SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Western Illinois 3, Tennessee State 1
@SIU 3, Eastern Illinois 2
@Tennessee Tech 3, Southeast Missouri 0
WESTERN ILLINOIS 3, TENNESSEE STATE 1
MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois volleyball completed the weekend sweep of Tennessee State with a four-set victory on Senior Day inside Western Hall. WIU picks up conference win number eight in conference play as they move to 8-8.
The Leathernecks came out on fire to start set one. Graduate student Annika Black started her last game inside Western Hall with a kill. Grace Kremer followed it up with an ace, and Kennedy Bauer picked up her first kill on senior day, giving WIU an early 3-0 lead. Western Illinois would continue their lead throughout the first set as kills by Julianna Schmidt and Keyana Cruse pushed WIU in front 7-2. Kaitlyn Wickersheim got it down from the service line before the media timeout with back-to-back service aces, giving WIU a 15-9 lead. The Leathernecks did not slow down as the Leathernecks controlled and took set one 25-17.
WIU found themselves down 5-2 before Cruse would find her first kill of the second set. The Tigers held a four-point advantage at 9-5 before Bauer found the floor for a kill. After the kill, it was Wickersheim's turn again. Three service aces in five points brought WIU in front 11-9. Schmidt would add one more point for the Leathernecks as they went on a 7-0 run. TSU responded with a 5-2 run to head into the media timeout 15-14. WIU would pull back in front 16-15 after a block by Black and Kremer. Kremer would then join Cruse for a block on the next point, doubling WIU's advantage. TSU had a response again in the set as a 5-2 run put them in the driver seat 21-20. WIU would battle back to take a 22-21 lead, but the Tigers used a late run, taking set two 25-23.
Western Illinois was on the ropes early in set three as TSU opened a 7-3 lead. Cruse had a kill and an ace, bringing WIU within three (9-6). TSU would hold an advantage through the middle phase of set three, extending their lead to as many as five at 16-11. Down 19-15, WIU started to mount a comeback. An ace by Cruse and then back-to-back kills by Bauer put WIU within one at 19-18. Down 24-22, Western Illinois used an attack error and a kill by Cruse to put things all square at 24. The Leathernecks would return to Cruse three more times as they took set three 28-26.
Tennessee State jumped in front once again in the fourth set. Down 4-1, two attack errors, and a Grace Ulatowski service ace tied the set at four. Both teams would stay neck and neck with ties up to 12-12. Julianna Schmidt and Kennedy Bauer would both have kills as WIU saw themselves ahead 16-14. Ahead 18-15, TSU used a 3-0 run to tie the set at 18 a piece. Both teams traded the following four points as the score was tied at 20. A ball-handling error and a kill from Bauer saw WIU ahead 22-20, forcing a TSU timeout. Tennessee State would cut the deficit out of the break to one at 23-22 and 24-23, but WIU headed back to Cruse for the game-ending kill as WIU took set four 25-23.
Keyana Cruse led the Leathernecks with 17 kills. Senior Kennedy Bauer ended her last game inside Western Hall with an 11-kill performance. Cruse also led the Leathernecks with 14 digs to complete the double-double. Maggie Craker also had a double-double, dishing out 40 assists and digging up 13 balls. Kaitlyn Wickersheim had five of WIU's 14 service aces on the day. The Leathernecks totaled ten team blocks compared to Tennessee State's seven.
SIUE 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 2
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE volleyball picked up its 13th win of the season against first-place Eastern Illinois, earning a reverse sweep in five sets on Saturday inside First Community Arena. The set scores were: 23-25, 14-25, 25-23, 25-22, and 18-16.
SIUE improves to 13-14 overall and 7-9 against Ohio Valley Conference opponents. EIU falls to 23-4 and 13-3. SIUE concludes its 2023 home schedule 8-3 in Edwardsville.
After dropping the first two sets, the Cougars used a .367 attack percentage in the third while holding the Panthers to a .167 clip. Trailing 2-1 in the match, SIUE used a .370 hitting percentage while taking advantage of six attack and four setting errors to knot the match, 2-2. In the final set, both sides traded points until the Cougars evened the set at 16 following a Panthers' service error. SIUE grabbed the final two points to take 18-16 win in the final set and 3-2 victory in the match.
SIUE concluded the match with a .348 attack percentage while holding EIU to a .308 clip. The Cougars outblocked Eastern Illinois 12-3 while picking up 41 digs.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 0
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Clutch play and another impressive comeback paced the Tennessee Tech volleyball team to its seventh straight victory Saturday evening, as the Golden Eagles celebrated Senior Night in style with a monster, 3-0 win over Southeast Missouri in the Hooper Eblen Center.
The team's first 3-0 sweep of Ohio Valley Conference play couldn't have come at a better time, as the purple and gold clinched its fourth straight OVC Tournament bid (not counting the COVID-19 spring season in 2020-21 that had a reduced field) with the win. For the Golden Eagles (13-16, 9-9), it represented their fifth consecutive victory over the Redhawks (20-7, 12-4), the program's longest win streak in series history.
Tech reigned supreme to complete the weekend sweep behind another strong offensive showing and more resiliency, hitting .298 with eight blocks and multiple rallies. Opening the match, it was SEMO that got off the bump quickly, rushing out to a 5-1 advantage.
The Cookeville crew battled back, took its own lead, and then battled some more up to a 19-19 tie. It was all Tech from then on, as the Golden Eagles powered through a 6-2 run for a 25-21 victory.
It was 15 terminations, a .312 hitting percentage, and three service aces that propelled the purple and gold past the pesky Redhawks. Things only got more intense from there.
In set two, Southeast Missouri opened up a five-point lead at 13-8 to try and put its stamp on the match, but Tech would have none of it. The Golden Eagles executed seven straight points to take a two-point lead of their own. Back-and-forth the scoring went until the very end when the purple and gold gathered back-to-back kills from junior outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen and freshman right side Ava Schubert to lock down a 25-23 win and 2-0 lead.
Another 16 kills and three blocks contributed to the second-set win, but it would take a whole new level of play for the Cookeville crew to pull off the Senior Night sweep.
SEMO put forth its best effort yet to open the third set, building a six-point lead at 14-8. The Golden Eagles started chipping away, taking a big chunk out of the deficit with a 4-0 run. Tech finally squared the game at 19-19, with an ace from outside hitter Bella Powell.
Back-to-back points by the Redhawks forced Tech to call a timeout and the team responded, as the purple and gold rolled off three in a row to take its own lead again. Two service errors and a timely kill kept Southeast Missouri in the mix beyond regulation, with the score squared once more at 24-24.
Powell smashed a kill on a play that resulted in an unsuccessful challenge by the Redhawks, forcing the visitors from Cape Girardeau, Mo. to call their final timeout. The Palmyra, Ill. native then paired with graduate middle blocker Skylar Boom on the match-winning block to secure a 26-24 decision.
The purple and gold pulverized 18 kills on .385 efficiency in the final set, racking up three aces and three blocks as well.
Isringhausen led t he Golden Eagles with 14 terminations on the night, hitting .278 with two more service aces and two blocks. Joining the double-digit kill club with 11 and a team-high 12 digs was Powell, who recorded her seventh double-double of the season. She also added three blocks and three aces.
Schubert rounded out the Tech trio in double-figures in kills, securing 10 terminations with a .278 attack. Junior middle blocker Emma Pabon registered eight kills while hitting a whopping .500 on the evening and tying for the team lead with three rejections.
Sophomore setter Jordan Karlen delivered another impressive performance on the night, tallying her 14th double-double of the season. The Janesville, Wis. native fired off 43 assists with 10 digs and two aces, averaging an incredible 14.33 assists per set. Junior libero McKenna Young chipped in 11 digs, an ace, and three assists to the effort.
Boom racked up six kills and three blocks while graduate defensive specialist Olivia Taylor posted two digs. Boom, Taylor, and senior outside hitter Katie DiRaimondo were all honored following the match in a Senior Night ceremony.