FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 3, Lindenwood 1 (25-20, 15-25, 25-18, 25-22)
@Tennessee Tech 3, Southern Indiana 0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-15)
@Southeast Missouri 3, Tennessee State 0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-22)
@Eastern Illinois 3, SIUE 1 (25-21, 15-25, 25-16, 25-19)
UT Martin 3, @Little Rock 1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-15, 25-18)
MOREHEAD STATE 3, LINDENWOOD 1
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State volleyball team went four sets (25-20, 15-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-22) but defeated the Lindenwood Lions Friday at home at Johnson Arena.
The win boosted the Eagles' record to 5-7 overall and 1-0 in OVC play, giving the Eagles a win in their OVC home opener in eight straight seasons and now 16 of the last 17 years. The match marked the Ohio Valley Conference debut for the Lions, who moved from the DII Great Lakes Valley Conference to join the OVC this year.
M orehead State had four players in double figures in digs, led by 19 from libero Peighton IsleyAndrea Grimes had a team-high two aces in the win. Morehead State had five aces but allowed 12 aces to the Lions. Abby Hulsman registered a double-double with 11 kills and 15 digs, her fourth double-double in 2022. M.E. Hargan had a match-high 15 kills for Morehead State, which is a career high for her.
Morehead State attackers were helped by a match-high 42 assists from Bridget Bessler. Bessler also completed a double-double with 15 digs.
Shea Hefner also dug 15 attacks for the Eagles.
Lindenwood libero Jessie Seidel led all players with 27 digs and also served five aces.
SET 1 | The Eagles opened up an early one set to none lead, winning the first set 25-20. Morehead State grabbed the advantage for good at 19-18 in a set that showcased three lead changes before the Eagles took over in the second half of the stanza. The Eagles' opening set win came in a stanza where 17 of their 25 points came via the kill.
SET 2 | Morehead State lost the second set 25-15 to tie the match 1-1. Morehead State trailed by as many as 10 points as Lindenwood grabbed the advantage for good at 3-2 in a set that was knotted up just once before the Lions took over the lead.
SET 3 | Morehead State put the second-set loss in the rearview mirror and took a 2-1 match lead with a victory in set three. The Eagles took control of the set early when the score was 4-3 and never looked back to win 25-18. Morehead State led by as many as eight points at 24-16 before closing out the stanza, totaling 19 kills along the way.
SET 4 | Morehead State kept the momentum going, finishing off the match with a 25-22 set-four victory. The Eagles took the lead for good at 22-21 in a set that featured eight ties and seven lead changes. Morehead State also supplemented their offense with three aces in the set. Morehead State got a solid defensive performance from a front row that blocked four Lindenwood attacks in the stanza.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, SOUTHERN INDIANA 0
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (0-12, 0-1 OVC) finished its first Ohio Valley Conference match of the 2022 campaign that ended with a 3-0 (18-25, 21-25, 15-25) loss to Tennessee Tech University (4-9, 1-0 OVC). The Screaming Eagles put up low offensive numbers in the conference opener, tallying just 26 kills and a .111 attacking percentage, both second lowest this season.
A late run by the Golden Eagles gave USI the 25-18 opening set loss. Sophomore outside hitter Abby Weber (Fishers, Indiana) kicked off the set with a big kill before TTU went on a 4-0 stint to gain a 4-1 advantage. The Eagles were able to tie it a few times early on before the Golden Eagles went on a 5-1 surge to make it 15-11. Sophomore middle hitter Paris Downing (Avon, Indiana) was able to stop the run with a kill while junior outside hitter Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois) and Downing were able to tag-team a block to cut the deficit to two. At 16-14, TTU would go on a massive 7-0 run that put USI down, 23-14. The Eagles tallied four straight points thanks to three Golden Eagles errors and a service ace from sophomore outside/right side hitter Abby Bednar (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) to cut the gap before TTU stole the show and the first set. Weber led the group with three of the team's eight kills.
TTU took advantage of its 19 kills and .273 hitting percentage to take the 25-21 second set victory. The Golden Eagles went up 5-2 early in the set before a pair of TTU errors and a Bednar kill made it a one-point game. The Golden Eagles, however, stormed back with a 5-0 surge to give themselves a, 11-5 lead. USI was able to score the next five of seven points to pull within three before TTU countered with a 4-0 stint. With a 19-11 deficit, the Eagles were able to get back into the game thanks to three Golden Eagle miscues and a kill from Anderson before TTU returned the favor with back-to-back kills to extend to a 21-15 lead. USI went on two 3-0 runs, one stint had three kills by three different Eagles to cut TTU's lead to 23-21. The late run was not enough as the Golden Eagles earned their second victory of the match. As a team, USI tallied 10 kills and a .219 hitting percentage along with an ace.
The Eagles watched TTU run away with the third frame, 25-15. USI started the set with a kill from sophomore outside/right side hitter Evie Duncan (Evansville, Indiana) that started back-and-forth action that resulted in a 4-4 draw. TTU would go up by three before a pair of attacking errors put USI within one. With the score 8-7, the Golden Eagles put together a 5-0 run before Bednar stopped the bleeding with her fifth kill of the match. The Eagles' offense went cold the rest of the match, scoring just five of the final 16 points as the Golden Eagles win the first OVC match of the regular season.
Anderson was the offensive leader for USI, recording six kills with Weber and Bednar each capturing five kills. Junior outside/right side hitter/setter Katherine Koch (Belleville, Illinois) earned a team-high 13 assists while sophomore libero/defensive specialist Anna Ballengee put up 16 digs and was the team's only ace. Bednar, Downing, and freshman middle hitter Bianca Anderson (Chicago Heights, Illinois) nabbed three blocks each.
As a team, the Eagles earned 26 kills and 15 errors off 99 total attacks, giving them a .111 hitting percentage. USI tallied 24 assists, 37 digs, and 12 blocks. TTU ended the
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - The Tennessee State volleyball team racked up 13 blocks in a three-set (24-26, 22-25, 22-25) loss to the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks Friday on the road at Houck Field House.
The Tigers had big leads in the first two sets but couldn't hold off rallies by SEMO. In the first set, they were up 21-16. The second set they were up 13-7.
Celestial Miller finished with 10 kills on the day to lead the Tiger attack. Defensively, had two players reach double figures in digs as Gina Rivera-Ortiz had 21 and Carla Boudal had 10. From the front row, Gabrielle Johnson contributed eight blocks and Johanna Alcantara added five rejections.
The loss dropped Tennessee State's record to 6-9 overall and 0-2 in OVC action.
Gabrielle Johnson had a match-high eight blocks. The Tennessee State front row did a great job defensively, picking up 13 blocks in the match.
Celestial Miller had a team-high 10 kills for Tennessee State.
Tennessee State got a match-high 21 digs from Gina Rivera-Ortiz. Tennessee State attackers were helped by a team-high 18 assists from Login Williams.
SEMO held a 10-1 advantage on service aces,
SET 1 | The Tigers dropped a tight first set, losing 26-24 in a game that was tied eight times and had two lead changes.
SET 2 | Tennessee State lost set two 25-22, digging a 2-0 hole in the match. Southeast Missouri State grabbed the advantage for good at 17-16 in a set that was tied up five times before the Redhawks took over in the second half of the stanza.
SET 3 | Southeast Missouri State finished the sweep with a third-set win. The Lady Tigers lost the first point and never clawed back into the lead before losing the set 25-22.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, SIUE 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois (7-7, 1-0 OVC) volleyball wins their opening Ohio Valley Conference match against SIUE (5-7, 0-1 OVC) in four sets in Lantz Arena. It is their first OVC opening win since the 2018 season. Panthers combined for 53 kills in the match including 32 from Kaitlyn Flynn and Giovana Larregui Lopez. The match scores were: 25-21, 15-25, 25-16, 25-19.
Flynn was dominant on First Mid Court as she helped EIU capture their first home win of the season. She posted a .234 hitting percentage along with three service aces. She was one of six Panthers to record a service aces (season-high 11 aces for Eastern). Flynn also contributed nine digs on the defensive side.
Larregui Lopez was hitting powerful strikes all night against the Cougars. She posted three aces along with 15 kills, her most since Sept. 2 at Chicago State. Lopez also recorded her fifth double-double of the season against SIUE with 12 digs. She also faired well at the net with a .256 hitting percentage.
Defense was key in the win for the Panthers as Christina Martinez Mundo posted 29 digs against the Cougars, her second highest dig count of the season. Her effort provided a spark for EIU on offense and led to multiple points. She also chipped in seven assists.
Lilli Amettis (10 kills) and Annika Black (five kills) provided help at the net for EIU. Black posted a .455 hitting percentage while Amettis hit a .450. Catalina Rochaix and Summerlyn Smith both came in at the setter position and willed EIU to a win. Rochaix posted 24 assists with Smith tallying 16.
Blockers were in full force today at the net with EIU combining for 8.5 blocks. Black posted three block assists and Kate Dean hit four back onto SIUE's side to help secure the win. Emily Wilcox also collected three block assists and two kills for the Panthers.
EIU had a team hitting percentage of .194 while SIUE was held to a .167. The Panthers also hit a total of 49 assists the the Cougars 43 and collected 11 aces while SIUE had four.
The Cougars were led by Ainsley Ranstead and Sydney Hummert with 12 and 11 kills. Hummert also had 17 digs for a double-double. Caroline Waite led all setters with 26 assists while also punching down two kills. The Cougars drop to 5-7 on the season with an 0-1 record in the OVC.
UT MARTIN 3, LITTLE ROCK 1
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Recap coming soon.