coverage of the contest, fans can follow along with the live stats monitor.
UIC RECAP
The Bruins fell in straight sets, 12-25, 22-25, 18-25 to a talented UIC side picked to finish second in the Horizon League.
The first set saw Belmont get out to a slow start, committing nine attack errors and never truly pushing the Flames in a runaway 25-12 win for the host.
However, the Bruins quickly shed the disappointing performance with a strong opening to the second set, jumping out to a 5-2 lead. After the Flames responded with a big rally to lead 16-11, Belmont refused to roll over, continuing to feed Taylor Floyd and letting the star outside hitter pick apart the Flames back row.
Riding the hot hand, the Bruins stormed back to take a 21-20 lead and force a UIC timeout. Coming out of the break, however, the Flames scored five of the next six points to put the second set on ice with a 25-22 win.
Floyd finished with a team-high 11 kills in the match, including five in the second set.
In the third, Belmont couldn't overcome UIC's sound defense and gave away a few too many points at the service line and at the net en route to a 18-25 defeat in the decisive frame.
Laura Shoopman was the only other Bruin to record double-digit kills, collecting ten. Coming into the second match of the day against Chicago State, the junior had eclipsed ten kills in each of her previous three games.
Belmont hit just .149 and picked up only one service ace in the 3-0 loss. The Bruins committed seven reception errors to the Flames' one.
CHICAGO STATE RECAP
Despite a big performance from Taylor Floyd, the Bruins fell in four sets to Chicago State in Game Two of the UIC Invitational.
Floyd recorded a season-high 17 kills with only one attack error, finishing with a remarkable attack percentage of .329 on 47 attempts. The senior continued to come through in big spots whenever Belmont needed to stop a Chicago State run or wrestle back momentum.
Belmont fell 20-25, 25-22, 21-25, 18-25 to the Cougars, who have now won five of their first seven matches this season.
Just like in the match against UIC, the Bruins had a late lead in the second set over an opponent, but this time they were able to close the door on a talented Cougars side for the 25-22 set win.
Sydney Willis was a force in the middle for Belmont, getting in on seven block assists, the most by a Bruin on the young season so far. Willis' dominance at the tape was a theme for Belmont, as the Bruins out-blocked the Cougars 22.0 to 6.0.
Carly Mason not only facilitated the offense with 24 assists, but also aided the Bruins on defense with 13 timely digs.
Belmont closes out the UIC Invitational with a matchup with Eastern Michigan on Saturday at 12 p.m. CST.
COLORADO STATE 3, SIUE 0; UAB 3, SIUE 1
FT. COLLINS, Colo. - SIUE volleyball dropped a pair of matches on Friday to start their final non-conference road trip of the season, falling in straight sets to host Colorado State in the afternoon before narrowly dropping the nightcap to UAB in four sets.
Following a challenging start to the day, the Cougars bounced back to give the UAB Blazers their most competitive match of the day. The Blazers edged the Cougars in the opening set, claiming it 25-17. SIUE would then find their rhythm, hitting at an impressive .379 clip as a team and returning to form as a potent defensive side to claim a 25-20 second set victory. The third set proved to be a back-and-forth affair, but it would be the Blazers held SIUE to a .256 hitting percentage to earn a narrow 25-21 win. The Cougars would run out of steam in the fourth set, giving UAB their second win of the day.
Savannah Christian posted an outstanding effort in the match, registering a team-high 14 kills and hitting over .400 for the second time in three matches. Drifka again led the Cougars in assists, this time passing the 20-dig milestone for the seventh match this season. Grace Beekman dished 11 assists in the match, good for second-most on the team.
As a team, the Cougars led the Blazers in total team blocks, blocking nine Blazer attempts on the day.
The Cougars will close out their non-conference road schedule with a 12 p.m. match against Pac-12 Conference foe Oregon State. This will be the first Power Five opponent for SIUE since 2018.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 2; EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, ALABAMA STATE 1
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Led by Danielle Allen and Summerlyn Smith, the Panthers start their weekend 2-0 at the Southern Illinois Saluki Tournament. During their second match on Friday, EIU defeated Alabama State in four sets (27-25, 24-26, 25-9, 25-21). Eastern improves its record to 6-1 on the season.
In the first set, the Panthers were led by Allen with six kills to start the match. Lorraine Perez contributed with 15 digs in her second appearance this year, and Smith added 15 more assists. Eastern had 17 kills in the first set with a .278 hitting percentage. Lauren Hughes led ASU with three kills.
EIU dropped the second set 24-26. Allen collected six more kills during the set, and Kameryn Sillmon added three kills. Kalysia Bates and Jada Rhodes led Alabama State with four kills each.
The Panthers held the hornets to nine points in the third set which marks the lowest point total for an opposing team in a 25 point set this season. Allen had five kills in the third with Smith adding nine assists. EIU had a .429 hitting percentage and held ASU to a -.077.
The fourth set concluded the match with a 25-21 victory for the Panthers. Allen led the match with 22 kills and collected 44 on the day. Ella Collins had nine kills with Emily Wilcox and Kaitlyn Flynn each adding eight. Smith had 47 assists in the match and Perez had 23 digs.
ASU was led by A'nylah Cobb with 11 kills , Mahogany Vinson with nine kills, and Madison Beasley with 39 assists.
Eastern Illinois plays their last match of the Southern Illinois Saluki Tournament on Saturday, Sept. 11 at 11 a.m. against USC Upstate.
OLE MISS 3, UT MARTIN 1; SAMFORD 3, UT MARTIN 1
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The opening day of the Holiday Inn-University Plaza Invitational showcased a pair of close calls for the University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team but unfortunately the Skyhawks came up short on both ends, falling to Ole Miss (25-20, 12-25, 14-25, 9-25) and Samford (19-25, 15-25, 25-18, 30-32) by identical 3-1 scores this afternoon.
Addison Conley’s 20 kills ranked first on the UT Martin squad today with Karen Scanlon (19) following closely behind. Haeleigh Paulino also had a strong day at setter, hitting .700 with seven kills, 46 assists and a team-best 25 digs. Olivia Saunders turned away a team-high six blocks while pitching in 16 kills in the two Skyhawk matches today.
UT Martin puts the finishing touches on its third nonconference tournament of the season when it squares off against No. 15 Western Kentucky tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.
Ole Miss
The Skyhawks started out strong against the Southeastern Conference opponent but could not sustain their momentum against the undefeated Rebels (6-0).
Kills by Scanlon and Jessica Reynolds helped spur a big run early in the first set, giving UT Martin a 5-1 edge. Francela Ulate had a kill and a block assist during a 4-0 surge before Conley went on a tear – reeling off three straight kills to help the Skyhawks maintain their lead. The score was knotted at 16-all before UT Martin scored six of the next seven points, capped off with back-to-back service aces from Kayla Carrell. Scanlon then took over with two straight kills to wrap up the first set victory. The duo of Conley and Scanlon each accounted for five kills as the Skyhawks hit .333 in the opening stanza.
Conley got UT Martin on the scoreboard with a kill in the second set but the Rebels took a 7-3 lead. The Skyhawks trailed 13-5 before posting three straight points (Scanlon kill, Scanlon and Reynolds block assist, Ulate kill) to get back within striking distance. Reynolds would tack on two more kills during the second set but Ole Miss ended the stanza on a 12-4 run to even the match at 1-1. Paulino scooped up a team-best five digs to pace UT Martin in the second set.
The Skyhawks were in good shape midway through the third set but they could not put an end to an extended run by the Rebels in the latter stages. Saunders provided a pair of kills in UT Martin’s first five points before a Ulate kill tied the score at 6-all. That began a series of 12 consecutive rallies where both teams alternated points as yet another kill by Saunders made the score 11-11. From that point forward, Ole Miss went on a 14-3 run – nabbing a 2-1 match lead in the process.
Reynolds slammed down a pair of kills to help UT Martin get off to a 4-3 advantage in the fourth set. The Rebels responded with seven unanswered points to take a 10-4 lead. Moments later, Audrey Haworth got the Skyhawks back on the scoreboard with a kill off a feed from Paulino but Ole Miss accounted for the next five points as part of a match-ending 11-2 run.
Samford
A marathon fourth set that included 23 tie scores and seven lead changes didn’t go UT Martin’s way as the Skyhawks suffered another tight setback at the hands of the Bulldogs.
Samford jumped out to a 4-1 lead to start the match but UT Martin stormed back to take a 5-4 advantage due in part to kills from Saunders and Addy Vaughn. The Bulldogs then went on a 13-5 run before back-to-back kills out of Saunders and Conley. The Skyhawks continued to battle and later used a 4-0 run to get back within five points after a sequence that featured a Reynolds kill, a Paulino kill, a Saunders kill and a Scanlon service ace. However, the early deficit was too large to overcome as Samford claimed the opening stanza. Conley piled up six digs to lead UT Martin in the first set.
Conley and Ulate both hammered down kills in the early phases of the second set but once again, the Skyhawks found themselves trailing after the Bulldogs started on an 8-4 surge. The duo of Conley and Saunders each had a kill plus a block assist to help UT Martin get within a single point at 9-8. After a Paulino service ace kept the margin at one point, Samford went on a 12-3 run on its way to taking a 2-0 lead in the match. Paulino’s accounted for nearly half (six) of the Skyhawks’ 14 digs in the second set.
Kills by Conley and Haworth aided UT Martin to a 3-1 lead to begin the third stanza. Back-to-back kills from Zoe Merriweather and Conley helped the Skyhawks open up an 12-8 advantage. The Bulldogs closed the gap to one point at 16-15 but a Haworth rally killer and back-to-back Samford attack errors boosted UT Martin’s lead back out to four points. A Paulino kill and an assisted block by Merriweather and Conley shut down the third set as the Skyhawks hit a scorching .400 (15 kills against only one error) in 35 swings.
UT Martin accumulated 20 kills in the fourth set alone as it looked to extend the match but the Bulldogs managed to escape with the win. Neither side led by more than three points for the entire duration of the set as Paulino (two kills and a service ace) registered three of the Skyhawks’ first seven points. A 10-7 Samford lead turned into a 13-10 UT Martin advantage following a 6-0 lead that included a pair of Conley kills. The Skyhawks were serving for set point on four different occasions (24-23, 25-24, 26-25, 29-28) and fought off match point three times before the Bulldogs eventually broke through for the 32-30 decision. Paulino had 13 assists and shared the team lead with six digs alongside Baillie Kearns in the final set.
TENNESSEE 3, MOREHEAD STATE 0
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Despite a near win and taking the first set to extra points, the momentum couldn't hold up for the Morehead State Volleyball team Friday against No. 23 Tennessee. The Lady Vols turned up the defense and took a 3-0 victory over the Eagles at Johnson Arena.
UT claimed the win with a 27-25, 25-15, 25-13 scorecard to improve to 5-1. The Eagles slipped to 3-4.
The Lady Vols' net defense resulted in 12 blocks while they hit .221 but only committed four errors and had 23 kills in the final two sets. Morehead State, meanwhile, saw its offense sputter a bit as the match went along. The Eagles finished with 29 kills but were charged with 28 errors.
Sophomore outside Abby Hulsman led the Eagles with eight kills, while junior libero Allison Whitten tied for the match high with 12 digs.
After falling behind 19-12 in the opening set, the Eagles scratched back to outscore Tennessee 10-1 to take a 22-20 lead. MSU also led 25-24 but could not close out the set.
Morgan Finghall led the Lady Vols with 10 kills and five blocks.
The teams will turn around and match up again on Sunday, this time in Knoxville, Tenn., at 4 p.m. ET.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, CHATTANOOGA 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - It was a clean sweep for the Tennessee Tech volleyball team Friday evening, as the Golden Eagles (4-2) took down in-state rival Chattanooga (3-5) at Maclellan Gym in both teams' opening match of the Chattanooga Classic, 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-21).
The victory over the Mocs marked the second straight sweep for the Golden Eagles after winning 3-0 over UNC Asheville in the final tilt of the Golden Eagle Invitational last weekend. It also represented the fourth win in Tech's last five matches.
Chattanooga started the first set with a 3-0 advantage, but the Golden Eagles made it a tight battle the remainder of the way, with neither side taking more than a four-point lead at any point. Trailing by as much as 13-9, the purple and gold used an 8-3 run to swing the momentum to its side for a 20-16 lead.
After the Mocs pulled to within a point at 23-22, Tech put things away with a kill from middle blocker Taylor Dorsey and a service ace from senior Lauren Toledo.
In set two, the home squad again jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but the Golden Eagles rallied quickly once again. Squaring things at 13-13, Tech rolled of four more points in a row for a 17-13 advantage. The visitors kept the Mocs at bay the rest of the set, with another Dorsey kill closing out the game 25-21.
The purple and gold swung the momentum to its side immediately in set three, taking the first two points and rattling off seven straight for an 11-4 lead early. That advantage grew to as much as 10 at 24-14, but Chattanooga refused to go quietly. Tech halted a seven-point rally by the Mocs, using a Madolyn Isringhausen kill to complete the sweep with a 25-21 win in the set.
The Tech attack was particularly effective in the final two sets, boasting attack percentages of .278 with 15 kills and .250 with 13 kills, respectively. The Golden Eagles racked up 11 service aces on the night with eight total blocks and 39 kills.
Redshirt sophomore Madeline Furtado led the match with 10 kills on a solid .238 hitting percentage. It marked her highest attack rate of the season and her third match in the last four with double-figure kills.
Tech's middle blockers dominated during the evening, led by sophomore Dallas Oatis and junior Taylor Dorsey. Oatis registered a season-high nine kills while hitting .474, and chipped in three block assists to the mix.
Dorsey produced one of the most complete matches of her career, smashing a robust .615 with eight kills, four total blocks, and a career-high four service aces. The Birmingham, Ala. native even added four assists for good measure, dominating the match across the board.
Senior Ashley Hand continued her strong start to the year, doling out 29 assists and a team-high 12 digs for her fourth double-double of the year. She produced a trio of kills while hitting .375 and helped out on a pair of blocks.
Next up for the Golden Eagles is a 9:00 a.m. CT match Saturday morning against Troy, which took down Virginia Tech earlier on Friday, 3-1. Tech will then wrap up the Chattanooga Classic with a 4:00 p.m. tilt against the Hokies.
MURRAY STATE 3, FIU 0
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Murray State Racers volleyball team (4-3, 0-0 OVC) powered past FIU (2-4, 0-0 CUSA) in straight sets, 25-21, 25-21, 25-22, on Friday at the Eagle Invitational in Statesboro, Georgia.
Senior libero Becca Fernandez notched 22 digs in the match, moving her into sole control of second on Murray State's All-Time Digs List. After today's game, Fernandez is now just 19 digs away from breaking the all-time record, 2,165, held by Kayleah Sauer ('08-'11).
Three Racers produced double-digit kills: Brooke Lynn Watts (15-9-39), Darci Metzger (13-3-25) and Kolby McClelland (12-3-29). Metzger and McClelland hit .400 and .310, respectively, out of the middle. Meanwhile, Alysha Smith added eight kills on 20 swings.
Bailey DeMier paced the Racer offense to a .280 hitting percentage with 44 assists.
Murray State was even with FIU through the first set, tied at 16-16, before using kills from McClelland, Watts and a dig attack kill from Fernandez to pull away and close on the first set on a kill by Metzger.
The Racers built an early 10-2 lead over the Panthers in the second set, expanding their lead to 11 points at 17-6. FIU mounted a comeback late, closing the gap to four points but a kill by Smith gave the Racers set point and Murray State won 25-21 to go up 2-0.
In the third set, Murray State rattled off five points in a row thanks to three straight kills by Metzger and two from Emily Matson to go up 10-5. The Racers stayed in control the rest of the set and closed out the set and the match, 25-22, on a kill from McClelland.
Murray State takes on tournament host Georgia Southern tomorrow at 11 a.m. CT/ 12 p.m. ET in Hanner Fieldhouse.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, MARSHALL 1; SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, MEMPHIS 2
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Recap coming soon.