WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Southern Indiana 3, UT Martin 1
Morehead State 3, @Tennessee State 0
@Little Rock 3, SIUE 0
Lindenwood 3, @Southeast Missouri 1
@Eastern Illinois 3, Western Illinois 1
SOUTHERN INDIANA 3, UT MARTIN 1
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (13-15, 9-8 OVC) earned a gritty 3-1 victory (25-21, 29-27, 29-27, 25-22) over the University of Tennessee at Martin (8-19, 6-11 OVC) at Screaming Eagles Arena on Wednesday night. The win punches the Screaming Eagles' ticket to the Ohio Valley Conference Championships starting on Monday, November 20.
USI squeezes past UT Martin in the opening frame, 25-21. The Skyhawks began the match with an early 6-5 lead until an Eagles' 3-0 stint switched the score. Senior outside hitter Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois) kicked off the run with a kill followed by kills from junior middle hitter Paris Downing (Avon, Indiana) and junior setter Carly Sobieralski (Indianapolis, Indiana). UT Martin quickly flipped the script with a 5-0 run to make it 11-8. Once again, USI changed course and regained the lead after three attacking errors from the Skyhawks. The Eagles were able to push their lead further after a big ace from Sobieralski to make it 21-18. Even though UT Martin brought it within a couple, USI got the win after a set-sealing kill from senior outside/right side hitter Abby Bednar (Chagrin Falls, Ohio). The Skyhawks won the kills margin over the Eagles, 17-14, but it was their eight errors that proved costly. USI also threw down four blocks in the frame to complement their attack.
The Eagles played their longest set of the season but were able to take away the Skyhawks' chances in the second frame, 29-27. USI jumped out to a massive 10-3 lead after posting six kills. Sophomore middle hitter Bianca Anderson (Chicago Heights, Illinois) secured three kills during the run. The Eagles controlled the lead at 21-16 until a long Skyhawks surge changed the momentum. UT Martin scored eight of the next 10 points to take a 24-23 lead. USI was able to get back in it with back-to-back kills from Bianca Anderson and junior outside hitter Abby Weber (Fishers, Indiana) to retake the lead, but the Skyhawks never gave up and took a 27-26 advantage. With the game on the line, the Eagles drew luck from a pair of UT Martin attacking errors plus a powerful kill from Leah Anderson to close out the frame. The Eagles posted a match-high 19 kills in the set off 61 attempts.
UT Martin returned the favor and took down USI, 29-27, in the third. The Skyhawks put up an early 10-6 advantage before the Eagles pulled within one after repeating kills from Leah Anderson. USI took its first lead of the set after posting a 7-2 run to make it 18-16. Bednar and Weber scored back-to-back kills to kick off the surge before Bianca Anderson and Leah Anderson capped off the run with a pair of kills. Despite trailing 22-20, the Skyhawks turned the table with a 3-0 stint that gave them a 23-22 advantage. The Eagles were able to regain the lead and stand a point away from victory until the Skyhawks pounded three kills to cap off the game and steal the win. UT Martin tallied a match-high 23 kills and a 0.250 hitting percentage while USI totaled 18 kills with a 0.241 hitting percentage. Both sides also tacked on three blocks each.
USI won a nail-biter in the final frame, 25-22. The Eagles and Skyhawks were neck-and-neck until a 5-0 USI run made it a 17-14 game. UT Martin was able to recover off a couple of USI miscues, but the Eagles went on a big 6-0 surge that extended the lead to 23-16. Down but not out, the Skyhawks tallied six straight points to cut the deficit and pull within one. However, a kill from Leah Anderson and a UT Martin attacking error capped off the set and handed USI the victory. The Eagles pulled away with 14 kills compared to the Skyhawks' 11 kills.
Leah Anderson had another dominating performance with 19 kills and a season-high 25 digs for her eighth-straight double-digit kill performance and her ninth double-double in the last 11 matches. Bednar provided some insurance with 16 kills and five blocks while Bianca Anderson recorded 14 kills with four blocks to round out double-digit kills. Sophomore libero/defensive specialist Keira Moore (Newburgh, Indiana) put up a career-high 32 digs in the win while Downing pounded down a team-high eight blocks. Sobieralski was stellar on both sides, nabbing 51 assists with a career-high three aces and 18 digs for her third-straight double-double. Also securing double-digit digs were Weber with 13 digs and senior libero/defensive specialist Audrey Crowder (Avon, Indiana) with a season-high 15 digs.
As a team, the Eagles had 65 kills, 58 assists, and three aces to pair with 112 digs and 12 blocks. The Skyhawks posted 68 kills, 56 assists, and five aces to go with 115 digs and 10 blocks.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0
NASHVILLE - The Morehead State volleyball team walked away with a 3-0 win (25-15, 25-23, 25-23) against the Tennessee State Tigers Wednesday on the road at Kean Hall Gymnasium.
The conference victory improved Morehead State's record to 17-12 overall and 10-7 in OVC play.
The Eagles offense was paced by M.E. Hargan, who finished with 13 kills on the day. Amelia Nott added 11 and Irene Wogenstahl chipped in with 10 as part of balanced Morehead State attack. Five Eagles posted seven or more digs to go along with six blocks from Wogenstahl to lead them defensively.
Brenna Bommer posted a double-double in the win thanks to 22 assists and 10 digs.
The Eagles won the first point and never looked back to secure the first set 25-15. Morehead State led by as many as 10 points at 23-13 before closing out the set. Morehead State also supplemented their offense with five aces in the opening set.
After their win in the first set, Morehead State put themselves on the cusp of a sweep with a 25-23 victory in set number two. The Eagles trailed by as many as six points, but took the lead for good at 21-20 in a set that didn't have a lead change before the Eagles took over in the second half of the stanza. Morehead State's front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking four Tennessee State attacks in the stanza.
Morehead State took set three to finish the match in a 3-0 sweep. The Eagles took the lead for good at 24-23 in a set that showcased two lead changes before Morehead State took over in the second half of the stanza. They then carried that lead to a 25-23 set win. The Morehead State offense also got a boost from three aces in the stanza.
LITTLE ROCK 3, SIUE 0
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The Little Rock volleyball team entered Wednesday needing two wins in their final regular season series against SIUE to earn the eighth and final seed in the upcoming OVC Championships. Phase One is complete. The Trojans swept the Cougars in straight sets at the Jack Stephens Center by scores of 25-17, 25-23 and 25-21, setting up a winner take all match Thursday evening. The teams will meet tomorrow evening at 6 pm in a match that can be streamed live on ESPN+.
Little Rock (10-18, 7-10 OVC) hit a season-best .318 – the first time the Trojans have reached .300 all year – and have now won three consecutive matches for the first time since Sept. 8. Little Rock hit .467 in the first set and .407 in the closing third set for an all-around impressive against the Cougars (13-15, 7-10).
Bella Cherry posted 13 kills for the third straight contest, hitting .320 in the process, Daedrianna Cail had eight kills on .583 hitting to go with four blocks, and Jaycee Kennedy set a new career-high with six blocks. Dariana Valencia (20 assists), Andrea Roman (15 digs) and Kaylee Smith (12 assists) all reached double figures.
Little Rock never trailed in the opening set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead that grew to as much as 20-12. Cail hammered down a kill to close out the set and give the Trojans the early lead. Cherry had six blocks in the set and Kennedy stifled SIUE with four of her six blocks.
The second set was much of the same as the Trojans led 10-5, then went ahead by an 18-12 score before SIUE put together a 10-2 run to take a 22-20 advantage. Daria Burrows had a kills and a service ace in a string of four straight Little Rock points to regain the lead at 24-22 and Kennedy combined with Jeila Fullerton on a block to close out the set.
In the final set, the teams traded blows all the way to a 14-14 score until Little Rock strung out a 7-2 run for a 21-16 advantage. Cherry, Cail and Sophia Garrido all had kills in the final sequence to finish off the Cougars in straight sets. Cherry hit .500 in the clinching set.
LINDENWOOD 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - The Lindenwood women's volleyball team (14-14, 10-7 OVC) defeated the Redhawks of Southeast Missouri State (20-8, 12-5 OVC) in four sets on Wednesday behind 12 kills from Anna Kraemer. The win secured at least the five seed for the Lions in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament next week.
Lindenwood dominated early picking up the first two sets in the match before taking the win in four. Kraemer led all Lions with 12 kills in the match marking her fourth time in her last five matches she has gone in the double digits. She also led the team in hitting percentage with a .346 percentage.
Nyah Wilson continued her dominate junior season notching her 15th double-double of the season after picking up 10 kills and 16 digs. She is second on the team in kills and one shy of 300. Addy McAleer, Rebecca Janke and Ashley Geluck all had nine kills in the win.
The first set saw the Lions jump out to a hot start picking up a 25-14 set win. Lindenwood hit .429 in the set with 13 kills along the way and four of LU's nine service aces. Wilson led the way with four kills in the set while Allie Otten added 11 of her assists. LU held SEMO to a .086 hitting percentage.
Lindenwood continued their strong start picking up a set two win by a score of 25-20. Janke added another four kills in set two while Kraemer and Geluck added three each. Both freshman came up big in the win helping Lindenwood earn their 10th OVC win of the season.
SEMO picked up their lone set win on Wednesday in the third by a score of 15-25. Lindenwood had only four attack errors through two sets before posting nine in the third. Wilson again led the way with four kills while Jessie Seidel was active defensively adding eight digs.
The Lions closed out their 14th victory of the season on Wednesday with a close battle in the fourth, ultimately picking up the win by a final score of 25-23. After being tied 22-22 late, LU scored three of the final four points to take home the win. Five Lions had multiple kills in the fourth with Seidel picking up an ace to end the match.
Seidel had 28 digs to lead the Lions, while three others picked up double digit digs. McAleer returned to SEMO which is where she spent the first three years of her career at. She had nine kills and nine digs in the win. Otten also posted 39 assists for the Lions and added three service aces.
The Ohio Valley Conference tournament will now be officially held in Charleston, Ill. after Eastern Illinois clinched the regular season title on Wednesday. Lindenwood will travel there on Monday to start the OVC tournament.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, WESTERN ILLINOIS 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Eastern Illinois volleyball team (24-4, 14-3 OVC) defeated Western Illinois (9-19, 8-9 OVC) 3-1 on Wednesday evening to secure the Ohio Valley Conference regular season title. EIU entered the week with a one game lead over SEMO in the conference standings, just needing to win their final two matches to clinch the championship. However, moments after Eastern finished off WIU, news broke that Lindenwood had knocked off SEMO, which eliminated the Redhawks from contention and allowed the celebration in Charleston to get underway a little early. The title is Eastern's third ever OVC crown and their first won outright since 1998.
The set scores of Wednesday's match were 25-21, 25-18, 8-25, and 25-20.
The Panthers started fast and got out to a 9-3 lead to begin the opening set. However, WIU slowly closed the gap and eventually overtook Eastern 20-19 behind a 4-0 scoring run. But as they have many times this season, the Panthers responded, closing out the set on a 6-1 run to take a 1-0 lead. Giovana Larregui López led the set with six kills while Catalina Rochaix handed out 14 assists. Christina Martinez Mundo had a big set with 9 digs.
EIU kept things rolling in set two as they led virtually the entire way to take the commanding two set lead. Kaitlyn Flynn led the Panthers' scoring effort with six kills and a solo block, as she brought her hitting percentage to .400 through the first two frames. Meanwhile, Martinez Mundo stayed locked in on defense with another nine digs.
Eastern found themselves out of sync in set three, as they finished the frame with a very uncharacteristic -.161 hitting percentage and struggled to find an answer to a Leatherneck team that hit .500 and recorded 4.0 total team blocks in the set.
Set three proved to be an aberration, though, and the Panthers wasted no time getting back on track in the fourth set. They only briefly fell behind by a point before a 9-1 scoring run put the Leathernecks in a hole they could not dig out of. Larregui López scored EIU's last three offensive points before a WIU attack error clinched the victory for Eastern, and along with it, the conference title.
The duo of Giovana Larregui López and Kaitlyn Flynn led the EIU offensive attack with both players recording 15 kills (3.75 KPS). Natalie Mitchem just missed her 12th consecutive game with double-digit kills, finishing the match with nine.
Catalina Rochaix gave out 40 helpers for an average of 10.0 assists per set. It was her 14th game of the campaign with at least 40 assists.
Christina Martinez Mundo had a big night on the back line, as she racked up 29 digs for 7.25 digs per set. It was her third highest dig total of the season.
As conference champions, EIU will host the OVC tournament next week in Lantz Arena.