FRIDAY'S SCORES
SIUE 3, Miami (Ohio) 1
SIUE 3, Valparaiso 1
Morehead State 3, Gardner Webb 0
@Chattanooga 3,
Morehead State 0
Oakland 3,
UT Martin 2
Southeast Missouri 3, @Kansas City 2
Southeast Missouri 3, Saint Louis 1
Arkansas State 3,
Western Illinois 1
@Missouri State 3,
Western Illinois 2
Southern Miss 3,
Little Rock 0
Arizona State 3,
Little Rock 0
Arkansas State 3,
Lindenwood 1
Idaho State 3,
Tennessee Tech 1
Missouri 3,
@Eastern Illinois 1
Jackson State 3,
Tennessee State 2
OAKLAND 3, UT MARTIN 2
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball squad showed plenty of fight this afternoon but was outlasted in five sets by Oakland University (25-23, 23-25, 13-25, 25-23, 6-15) on Day 2 of the Saluki Invitational.
A pair of Skyhawks shined today as Jenna Vallée guided the team offensively while Kayla Carrell shored up the defensive attack. Vallée set career-highs in kills (16), hitting percentage (.239), service aces (three) and blocks (two) today on the way to a match-high 20 points. On the flipside, Carrell made plays all over the floor in her first start of the season as libero – more than doubling her previous career-high in digs with 29 scoops.
Sophomore outside hitter Kayla Bryant was responsible for her second double-double of the 2023 campaign today as she posted 10 kills, 13 digs, two service aces and a pair of blocks. Olivia Saunders (10 kills on a .308 attack percentage) additionally reached double digits in the kill column while tacking on a team-high four blocks (one solo).
Dylan Mott managed double figures in digs (10) for the seventh time this season while UT Martin’s setting duo of Haeleigh Paulino and Addy Vaughn combined for nine kills, 37 assists and 14 digs.
Today’s match included 37 tie scores and 19 lead changes. After the Skyhawks (2-8) sided out at 67 percent in the fourth set to force a decisive fifth stanza, a replay-overturned Halle Everett kill on the opening serve of the fifth set fueled UT Martin with early momentum. However, the Golden Grizzlies (6-5) generated six unanswered points and the Skyhawks would not get any closer than five points the rest of the way.
UT Martin opens Ohio Valley Conference play next weekend, coinciding with the program’s home opener. The Skyhawks will battle league rival Eastern Illinois for a two-match series, beginning with a Friday, Sept. 22 matchup at 6 p.m. Both matches next weekend will be streamed live on ESPN+.
SOUTHERN MISS 3, LITTLE ROCK 0; ARIZONA STATE 3, LITTLE ROCK 0
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Recap coming soon.
ARKANSAS STATE 3, LINDENWOOD 1
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Lindenwood women's volleyball (4-7, 0-0) dropped their fifth straight match with a 3-1 loss against non-conference opponent Arkansas State (9-2, 0-0 Sun Belt) at the Bear Invitational hosted by Missouri State.
The Lions opened up with a set one victory for their third straight match after winning 25-19 against the Redwolves. LU was down 9-5 early on before making a run to tie the match at 12 each. Lindenwood took their first lead at the 17-16 mark and score the next eight of 11 points to take the win.
Nyah Wilson led the attack group with five kills in the first set. Wilson also eclipsed 400 career kills against ASU. Five different Lions posted a kill while Lindenwood hit four service aces to claim set one.
Arkansas State went on to tie the match in the second after a 19-25 defeat of Lindenwood. The Redwolves jumped out early with a 7-3 lead and never looked back. Despite the loss, the Lions still hit .209 for the set and had 15 kills. ASU hit .400 with 17 kills including six from Kaitlin Whitlock.
Lindenwood was held to their worst hitting percentage of the match in the third with a .000. Arkansas State forced the Lions into seven errors while recording three solo blocks. ASU took the set 16-25. Addy McAleer led the way in the third with three kills.
Lindenwood kept it close throughout the majority of the final set. Despite ASU taking a 16-11 advantage midway through, the Lions battled back to tie the match at 19-19. The Redwolves scored five of the final six points to take the match win.
McAleer took the top spot in kills during their match with 14 while Wilson was behind her with 11. Both were active defensively as well picking up 10 and eight digs respectively. Jessie Seidel posted another 20+ dig performance with 26 on Friday.
Allie Otten and Abby VanBuskirk split time at setter with 16 assists each. Rebecca Janke also had seven kills and two blocks while Özge Tan led the team with three blocks.
The Lions will be back at Hyland Arena on Wednesday, Sept. 20 as they open up conference play with new Ohio Valley Conference opponent Western Illinois. This marks the first of four straight home matches for Lindenwood.
IDAHO STATE 3, TENNESSEE TECH 1
LARAMIE, Wyo. - It all came down to a pair of close battles for the Tennessee Tech volleyball team Friday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles fell to Idaho State, 3-1, in the final match-up of the UniWyo Invite in Laramie, Wyo.
In the opening set, the purple and gold battled back from a pair of small deficits early to take a lead of 14-11. Momentum swung back to the Bengals and the two sides traded blows right up to the final point, where a kill led to a 25-23 victory for Idaho State.
The stats were fairly even across the board in the set, with both sides matching 15 kills, eights digs, and 3.0 total blocks. Set two saw the Golden Eagles flip a two-point hole into a lead they would never relinquish, pacing ahead of the Bengals by as many as six points.
Behind a more efficient attack than ISU and two more blocks, the Tech crew delivered a 25-21 win to even the match at 1-1. The purple and gold struggled to keep its offensive attack consistent in set three, watching the Bengals inch out to a 23-17 lead.
The Golden Eagles dup deep and rolled out a 4-0 run to cut the deficit to 23-21 and pulled to within a 24-23 score before the Bengals gathered the winning kill. Five team blocks lifted the comeback effort from the purple and gold.
The Idaho State attack simply couldn't miss its mark in the match finale, leading to a .520 hitting percentage with 15 kills and just two errors. The Golden Eagles managed 11 kills of their own, but couldn't keep pace in the 25-17 defeat.
Earning her second All-Tournament honor is as many events, outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen tied for the team lead with 12 kills and paced the purple and gold with 12 digs for her fourth double-double of the year. The junior also tallied a pair of blocks and an ace.
Rookie right side Ava Schubert also produced 12 terminations on the day, setting a new season-high to go along with five digs, and four blocks. Junior middle blocker Elena Wallace boasted a match-leading and season-best six total rejections, adding six kills to the mix on a .357 attack.
Outside Belle Powell just missed the double-digit-kill mark with nine in the match, securing two aces and four digs as well. Middle Skylar Boom contributed seven kills and four blocks libero Olivia Taylor racked up seven digs.
Sophomore setter Jordan Karlen distributed the ball well through the contest, totaling 42 assists with three kills and two blocks. Her 11 digs led to her fourth double-double of the campaign, tying with Isringhausen for the team lead.
Tech officially kicks off Ohio Valley Conference action next weekend, returning to the Hooper Eblen Center to host in-state rival Tennessee State Friday, Sept. 22 at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 23 at 12:00 p.m.
SIUE 3, MIAMI (OHIO) 1; SIUE 3, VALPARAISO 1
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - SIUE volleyball opened the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational on Friday with a pair of wins against Miami (Ohio) and Valparaiso at Gates Sports Center.
Following the victories, SIUE improves to 5-6 overall and 0-1 in Ohio Valley Conference play. The Cougars have now won four of their last five matches.
Match One: SIUE 3, Miami (Ohio) 1
The Cougars used their best attack percentage of the season (.287) and three players registered double-digit kills to down Miami (Ohio) in four with set scores of 25-19, 21-25, 25-22, and 25-12. SIUE also set a season-high mark with 11 service aces.
Leading the match 2-1 heading into the fourth set, SIUE took the opening five points and never looked back, holding its lead for the remainder of the set. The Cougars' attack finished the contest hot, using a .407 attack percentage in the final set to down the Redhawks, 3-1.
Savannah Christian and Julia Treichel led the Cougars' attack with 13 kills each. Christian finished the contest with a .722 attack percentage while Treichel concluded with a .417 clip.
Treichel picked up her third double-double of the season with 13 kills and 10 digs.
Sydney Hummert tallied 10 kills for SIUE while leading the team with four service aces. She also led the Cougars with four blocks while Christian, Elana Fuller, and Priscilla Jones contributed three apiece.
At center court, Grace Beekman led the Cougars with 27 assists. Alyse Drifka dished out 21 assists.
Freshman Abi Banitt led the defensive efforts, picking up 13 digs.
Match Two: SIUE 3, Valparaiso 1
SIUE claimed victories in the first and third sets before capping off its second win of the day in the fourth frame. The Cougars' attack remained hot, using a .252 attack percentage to down the Beacons with set scores of 28-26, 19-25, 25-17, and 25-20. SIUE tied a season-high mark, registering 13 total blocks in the contest while five players recorded double-doubles.
The win over Valpo marks the first in program history after four previous meetings with the Beacons.
The Cougars racked up 58 kills in the contest with four athletes tallying 10 or more. Priscilla Jones led the SIUE attack with 13 kills while Treichel contributed 12. They both concluded the match with a .258 attack percentage. Hummert and Christian had 11 kills apiece.
Hummert led SIUE at the service line with four aces. She leads the Cougars with 18 service aces this season, averaging 0.44 per set.
Treichel and Hummert each turned in a double-double. Treichel concluded the match with 10 digs while Hummert collected 12.
Priscilla Jones picked up 11 blocks in the victory, a career-high mark for the junior. Her single game block total is tied for the fifth in Division I this season. She leads SIUE with 43 on the 2023 campaign.
Beekman's 29 assists led the Cougars while tying a career best mark. She added 11 digs for a double-double. Alyse Drifka also earned a double-double with 23 assists and 10 digs.
Banitt led SIUE with 13 digs. She leads the Cougars with 146 this season, averaging 3.32 per set.
SIUE returns to the court to close out the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational on Saturday, Sep. 16. The Cougars will take on host Purdue Fort Wayne in the weekend finale at 10:00 a.m. CT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
MISSOURI 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Eastern Illinois volleyball team suffered their first loss of the season on Thursday, as they fell to Missouri by a score of 3-1. The loss comes after a historic 10-game winning streak by the Panthers to open the campaign. The set scores of the match were as follows: 18-25, 25-20, 22-25, and 20-25.
EIU came out of the gates strong, as they worked their way to a 15-12 lead mid-way through the opening set. However, Mizzou ended the set on a 13-3 run to take the 1-0 advantage.
In the second set, Missouri rode their momentum to a commanding 12-6 lead early on, but Eastern was able to battle their way back to knot things up at 14-14. That is when Giovana Larregui López caught fire. The senior outside hitter scored five consecutive points for the Panthers, all on kills, as they took control of the lead and never gave it up to even the match at 1-1. Larregui López had eight total kills in the set, double that of the next closest player.
Mizzou regained the advantage by taking set three behind 18 combined kills, as Jane deMarrais led the Tiger offense with five kills in the set, followed by Mogan Isenberg and Dilara Gedikoglu with four each. The Panthers were able to keep things close thanks to four kills from both Kate Dean and Natalie Mitchem, plus a pair of service aces by Sylvia Hasz, but were unable to overcome the Tigers' attack.
Missouri was able to close out the match in set four. After falling behind 21-16, a 4-0 burst by the Panthers helped them claw within one point of tying Mizzou up at 21-21, but then the Tigers went on a 4-0 run of their own to take the match and hand EIU their first loss of the season.
Giovana Larregui López ended the match with a double-double, as she recorded a match-high 14 kills and a team second-best 13 digs.
Natalie Mitchem and Kate Dean were the other key contributors for the Panthers' attack, as they collected 12 and 11 kills respectively. Dean's fantastic .391 hitting percentage was the highest of the match for any player.
Setter Catalina Rochaix also recorded a double-double. She again eclipsed 30 assists, tallying 35 on the match for an average of 8.75 assists per set, while also compiling 10 digs.
Senior libero Christina Martinez Mundo had a great defensive showing, as she recorded a match-high 28 digs with a perfect .1000 reception percentage.
For Missouri, Sierra Dudley led the match with 48 assists as the Tigers collected 56 kills on a .260 hitting percentage. Mizzou also had a great day at the net, as they finished with 14.0 team blocks, led by middle blocker Morgan Isenberg with eight.
Entering the day, Eastern was one of just 12 (among 320) Division I volleyball teams that remained undefeated, and despite finally suffering a defeat, the Panthers 10-1 mark still places them among the best records in the nation.
Their 10-0 run featured three tournament titles, three tournament MVPs, six additional All-Tournament Team selections, and four OVC Player of the Week Awards.
EIU will be back in Lantz Arena for their next contest, as they are set to open up OVC play against Southern Indiana on Monday, September 18th at 6 p.m. They will then travel to UT Martin to take on the Skyhawks in a two-game series at the end of next week.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, KANSAS CITY 2; SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, SAINT LOUIS 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Southeast Missouri volleyball (6-3) started the KC Roos Classic off with a five-set victory over the host, Kansas City (8-2) on Friday afternoon, 3-2.
The Redhawks won the match 16-25, 25-22, 25-21, 23-25, 15-11 handing the Roos just their second loss of the season.
After a slow start, SEMO turned it on and ended the match with three Redhawks in the double-digit kills category including freshman Lucy Arndt with a team-high 13. Senior Kayla Closset and graduate Talia Gouard pitched in 11 apiece to help secure the sixth win of the season for SEMO.
As a team, SEMO hit just .144 compared to KC who finished with a .227 mark, but the Redhawks attacked the Roos finishing with 209 total attacks to just 185 from the opponent. SEMO finished with 61 kills in the contest.
Reigning Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week Tara Beilsmith finished with a game-high 30 digs as the SEMO defense only registered two reception errors as a team in the contest.
KC struggled with receiving SEMO's serves. Beilsmith recorded two service aces as she was one of three Redhawks to do so. Rachel Eddy and Ardnt chipped in a pair themselves as the Roos registered eight reception errors as a team.
Izzy Lukens was again on fire, setting up her teammates to the tune of 51 assists. The reiging setter of the week in the OVC now has back-to-back tournaments with 50-plus assist performances.
Seniors Marisa Guisti and Kaelyn O'Brien recorded nine kills apiece as O'Brien slammed home the set-winning kill in the third set. The pair helped bolster a SEMO attack that did enough to take down the home team.
SEMO never trailed in the fifth set, jumping out to a 5-3 lead. The Roos made it interesting in the final frame, closing the SEMO gap to just two (13-11) but the Redhawks would score the game's final two points to take the fifth set, 15-11 and the match.
Freshman Lucy Arndt and senior Kayla Closset finished with 10 kills apiece as Southeast Missouri (7-3) won the second match of the day Friday evening over Saint Louis by a final score of 3-1.
SEMO dominated the fourth set, 25-15, after dropping the third to capture the second victory of the day and the seventh on the campaign.
Arndt and Closset finished the match with a .267 and .226 total hitting percentage, respectively, for back-to-back games with double-digit kills as the Redhawks outhit the Billikens by a .228-.086 mark.
As a team, SEMO dominated at the net recording nine total blocks, including four solos and 10 assists led by Marisa Guisti and Izzy Lukens with three block-assists each.
Guisti finished with seven kills on 14 total attacks (3 errors) for a .286 overall hitting-percentage.
SEMO dominated the fourth set recording 14 kills on 31 attack attempts for a .419 hitting-percentage in the set alone. SLU recorded just a .031 percentage as the Redhawks won by 10 points in the final set.
Setter Izzy Lukens dished out 34 assists and even chipped in two kills from the setter position. Lukens, the OVC Setter of the Week, has 85 assists through the first two matches of the KC Roos Classic.
Talia Gouard and Kaelyn O'Brien continued their great start to the tournament chipping in eight and six kills, respectively. Gouard finished with an impressive .316 hitting percentage to lead the Redhawks.
SLU was led by Emily Henken and Delaney Rice who both finished with 10 kills.
SEMO will wrap-up the KC Roos Classic tomorrow morning when they take on Austin Peay at the Swinney Center. First serve is slated for 11 a.m., CT.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, GARDNER WEBB 0; CHATTANOOGA 3, MOREHEAD STATE 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Morehead State volleyball team needed just three sets (25-22, 25-20, 25-13) to beat the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs Friday at Maclellan Gym.
The out-of-conference victory improved Morehead State's overall record to 6-4 on the season.
Maycie Welborn was the star offensively for Morehead State, registering 18 kills with a .680 hitting percentage with a pair of block assists as well. Amelia Nott's 10 kills put her in double-digits, while Hollan Everett (five kills), M.E. Hargan (four kills), Irene Wogenstahl (four kills) and Avery Ray (two kills) rounded out the Morehead State attack. As a team, the Eagles hit .382.
Defensively, Peighton Isley led the squad with 17 digs. Shea Hefner had six of her own, while M.E. Hargan had five. Irene Wogenstahl and Hollan Everett each had a solo block, and the Eagles held Gardner-Webb to just a .083 hitting percentage.
SET 1 | The Eagles took control on the first point and never looked back to win the first set 25-22. Morehead State led by eight points at 11-3 before finishing off the set. got a solid defensive performance from a front row that blocked five Gardner-Webb attacks in the stanza.
SET 2 | Morehead State carried momentum from a set-one win by securing a 25-20 victory in set number two. The Eagles grabbed the set powered by a solid performance on the attacking end. Morehead State registered a .333 attack percentage with 16 kills in the set win. The Eagles ended on a strong note, stretching their lead to its largest point in the set to finish out the stanza.
SET 3 | Morehead State took set three to finish the match in a 3-0 sweep. The Eagles grabbed control of the set early when the score was 5-4 and never looked back to win 25-13. Morehead State led by as many as 12 points at 24-12 before closing out the stanza.
JACKSON STATE 3, TENNESSEE STATE 2
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Recap coming soon.
ARKANSAS STATE 3, WESTERN ILLINOIS 1; MISSOURI STATE 3, WESTERN ILLINOIS 2
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Recap coming soon.