SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 3, Lindenwood 1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-15)
@Tennessee Tech 3, Southern Indiana 0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-13)
UT Martin 3, @Little Rock 2 (25-23, 18-25, 25-17, 26-28, 15-12)
SIUE 3, @Eastern Illinois 2 (22-25, 25-13, 25-21, 21-25, 15-11)
@Southeast Missouri 3, Tennessee State 2 (25-23, 21-25, 23-25, 25-17, 15-8)
MOREHEAD STATE 3, LINDENWOOD 1
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State volleyball team fought back after an early one-set deficit to secure a 3-1 win (22-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-15) against the Lindenwood Lions Saturday at home at Johnson Arena.
The conference win improved Morehead State's record to 6-7 overall and 2-0 in OVC play.
Middle blocker Irene Wogenstahl turned back a career-best 11 blocks, while fellow middle hitter Sydney Wyman hit .571 and had 13 kills.
Morehead State had three players in double figures in kills.
Peighton Isley had a team-high three aces in the win.
Maycie Welborn had a match-high and season-high 16 kills for Morehead State.
Morehead State got a match-high 21 digs from Peighton Isley, three short of her career high.
Morehead State attackers were helped by a match-high 40 assists from Bridget Bessler, who also collected a career-high 17 digs. M.E. Hargan, the top freshman attacker in terms of kills per set in the OVC, had 10 terminations.
SET 1 | The Eagles fell behind early, losing the first set 25-22. Lindenwood grabbed the advantage for good at 19-18 in a set that was knotted up two times before the Lions took over in the second half of the stanza.
SET 2 | Morehead State tied the match at 1-1 following a 25-20 victory in the second set. The Eagles never trailed by more than five points and grabbed the advantage for good at 19-18 in a set that showcased two lead changes before the Eagles took over in the second half of the stanza. The Morehead State offense also got a boost from three aces in the stanza. Morehead State's front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking six Lindenwood attacks in the stanza.
SET 3 | Morehead State built on that second-set success with a victory in set number three to open up a lead at two sets to one. The Eagles seized the set 25-19. Morehead State took the lead for good at 10-9 in a set that showcased two lead changes before the Eagles took over the lead. The Morehead State offense also got a boost from three aces again in the stanza.
SET 4 | Morehead State closed out the match with a 25-15 fourth-set victory, winning its third straight set. A strong showing on the attacking side led the Eagles to victory in the set. Morehead State registered a .317 attack percentage with 17 kills in the set win. The Eagles ended on a strong note, stretching their lead to its largest point in the set to finish out the stanza.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, SOUTHERN INDIANA 0
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - It was smooth sailing for the Tennessee Tech volleyball team Saturday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles completed the weekend sweep of new Ohio Valley Conference foe Southern Indiana with a second straight 3-0 win over the Screaming eagles.
The purple and gold clinched a 2-0 start to OVC play for a second consecutive year for the first time since the 1993 and 1994 campaigns. The Golden Eagles offense got better in each set throughout the match while the defense was solid and came up huge several times in keeping plays alive.
Tech accumulated 45 kills on the day while hitting .264 as a unit. The Cookeville crew also racked up 63 combined digs while punishing the other side with nine service aces.
The two sides battled back and fourth in a relatively sloppy first set, with the Golden Eagles prevailing 25-21. The Tech squad held the Screaming Eagles to just six kills and seven attack errors, but struggle with consistency of its own. The Golden Eagles tallied 11 terminations with nine errors on the attack, but used four blocks and four service aces to get the job done.
USI pushed the purple and gold in the second set, taking as large as a three-point lead at 12-9. Tech answered with a three-point run to tie things up and the two sides kept it even up to an 18-18 stalemate.
From that point on, the Golden Eagles took over, using a four-point streak to force a timeout by the visitors. Tech went on to take the second game 25-21 with a much-improved 16 kills and .364 attack percentage. Southern Indiana tacked on 15 terminations of its own, but struggled with five service errors.
The Screaming Eagles looked to get off to a fast start in the third set, jumping in front 8-5. The Golden Eagles regrouped on a service error from the opposition and never looked back, rattling off 11 straight points to take complete command of the match at 16-8.
That domination continued the rest of the set, as the purple and gold cruised to a 25-13 win to clinch the match. The Golden Eagles piled up a whopping 18 kills while hitting .395 in the set while holding USI to just eight of its own.
For the second match in a row, senior Taylor Dorsey led the Tech offense with 12 kills, hitting a healthy .417 along the way with a pair of blocks. Outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen just missed out on a double-double, producing nine kills and 15 digs.
Libero McKenna Young put together another strong showing on defense, finishing the night with a match-high 16 digs, as well as a pair of aces. Fellow defensive specialist Aleeya Jones added to the mix with 13 digs of her own.
Madeline Furtado had a huge third set, accounting for six of her eight kills on the day in the final game alone. Right side Morgan Gish hit .389 with nine kills while middle Skylar Boom smashed .455 with six terminations.
Brooke Amann had another spectacular night serving the ball, pouring in three service aces while also collecting six digs. Freshman setter Jordan Karlen performed at a great pace for a second straight match, recording 38 assists, a pair of aces, and eight digs.
UT MARTIN 3, LITTLE ROCK 2
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - – Little Rock had three players in double figures and hit a season-high .258 but UT Martin escaped a five-set thriller, 3-2, over the host Trojans at the Jack Stephens Center Saturday afternoon.
The Trojans (3-11, 0-2 Ohio Valley) and Skyhawks (9-7, 3-0) traded the first four sets with Little Rock pulling out a dramatic fourth set in extra points before UT Martin squeaked out the match win the decisive fifth frame. Set scores were 25-23, 18-25, 25-17, 26-28 and 15-12.
Laure Jansen recorded her second consecutive double-double as she led the team with 18 kills to go along with her 12 digs while Daria Burrows added 12 kills with a .409 hitting percentage. No Little Rock player hit in negative numbers as the Trojans registered their best offensive performance of the young season, out-hitting the OVC’s best offense. Daedrianna Cail, who hit a team-best .429, also put down five total blocks including two solo stops.
The close opening set was just a preview of what was to come with the full drama hitting late in the fourth set. Little Rock looked ready to close it out at 24-22 but UTM responded with a Wallick kill then a Haeleigh Paulino ace – one of 11 aces in the match for the Skyhawks – to tie the set. After the two teams traded the next four points to bring about a 26-26 tie, a block by Burrows and Zanobia Willis gave the Trojans set point, which UT Martin promptly delivered with an attack error.
The back-and-forth swings continued into the fifth set with UTM winning the first five points, followed by Little Rock winning the next five to tie the set. This would continue throughout most of the frame until the 11-11 mark, when Wallick put down a kill that gave UT Martin a lead after which they would not relinquish.
UT Martin was led by Logan Wallic’s game-high 21 kills while Kambree Lucas tallied 18 digs.
SIUE 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 2
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois (7-8, 1-1 OVC) splits their series with SIUE (6-7, 1-1 OVC) at home in Lantz Arena. The Cougars defeated EIU by a score of 3-2 in five sets. The Panthers were led by outside hitter Giovana Larregui Lopez with 22 kills and 12 digs. The set scores were: 25-22, 13-25, 21-25, 25-21, 11 -15.
Even with the loss, the Panthers offense was cooking today with a hitting percentage of .263 and a total of 62 kills. Larregui Lopez posted her sixth double-double of the season to lead EIU in that category. She also added two service aces to her score. Lilli Amettis posted a career high 17 digs in the loss on a .333 hitting percentage which was second on the team.
Kaitlyn Flynn did not slow down as she also posted double digit kills in the five set loss to SIUE (12 kills). The Cougars offense was also hot tonight posted 72 kills o na .413 hitting percentage. They also posted 69 assists compared to EIU's 59.
Catalina Rochaix posted another 30 assists match with 33 on the night and was helped by Summerlyn Smith who posted 20 of her own. Smith also posted two service aces from the back line while Rochaix added one.
The second leading digs libero in the Ohio Valley Conference, Christina Martinez Mundo, had another 20 dig night with 22 to her credit. Mundo led a EIu defense that recorded 59 digs and 5.5 blocks. Ireland Hieb and Lilli Amettis recorded three and four block assists each to help the Panther D.
The Cougars posted five players with at least 10 kills in the match including 17 from Julia Treichel. Sydney Hummert also had 15 kills and 12 digs for her second consecutive double-double. Caroline Waite led all players with 39 assists while Nicole Kijowski had 27 digs. SIUE is nt 6-7 on the season with a 1-1 record in the OVC.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, TENNESSEE STATE 2
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Recap coming soon.