FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 3, Southeast Missouri 2 (25-21, 25-22, 20-25, 19-25, 15-8)
@Lindenwood 3, Eastern Illinois 0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-19)
@Tennessee State 3, Little Rock 0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-16)
@SIUE 3, Southern Indiana 1 (25-17, 25-21, 23-25, 25-15)
UT Martin 3, @Tennessee Tech 1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-14, 25-21)
MOREHEAD STATE 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 2
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Middle blocker Irene Wogenstahl established the Morehead State single-match block assist record with 13 rejections Friday night, and the Eagles held off a rally by Southeast Missouri to win 3-2 (25-21, 25-22, 20-25, 19-25, 15-8) at Johnson Arena.
Wogenstahl, Bridget Bessler and Abby Hulsman all put up double-doubles to help power the Eagles to halt a five-match winning streak by SEMO in the all-time series.
The conference win improved Morehead State's record to 14-14 overall and 10-7 in OVC action. One ore win over SEMO Saturday will secure the third seed in next week's Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
Wogenstahl (16 kills, .361 hitting percentage, 13 blocks), Bessler (51 assists, 17 digs) and Hulsman (13 kills, 15 digs) all registered double-doubles in the win.
Wogenstahl's record topped Maddie Fella, who had 11 blocks assists in a match in 2016.
Morehead State had four players in double figures in kills as M.E. Hargan (15) and Sydney Wyman (10) also had double digit terminations.
Morehead State had four players in double figures in digs.
Morehead State got a team-high 24 digs from Peighton Isley to tie her career high.
Bridget Bessler moved her career assists total to 3,986, looking to become just the third setter in program with 4,000+ career assists.
Kinsey McAfee totaled a career-high six blocks as MSU had 15 blocks as a team.
SET 1 | The Eagles took control on the first point and never trailed to secure the first set 25-21. Morehead State led by seven points at 21-14 before finishing off the set, collecting 15 kills in the process.
SET 2 | After their win in the first set, Morehead State put itself on the cusp of a sweep with a 25-22 victory in set number two. The Eagles never trailed by more than five points and grabbed the advantage for good at 10-9 in a set that showcased four lead changes before the Eagles took over the lead. The Morehead State offense also got a boost from three aces in the stanza.
SET 3 | Morehead State couldn't end the match in a sweep, dropping set three to make its lead two sets to one in the match. The Eagles came up short by the score of 25-20. Southeast Missouri grabbed the advantage for good at 19-18 in a set that was tied up seven times before the Redhawks took over in the second half of the stanza.
SET 4 | Morehead State then dropped its second straight set 25-19 to bring the match level at two sets apiece. The Eagles trailed by as many as seven points as SEMO grabbed the advantage for good at 18-17, and Morehead State wasn't able to recover in a set that was knotted up just once before the Redhawks took over in the second half of the stanza.
SET 5 | Morehead State needed five sets to win the match. After they won the first two sets, Southeast Missouri responded to take the third and fourth sets before the Eagles finished off their victory with a 15-8 fifth-set win. The Eagles grabbed control of the set-five lead at 2-1 and held it the rest of the way. Morehead State ended strong, opening its biggest lead of the stanza, seven points, to finish off the set, totaling 12 kills in the set.
LINDENWOOD 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood women's volleyball team defeated Eastern Illinois in a thrilling three-set victory on Friday night in Hyland Arena.
In a match that proved to be an even battle from the get-go, the Lions were able to put together a clean first set, downing the Panthers 25-20 to take the 1-0 lead. Sharp offensive and defensive efforts were apparent all over the court, with Lindenwood moving as a unit all throughout the first set.
The Panthers looked to swing things back in their favor in the second, and actually closed the gap many times throughout the second set, even getting out in front of the Lions a couple times. Lindenwood held on, however, coming out on top in a 25-23 victory to go up 2-0.
Nyah Wilson and Mackenzi Sifuentes broke out significantly in the third set, tag-teaming to generate a great portion of the Lions' strong offense. The Lions grabbed an early lead and held onto it despite a last-ditch effort from the Panthers midway through the third set to make a comeback. The final points of the match came from back-to-back kills from Sifuentes, grabbing the Lions' 23rd and 24th point. The game point was earned on a huge block from Sifuentes and Madilyn Dement, lifting Lindenwood to a 25-19 victory in the third.
Other noteworthy performances came from Taylor Gentemann, who had the second most kills of the night (10) behind Sifuentes' 11. Sifuentes and Wilson each generated the same hitting percentage, tying at the top of the Lions' leaderboard after each hitting .467. Dement tallied the highest number of digs with 12 total, while Abby VanBuskirk strung together 37 set assists throughout the night to set the tone for Lindenwood.
On top of her impressive attacking effort, Sifuentes had an impressive team-leading eight total blocks on the night, pushing her total number of points to 17.5. Rebecca Janke played a well-rounded match as well, tallying the second-most blocks (three) and hitting the second best on the team with her .417 hitting percentage.
TENNESSEE STATE 3, LITTLE ROCK 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee State volleyball team took care of business in straight sets (25-22, 25-20, 25-16) to beat the Little Rock Trojans Friday at Kean Hall Gymnasium. The win moved the Tigers to a .500 record at15-15 overall and 9-8 in OVC play.
TSU's offense was paced by Johanna Alcantara, who finished with 14 kills on the day while accumulating a hitting percentage of .357, and by Kennedy Davis, who had 11 while hitting .421. Sofia Garcia-Guerrios set up the strikes with 26 assists and Login Williams chipped in with 12. 25 digs from Gina Rivera-Ortiz to lead them defensively.
Gabrielle Johnson had a team-high one ace in the win.
Tennessee State never trailed on the way to winning the second set 25-20.
Tennessee State never trailed on the way to winning the third set 25-16.
Johanna Alcantara had a match-high 14 kills for Tennessee State.
Tennessee State got a match-high 25 digs from Gina Rivera-Ortiz.
Tennessee State attackers were helped by a match-high 26 assists from Sofia Garcia-Guerrios.
SET 1 | The Tigers persevered in a back-and-forth first set to win 25-22 in a stanza that featured four lead changes and was tied six times. Neither team led by more than four points in the set. TSU got a solid defensive performance from a front row that blocked four Little Rock attacks in the stanza. Kennedy Davis had six kills in the set to lead the Tigers.
SET 2 | TSU built on a set-one win by securing a 25-20 victory in set number two. The Tigers led from the opening point on in the set to secure the victory. TSU opened up as much as a six point lead at 23-17 before finishing off the set, collecting 18 kills along the way. After a subpar first set, the Tigers hit .341 over the course of the set. TSU was paced by a 4-1 start and never looked back.
SET 3 | The Tigers took the third set to finish the match in a 3-0 sweep. TSU led from the first point on in the set to secure a 25-16 victory. The Tigers ended on a high note, claiming its biggest lead, nine points, to close out the set, totaling 15 kills in the process.Another 4-1 start in the set gave TSU the spurt they needed.
SIUE 3, SOUTHERN INDIANA 1
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Jessica Vineyard posted 11 blocks, the first double-digit blocking effort by a Cougar since 2015 when Volunteer Assistant Coach Kristen Torre posted 10, in the win over Southern Indiana on Friday night at First Community Arena. SIUE bested the Screaming Eagles, 3-1, using a .223 attack percentage on 56 kills with 13 total blocks.
Following the victory, SIUE improves to 12-16 overall and 7-10 in Ohio Valley Conference play this season. Southern Indiana falls to 1-27 and 1-16.
The Cougars rolled out to a hot start in the first frame, grabbing a six-point lead at 10-4 after a 5-0 run. SIUE took a 10-point lead at 21-11, its largest lead of the opening set, before USI closed its gap to six. The Cougars would prevail, stealing the final two points on back-to-back kills by Sydney Hummert and Ainsley Ranstead. Paige Montgomery made her collegiate debut in the first set and finished with two digs.
Southern Indiana took the opening two points in the second set, but the Cougars fought with a 7-1 run to claim a 7-3 advantage. SIUE held its lead until a 4-0 run by the Screaming Eagles knotted the match up at 13. Tied 18-18, the Cougars reclaimed their lead following a kill by Vineyard. SIUE would win the final two points of the set following a service error by USI and a kill from Savannah Christian.
Leading 3-1 in the third, Southern Indiana found its footing after a 5-0 run to take a three-point advantage. The Cougars tied the set twice but reclaimed their lead after a 3-0 run to take a 13-10 upper hand. Southern Indiana, however, would steal SIUE's short lead after an 8-1 run. The Cougars made the third set interesting by cutting their deficit to one at 24-23, but the Screaming Eagles captured the final point, taking a potential sweep away from the Cougars.
SIUE would regroup in the fourth set, holding the Screaming Eagles to a .030 attack percentage in the final frame. SIUE used a 7-0 run to capture an eight-point lead at 11-3, before a 5-0 run pushed the Cougars' advantage to 13. The Screaming Eagles refused to go down without a fight, using a 7-1 run to cut SIUE's lead to eight. SIUE would follow up with back-to-back points that was capped off by a Julia Treichel kill, giving the Cougars a 25-15 set win and 3-1 victory in the match.
Priscilla Jones led the match with 14 kills on 24 total attacks, good for a .542 hitting percentage. Vineyard also added double-digit kills with 10 for double-double. Hummert added nine kills, while Treichel and Ranstead added eight. Treichel also finished with six blocks and Ranstead collected three.
Nicole Kijowski paced the Cougars defense with a team-high 19 digs. Hummert also added double-digit digs with 13.
Setting the Cougars' attack were Caroline Waite and Alyse Drifka, finishing the match with 28 and 22 assists.
UT MARTIN 3, TENNESSEE TECH 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - UT Martin defeated Tennessee Tech in four sets to clinch its first OVC regular season crown since 2002.
Karen Scanlon led the Skyhawks with 15 kills and 17 digs. Logan Wallick had 14 kills. Kambree Lucas has 10 kills and 16 digs. Dylan Mott recorded a team-high 25 digs.
Tennessee Tech's Madolyn Isringhausen notched a double-double with 15 kills and 10 digs. Brooke Amann also had a double-double with 13 kills and a team-best 23 digs.