SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 3, UT Martin 1
Little Rock 3, @Lindenwood 2
@SIUE 3, Tennessee State 2
Southeast Missouri 3, @Eastern Illinois 2
MOREHEAD STATE 3, UT MARTIN 1
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State volleyball team took care of business in four sets (25-17, 21-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-19) to knock off the UT Martin Skyhawks Saturday at home at Johnson Arena.
The win moved the Eagles' record to 14-11 overall and 7-6 in OVC play. MSU has won six straight home matches.
The Eagles were led by a double-double from M.E. Hargan, who registered 23 kills and 14 digs on the day. Irene Wogenstahl also added 16 kills to help the attack. On the defensive end, Peighton Isley chipped in with 25 digs to go with four blocks from Amelia Nott. Brenna Bommer posted her second double-double in a row with 35 assists and 15 digs.
The Eagles grabbed control on the first point and held the lead the rest of the way to win the first set 25-17. Morehead State opened up its biggest lead, eight points, to finish off the set.
Morehead State then dropped set two 25-21, evening the match at a set apiece. The Eagles dropped the first point and never clawed back into the lead before dropping the set.
Morehead State bounced back after the set-two loss to take the third set and a 2-1 lead in the match. The Eagles scored first and never trailed in the set to secure a 25-19 victory. Morehead State opened up as much as a seven point lead at 9-2 before finishing off the set, collecting 17 kills in the process. Morehead State's front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking four UT Martin attacks in the stanza.
Morehead State kept the momentum going, claiming the match win with a 25-19 fourth-set victory. The Eagles took the lead for good at 9-8 in a set that showcased two lead changes before the Eagles took over the lead.
LITTLE ROCK 3, LINDENWOOD 2
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Lindenwood women's volleyball (11-12, 7-5 OVC) loses in five sets at Hyland Arena against Ohio Valley Conference opponent Little Rock (7-15, 4-7 OVC) on Saturday evening. Lions were up two sets before dropping the last three.
Nyah Wilson had her 11th double-double of the season on Saturday after posting a team high 15 kills and 15 digs. Allie Otten added 24 assists as the primary setter for the Lions. Jessie Seidel also tied her career high in digs with 32.
Like on Friday, the Lions came out in the first set and cruised to a 25-21 set win. Nyah Wilson posted four kills in the set while Rebecca Janke added three kills and three aces. The Lions had five aces in the first set to help guide LU to a set win.
The second set mirrored the first with the Lions taking a 2-0 advantage after a 25-21 win. Addy McAleer and Wilson both had four kills in the set. Lindenwood hit .140 in the second on 15 kills. LU's defense had four blocks in the set including three from Jade Roth. They held Little Rock to a .029 hitting percentage.
Little Rock's defense battled in the third picking up their first of three straight set wins. The Trojans held Lindenwood to just a .022 hitting percentage on 10 kills. Wilson and McAleer led the way with three kills each. LR had five blocks in the set including three solo from Daedrianna Cail.
The fourth set saw the Lions score just 13 points as Little Rock won 25-13. Lindenwood was held to a season low -.108 hitting percentage with just six kills. Little Rock's blocking was another factor collecting six blocks. Seidel had seven digs defensively for Lindenwood.
Lindenwood would fall on Saturday after a 15-9 fifth set against Little Rock. The two teams split the season series after the Lions' win on Friday. Lindenwood posted five kills in the fifth. The team posted a .062 hitting percentage on Saturday.
Janke ended Saturday with eight kills and five blocks. Roth also had five kills and six blocks. Anna Kramer collected seven kills and six digs on the outside.
SIUE 3, TENNESSEE STATE 2
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Celestial Miller had a double-double of a game-high18 kills and 13 digs, but it was not enough as the Tennessee State volleyball team lost to the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars in five sets (16-25, 25-17, 17-25, 25-23, 10-15) Saturday on the road at First Community Arena. The loss dropped Tennessee State's record to 2-20 overall and 2-10 in OVC play.
Miller also registered game-highs in blocks with five and points with 21. on the day. Aleksandra Rojecka also added 11 kills to help the attack. The offensive was set up by Alanys Otero's game-high 27 assists, while Hennesys Lalane added 15. On the defensive end, Celianiz Cabranes led the team with 14 digs.
The Tigers found themselves in an early hole, losing a tough first set 25-16. Tennessee State trailed by as many as 11 points as SIU-Edwardsville grabbed the advantage for good at 6-5 in a set that was tied up four times before the Cougars took control.
Tennessee State tied the match at 1-1 following a 25-17 victory in set two. Pinpoint serving helped the Tigers take the set. Tennessee State totaled five aces in the set win. The Tigers ended on a strong note, stretching their lead to its largest point in the set to finish out the stanza.
Tennessee State lost set three, putting the Lady Tigers in a 2-1 hole. The Tigers fell in a tough set 25-17. Tennessee State trailed by as many as eight points as SIU-Edwardsville grabbed the advantage for good at 8-7 in a set that was tied up four times before the Cougars took over the lead.
Tennessee State then responded to win set four 25-23 to force a fifth set. The Tigers persevered in a back-and-forth set to win in a stanza that featured five lead changes and was tied 13 times. Neither team was able to grab a lead larger than three points along the way.
Tennessee State was on the wrong side of a back-and-forth match, winning the second and fourth sets but losing the first, third and fifth, which they dropped by the score of 15-10, to fall in the match. The Tigers fell behind on the first point and fought from behind the rest of the way.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 2
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Southeast Missouri volleyball (17-5, 9-2 OVC) completed a five-set thrilling victory on Saturday afternoon downing Eastern Illinois (20-3, 10-2 OVC) by a final score of 3-2 at Lantz Arena in Charleston.
SEMO won the match 26-24, 26-24, 18-25, 19-25, 15-8 in a match that lasted two hours and 50 minutes in front of a crowd of 415.
Three different Redhawks finished with double-digit kills, led by Lucy Arndt with 18. Seniors Kayla Closset and Marisa Guisti finished with 16 and 12, respectively.
As a team, SEMO was outhit by EIU, .256 to .269, respectively, but the Redhawks hit .526 in the fifth set to down EIU as the two leaders in the OVC split the season-series.
Saturday's match featured 35 different times the score was tied and featured 19 lead changes.
Libero Tara Beilsmith had a stellar day in defense for the Redhawks. Beilsmith, from Weldon Spring, Mo., finished with 32 digs and registered 15 receptions with just three errors (.833). She also dished out five assists to help SEMO pick up their ninth win in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Setter Izzy Lukens continued to dish out assists left and right as the senior finished with 45. In the two-game series, Lukens finished with 87 total assists.
Outside hitter Kayla Closset finished with a double-double with her 16 kills and 14 digs. Closset finished with a .229 hitting percentage.
SEMO jumped out to a quick two sets to zero lead as the Redhawks hit .250 and .333, respectively, to start the match.
EIU would respond in the third and fourth, outhitting the Redhawks in each set. As a team, EIU finished with a .269 hitting-percentage led by Giovana Larregui Lopez who finished with 23 kills.