SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Lindenwood 3, Morehead State 1
@Little Rock 3, Tennessee State 1
@UT Martin 3, SIUE 2
Southern Indiana 3, @Western Illinois 1
Eastern Illinois 3, @Tennessee Tech 2
LINDENWOOD 3, MOREHEAD STATE 1
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Lindenwood women's volleyball (10-10, 6-3 OVC) took their opening match against the Morehead State Eagles (11-11, 4-6 OVC) by a final score of 3-1. The Lions had a balanced attack on offense with five players over eight kills.
Lindenwood played a tough four sets on Friday earning their sixth Ohio Valley Conference win of the season. Addy McAleer led the way with 12 kills on a .206 hitting percentage. She also had nine digs. Rebecca Janke was also solid in the middle picking up nine kills, three aces and three blocks.
Morehead State won their only set of the night in the first, 25-23, after holding the Lions to a .054 hitting percentage and nine kills. Nyah Wilson started her night off strong with four kills in the set. The Eagles' defense was stout in the middle with five blocks in the first.
The Lions fired back with a set two victory 25-22. Wilson again led an attack that posted 14 kills in the set and .250 hitting percentage. Ashley Geluck and Janke both had three kills in the second set. Defensively, Seidel had 10 digs through two sets.
McAleer pushed her team to a set three victory with a team high six kills helping LU win the set 25-22. The Lions had their best set of the evening with 15 kills as a team on a .278 hitting percentage. Thirteen of the 15 kills were assisted by primarily Allie Otten and Abby VanBuskirk.
Lindenwood prevailed in the end taking their first of two matches with Morehead State with a 25-17 fourth set win. Rebecca Janke was a force in the fourth with five kills and three aces. LU's defense held the Eagles to seven kills and a .074 hitting percentage to end the match.
Otten led the Lions in assists with 22 and picked up six digs along the way. VanBuskirk also had 15 assists and 10 digs for a double-double. Wilson was the Lions' second leading attacker with 10 kills and nine digs. Seidel was everywhere with 18 digs as the libero.
LITTLE ROCK 3, TENNESSEE STATE 1
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The Little Rock Trojans put out one of their best efforts of the season on a night when they certainly needed it, putting an end to a three-game losing streak Friday and climbing two places in the Ohio Valley Conference standings with an impressive 3-1 win over Tennessee State at the Jack Stephens Center.
The Trojans (5-14 overall, 2-6 OVC) will look to complete a sweep of the Lady Tigers (2-17, 2-7) tomorrow when the teams face off again at 2 pm. The game can be seen on ESPN+. On Friday, the Trojans handed TSU its seventh consecutive loss — 25-16, 20-25, 25-19, 25-23.
Little Rock battled through a barrage of Tiger blocks (22) and took advantage of a season-high 16 service aces including a career-high six aces for both Bella Cherry and Daedrianna Cail. TSU entered the match second in the OVC in blocks and certainly showed why.
But, Little Rock battled through to hit .333 in the first set and .371 in the third to finish the night at .200 – the team's best hitting performance since Sept. 14 against Southern Miss (.222) and only the second time this season they've reached the .200 mark.
Cherry led the Little Rock attack with 15 kills, Cail had 10 and the team got seven apiece from Jeila Fullerton and Daria Burrows. Dariana Valencia had a team-high 24 assists while Kaylee Smith finished one dig shy of a double-double (18 assists, 9 digs). Andrea Roman had a team-high 16 digs and Cail led with three blocks.
UT MARTIN 3, SIUE 2
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball squad extended its winning streak to three this evening, earning a 3-2 triumph over SIUE (15-25, 25-20, 26-24, 21-25, 15-10) in an Ohio Valley Conference thriller at Skyhawk Fieldhouse.
UT Martin hit .250 over the final three sets and held the visiting Cougars to a paltry .097 attack percentage in the decisive fifth set, generating its sixth consecutive win over SIUE in the process.
Olivia Saunders was responsible for a match-high 15 kills on a .344 hitting percentage for the Skyhawks, who improved to 7-14 overall with a 5-6 OVC record. The middle blocker out of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada also tied a team-high with four blocks.
Accumulating the first double-double of her career was Dylan Mott as the junior from Hendersonville, Tenn. recorded a career-high 12 kills on a .444 hitting percentage (no errors in 27 swings) and 16 digs. UT Martin also received a big lift out of Jenna Vallée, who tallied each of her 12 kills in the final four sets while hitting a sizzling .500 (just two errors in 20 attempts).
Haeleigh Paulino (match-best 39 assists) and Kayla Bryant (match-high two service aces) also helped pace the Skyhawk offense.
Defensively, Kayla Carrell came away with a match-high 23 digs for UT Martin. Kristin Phillips and Halle Everett equaled Saunders for the team lead with season-best tallies of four blocks apiece.
The match produced 31 tie scores and a dozen lead changes. The Cougars (10-10, 4-5 OVC) controlled the first stanza but the Skyhawks clawed back to take the next two sets. UT Martin outscored SIUE by an 8-1 margin to close out the second set as Saunders had six kills (on a .600 attack percentage) and three blocks in that stanza alone. Back-to-back late kills from Everett ignited the Skyhawks late in the third set as UT Martin hit .267 with 19 kills in that frame. Mott landed four kills on just six attempts) in the fourth stanza but it wasn't enough as the Cougars were able to extend the match.
SIUE scored the first three points of the final set but it was all Skyhawks from there. Vallée played a pivotal role for UT Martin as the Pornichet, France native accounted for five of the Skyhawks' eight kills in the fifth stanza. UT Martin dialed up the first five points in a 13-4 run down the stretch before a Phillips kill on match point officially sealed the triumph.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 3. WESTERN ILLINOIS 1
MACOMB, Ill. - University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (10-12, 6-5 OVC) tallied a season-high 73 kills and 68 assists in the 3-1 victory (28-26, 25-22, 25-21, 25-21) over Ohio Valley Conference foe, Western Illinois University (6-13, 5-4 OVC), at Western Hall on Friday night. The Screaming Eagles get back in the win column and snap their three-match skid after earning the most kills and assists in a single match since October 2021.
USI's 23 kills kicked off the match and sparked the 28-26 opening-set win. The Eagles started with a 4-0 run that began with an ace from junior setter Carly Sobieralski (Indianapolis, Indiana) and continued with a pair of kills from senior outside hitter Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois) and a kill by junior middle hitter Paris Downing (Avon, Indiana). USI held a late 20-15 lead until WIU scored six of the next seven points to knot it up at 21 apiece. The Leathernecks held the momentum with a 26-25 advantage until the Eagles rallied back with kills from Downing and sophomore middle hitter Bianca Anderson (Chicago Heights, Illinois) and stole the frame back.
Another tight battle resulted in a 25-22 win for the Eagles in the second game. Both sides traded blows until USI ran up the score with a 5-0 surge to make it 18-14. Junior outside hitter Abby Weber (Fishers, Indiana) started the run with a kill with Bianca Anderson securing back-to-back kills to capitalize the stint. Despite trailing by five, the Leathernecks stormed back once again by scoring five of the next six points, four coming off the Eagles' offensive errors. Even after the late push, USI was able to hold off WIU and win the set with the help of kills from Leah Anderson and senior outside/right side hitter Abby Bednar (Chagrin Falls, Ohio). The Eagles' defense nabbed four blocks and held the Leathernecks' offense to 10 kills and a 0.111 hitting percentage.
The Leathernecks took care of business in the third set and took down the Eagles, 25-21. USI held an early 6-4 advantage until a 3-0 run from WIU switched the flow of the game. Down 17-13, the Eagles' offense sprang into action and knocked down four kills and an ace to take an 18-17 lead. Bianca Anderson led the charge, earning all four kills, while Bednar nabbed the lone ace. Despite the late push, USI could not stop WIU's offense who racked up four kills and three aces to seal the Eagles' fate and keep the Leathernecks alive. USI was able to outhit WIU, 14-10, but it was the six aces and five blocks from the Leathernecks that hurt the Eagles in the end.
An offensive slugfest from USI leads to the 25-21 win and secures the match victory. The Eagles nabbed the first three points off kills from Downing and Bednar before the Leathernecks stormed back with four straight points that resulted in a 5-4 advantage for WIU. Bednar quickly retaliated with back-to-back kills to retake the lead followed by kills from Leah Anderson and Bianca Anderson to extend the advantage, 8-6. It was back-and-forth play until Bednar tallied three straight kills to expand USI's lead to 13-10. The Eagles were able to hold on to the lead and take down the Leathernecks for the first win in the new rivalry. USI recorded 21 kills with just two errors for a whopping 0.514 attacking percentage.
Bianca Anderson put up a career-high 25 kills to pair with four blocks and a staggering 0.605 hitting percentage that ultimately lifted USI to the victory. Her 25 kills are the most for any USI player all season. Also hitting the 20-kill plateau was Bednar who also secured a team-high four aces. Downing and Leah Anderson round out double-digit kills for the Eagles with 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Downing's 14 kills were a career-high as she also totaled four blocks. Sobieralski had an impressive all-around performance, earning a career-high 65 assists to go with 11 digs, four blocks, and three aces. Sophomore libero/defensive specialist Keira Moore (Newburgh, Indiana) had 26 digs to lead the Eagles while Weber nabbed 22 digs and Leah Anderson totaled 15 digs.
As a team, the Eagles totaled 73 kills, 68 assists, and eight aces along with eight blocks and 83 digs. The Leathernecks recorded 52 kills, 48 assists, and 13 aces to go with 74 digs and 11 blocks.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3. TENNESSEE TECH 2
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Eastern Illinois volleyball team won their opening match against Tennessee Tech 3-2 on Friday night in an exciting back-and-forth contest. It was the Panthers' first win against the Golden Eagles since the 2019 season, breaking a six-game skid against the conference foe.
EIU trailed for nearly the entire opening set, falling behind 3-2 early and never being able to recapture the lead, despite threatening on a couple of occasions. Tennessee Tech was able to expand their lead in the second half of the set on their way to a comfortable five-point win. Giovana Larregui López had six kills and two blocks to lead the Panthers' scoring in the set.
Eastern responded in set two, taking a 7-6 lead and never looking back. The Panthers closed out the set on a 5-0 run, with the last three points being Larregui López kills. She had seven total in the set, while Natalie Mitchem and Kaitlyn Flynn both recorded three kills.
The Panthers dug themselves in to a deep hole in set three, falling behind 15-8 before going on a 7-0 run to reel it back to even. The Golden Eagles responded with a short 4-0 run of their own, but the Panthers once again fought back, twice coming within one point of Tech down the stretch. However, they could not quite break through and TTU went up 2-1. Larregui López stayed hot with six kills in the set, while Mitchem contributed five of her own. Catalina Rochaix had a big set with 14 assists.
EIU dominated in the fourth, leading by as many as 13 and ultimately taking the set by a convincing 11-point margin. Mitchem kick started the Panther offense with five early kills, including three straight to open the set. Kate Dean also had a strong set with four kills and two blocks, while Rochaix again totaled 14 assists.
Eastern got out to an early lead in the deciding set and never fell behind, despite TTU knotting the score on three separate occasions. The Panthers closed out the match on a 6-0 run that featured three Natalie Mitchem kills, as she led EIU with five in the set.
Giovana Larregui López had a huge night for Big Blue with 24 kills on a .400 hitting percentage. She also added three blocks and a service ace to bring her point total to match-high 27.5. Defensively, she tallied 13 digs to secure her eighth double-double of the season.
Natalie Mitchem also had a very impressive outing, as she stacked up 20 kills on a sizzling .528 hitting percentage. She also had five blocks on the night to bring her scoring total to 22.5 points.
Kate Dean was also in double-digit kills with 11 on a .400 hitting percentage and matched Mitchem with five blocks.
Catalina Rochaix kept the EIU offense in rhythm with 58 assists as the Panthers finished the match with a team hitting percentage of .366. She just missed a double-double with nine digs.
The Panthers had three players in double-digit digs, led by libero Christina Martinez Mundo with 18. She was followed by Larregui Lopez (13) and Laura Paniagua with 10.
Julia Stanev was the night's leader in blocks with seven.
The victory brings Eastern's OVC record to 8-1 and their overall record to 18-2.