• Championship Central | Bracket (PDF)
The 2023 OVC Volleyball Championships got underway with first round action on Monday.
This year's event is being held on the campus of Eastern Illinois University, who is hosting for the first time since 2005. The Panthers won the OVC regular season championship, finishing OVC play with a 15-3 record.
Fans can watch the entire 2023 OVC Women's Soccer Championship on ESPN+.
#5 Southern Indiana 3, #4 Morehead State 0
Box Score |
Live Video |
Live Stats |
Photo Gallery
#1 Eastern Illinois 3, #8 Little Rock 0
Box Score |
Live Video |
Live Stats |
Photo Gallery
#2 Southeast Missouri 3, #7 Western Illinois 2
Box Score |
Live Video |
Live Stats |
Photo Gallery
#3 Lindenwood 3, #6 Tennessee Tech 2
Box Score |
Live Video |
Live Stats |
Photo Gallery
#5 SOUTHERN INDIANA 3, #4 MOREHEAD STATE 0
CHARLESTON, Ill. - University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (15-15, 10-8 OVC) took down No. 4 Morehead State University (18-13, 11-7 OVC) in the opening round of the Ohio Valley Conference Championship, 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-23), at Lantz Arena Monday morning. The Screaming Eagles advance to the semifinal round to face the winner of No. 1 Eastern Illinois University and No. 8 University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
USI's defense stepped up in the opening frame with a 25-18 victory to take an early match lead. The Screaming Eagles jumped out ahead early after senior outside hitter Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois) posted a pair of kills to lead 8-7. Morehead State was able to take a quick lead at 9-8 before USI posted a 7-0 run that flipped the script. The Screaming Eagles' defense forced six attacking errors while senior outside/right side hitter Abby Bednar (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) added two kills. Even after a Morehead State kill, the Screaming Eagles posted another run, this time a 4-0 surge that put the score at 19-10. Despite being down by as many as 10, Morehead State was able to cut the deficit in half after a 5-0 stint. However, USI was able to clamp down and secure the victory after back-to-back kills from sophomore middle hitter Bianca Anderson (Chicago Heights, Illinois). The Screaming Eagles tallied 11 kills and held Morehead State to eight kills while forcing nine errors.
The Screaming Eagles posted a match-high 17 kills and 0.262 hitting percentage to propel past Morehead State with a 25-22 second-set victory. USI went down 5-1 early before a pair of Bednar kills and a few Morehead State attacking errors knotted the match up at six apiece. Even after Morehead State regained the lead, USI posted four straight kills to swing the momentum back. During the surge, a trio of Screaming Eagles recorded a kill including Bednar, Bianca Anderson, and junior setter Carly Sobieralski (Indianapolis, Indiana). Both sides traded blows until a 3-0 run from Morehead State saw USI's lead dwindle to just one. However, a set-sealing kill from Leah Anderson put the Screaming Eagles on top with a 2-0 match lead.
Another solid offensive outing from USI secured the victory in the frame and match, 25-23. Bednar recorded three early kills with junior outside hitter Abby Weber (Fishers, Indiana) tacking on one kill to push the Screaming Eagles' lead to 6-3. After a Morehead State kill, USI posted a 4-0 run that started with repeating kills from Bianca Anderson. Morehead State returned the favor by scoring seven of the next eight points to tie the set at 11 each. An ace from sophomore libero/defensive specialist Keira Moore (Newburgh, Indiana) and a couple of kills from Leah Anderson put the Screaming Eagles back on top, 15-12. Despite being down, a Morehead State rebuttal swapped the momentum and tied the game at 17. USI stole back the lead and ultimately took the win with the help of seven kills from five different Screaming Eagles to close out the frame. USI tallied 16 kills with just five errors in the set while Morehead State had its best offensive set of the match, recording 13 kills.
Bednar led the attack for the Screaming Eagles with 15 kills and a 0.310 hitting percentage while also adding three blocks to the stat sheet. Leah Anderson recorded the lone double-double for USI with 12 kills and 14 digs. Also nabbing double-digit digs was Moore with 17 digs while Sobieralski posted 26 assists and nine digs in the win. Junior middle hitter Paris Downing (Avon, Indiana) pounded down four blocks to lead USI at the net.
As a team, the Screaming Eagles had 44 kills, 35 assists, and one ace to pair with 59 digs and five blocks. The Eagles posted 33 kills, 30 assists, and six aces with 53 digs and eight blocks.
#1 EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, #8 LITTLE ROCK 0
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Eastern Illinois volleyball team defeated Little Rock 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-22) on Monday afternoon in Groniger Arena. With the win, the Panthers advance to the semifinals of the OVC Tournament for the first time since 2017, where they will face the fifth seed Southern Indiana.
EIU led for the entirety of the first set, as they used a couple of 4-0 scoring runs to extend their lead to a comfortable margin. OVC Player of the Year Giovana Larregui López had a huge set with eight kills on a .500 hitting percentage, as Setter of the Year Catalina Rochaix handed out 15 assists and helped the Panthers to a .483 team attack percentage.
Set two was tight early on, but a 15-2 Eastern run helped the Panthers blow things wide open on their way dominant 12-point win. That run featured six kills from Emily Wilcox, who led EIU with eight in the set. Natalie Mitchem also had a strong set with five kills in the frame. The Panthers had four service aces in the set, with Laura Paniagua and Giovana Larregui López recording a pair each.
Little Rock regrouped for set three and led by as many as five points mid-way through the set, but after going down 15-10, EIU outscored the Trojans 15-7 the rest of the way to secure the quarterfinal victory. The Panthers comeback was sparked and finished off by Natalie Mitchem, who had a set-leading six kills. She was followed by Larregui López with five kills and Kaitlyn Flynn with four terminations.
EIU's leading scorer was Giovana Larregui López with 14 kills (4.67 KPS), two service aces, and a block. She also recorded 10 digs for her 15th double-double of the season.
Larregui López was followed by Natalie Mitchem with 13 kills (4.33 KPS) on a red hot .550 attack percentage and a block.
Emily Wilcox got her second straight start and made the most of it with 10 kills (3.33 KPS), a service ace, and a match-leading four blocks.
Kaitlyn Flynn matched Wilcox with four blocks of her own while also adding nine kills (3.0 KPS).
Catalina Rochaix completed the afternoon with 40 assists, making it her 15th match in the season with at least 40 helpers.
Meanwhile, Christina Martinez Mundo led with Panthers on defense with 21 digs (7.0 DPS), which tied her second-highest total in a three set match this season.
#2 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, #7 WESTERN ILLINOIS 2
CHARLESTON, Ill. - #2 Southeast Missouri Volleyball (21-9, 12-6 OVC) rallied in a five-set thriller to down #7 Western Illinois (9-21, 8-10 OVC) in the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Quarterfinal round on Monday night at Lantz Arena.
Senior outside hitter Zoey Beasley finished with a season-best 22 kills on 60 total attacks, just five errors, and a .283 hitting-percentage as the Redhawks advanced to the tournament's semifinal round.
The Redhawks won the match 23-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-19, and 15-10 as WIU and SEMO went to five-sets for the second time this season, with both matches going SEMO's way.
Three Redhawks finished in double-digits kills, including Beasley, as outside hitter Lucy Arndt and rightside hitter Kaelyn O'Brien finished with 17 and 11 kills, respectively.
The Freshman of the Year in the Ohio Valley Conference, Arndt finished with a double-double adding 12 digs to her final stat line and hitting .161 over 56 attacks.
The fifth and decisive stat was dominated by the Redhawks as they outhit the Leathernecks .353 to a .000-mark by WIU who had six kills and six errors on 17 total attacks. SEMO finished with just two errors and eight kills.
SEMO finished the match strong beginning with the fourth set as they took the lead on the set's first point and never relinquished it. In the fourth set, the Redhawks hit .234 to WIU's .103.
Setter Izzy Lukens finished an impressive 54 assists, leading the Redhawks to a .227 team hitting percentage. The second team All-OVC selection had 150 total attempts and just two errors on the evening.
OVC Defensive Player of the Year Tara Beilsmith finished with 28 digs and a perfect 1.000 reception percentage on 37 total attempts. The effort marked the 14th time in 2023 that Tara finished with a 1.000 reception percentage.
Western Illinois was led by Keyana Cruse who finished with 24 kills on 58 attempts, for a .310 hitting-percentage.
#3 LINDENWOOD 3, #6 TENNESSEE TECH 2
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Lindenwood women's volleyball (16-14, 11-7) defeated #6 Tennessee Tech (13-17, 9-9 OVC) in five sets to advance to the Ohio Valley Conference semifinals on the campus of Eastern Illinois. This marks the second year in a row the Lions have advanced to the semifinals.
Addy McAleer led the Lions in kills and hitting percentage punching down 15 at the net while hitting .268. She was one of four Lions to have double digit kills in the win over the Golden Eagles. As a team, the Lions hit .199 in part to setter Allie Otten who had 47 assists.
The Golden Eagles took the first set on Monday evening with a score of 20-25. Lindenwood jumped out to a 4-0 lead early on. The Lions had a heavy dose of blocks in the first picking up four from Anna Kraemer and Ashley Geluck. LU's offense hit only .156 with 10 kills while TTU had 17 kills on a .364 hitting percentage.
Lindenwood came firing back in the second set with a 25-19 win to tie the match. Rebecca Janke was key in the second with five kills and three blocks. The Lions controlled most of the set pulling away late with a Janke service ace to go up 20-14. LU hit .343 in the second with 17 kills while holding the Golden Eagles to nine kills.
The third set belonged to the Lions as they took a 2-1 lead with a 26-24 win. Nyah Wilson had four kills for the Lions despite the team hitting .091 percent. After being down 13-18 late in the third, LU went on a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the set at 19-18. Lexi Menne had two service aces in the set while Allie Otten added two kills and nine assists.
Tennessee Tech battled back in the fourth set after being down 20-16 in the brink of elimination. The Golden Eagles' defense held the Lions to just a .158 hitting percentage in the set. LU also had three of their 14 service errors in the fourth.
Lindenwood came out hot in the fifth and final set going up 4-0 before taking the win by a score of 15-10. The Lions' offense had eight kills on 17 attacks while hitting .353. Kraemer had three of her 14 kills in the fifth set to help power Lindenwood to the win.