Ohio Valley Conference

MACOMB, Ill. - The Leatherneck Volleyball team completed the sweep of the Eastern Illinois Panthers in four sets tonight to get back over .500 in conference play. The Leathernecks are currently 10-8 overall which is the most wins in a season for WIU since 2013 when they finished 12-18.

The Leathernecks were led offensively by Keyana Cruse (18 kills) and Elizabeth Ziegler (15 kills). Ziegler had a hitting percentage of .414 to lead all Leathernecks. Defensively, Keyana Cruse had a team-high 15 digs and Julianna Schmidt had two solo blocks and three block assists to lead WIU.

Set one saw the Leathernecks come back several times. EIU jumped out to an 8-4 lead to start off the set, but Elizabeth Ziegler would get a kill to jump start a 4-1 run for WIU to take a 9-8 set lead. The Panthers would respond with a 7-2 run of their own to retake the lead at 15-9. The teams would trade the next six points as the Panthers would hold on to an 18-12 lead. A kill by Brittany Wulf would fuel an 8-3 run that would cut EIU's deficit to just 21-20. Trailing 24-22 late in the set, WIU would go on a 3-0 run thanks to a Keyana Cruse kill followed by a Grace Kremer block to give WIU a 25-24 lead. The Panthers and Leathernecks would trade the next several points and WIU would eventually take the first set by a score of 31-29. 

In set two, EIU jumped out to a big lead early once again going up by a score of 11-5. That big run to start the set would be the difference as the Leathernecks would cut the Panther lead to 21-20 late in the set. The Panthers would end the second set on a 4-2 run to take the set by a score of 25-22. 

In set three, WIU would flip the script and took a 12-7 lead to start the set. Back-to-back kills by Keyana Cruse and Grace Ulatowski would highlight the big run early on. The Leathernecks would maintain the lead the rest of the way and would end the third set on a 5-0 run which included back-to-back kills by Grace Nichols and Elizabeth Ziegler. WIU would take the set by a score of 25-19. 

In set four, the Leathernecks would again take an early lead by a score of 9-4 behind two Service aces by Brittany Wulf. Later in the set, Julianna Schmidt had back-to-back kills to extend the Leatherneck lead at 18-12 and WIU would take the fourth and final set by a score of 25-17.

MOREHEAD STATE 3, UT MARTIN 0
MARTIN, Tenn. - Behind a season-high 15.5 blocks, the Little Rock Volleyball team earned a pivotal conference win Friday at the Jack Stephens Center, putting away Southern Indiana in four sets and setting up a chance for a series sweep when the teams meet again tomorrow for the afternoon session at 2 pm.
 
Little Rock (9-10 overall, 4-2 OVC) edged out the visiting Screaming Eagles (8-10, 3-3) in the first two sets (25-23, 25-21) then rebounded from a 25-16 loss in the third to close out USI in a dominant fourth set, 25-15. The Trojans never trailed in the final set and improved to 3-1 at home.
 
Jaycee Kennedy led the Trojans with a career-high seven blocks, A'lanae Margaritha had six blocks, Vivian Lucumi added five and both Bella Cherry and Kaila Harris had four. Little Rock totaled 27 block assists and two solos in the match, holding USI to just .089 attacking for the evening, the second time this season an opponent has been held below .100 percent.
 
Dariana Valencia notched her seventh double-double of the year with 16 assists and 15 digs to go with a pair of aces. Jeila Fullerton recorded her team-high ninth double-double, finishing with 18 digs, 13 kills, three aces and a pair of blocks. Kaila Harris finished just short of a double-double, adding 10 kills and nine digs. Lucumi hit .438 with no errors and chipped in seven kills and Andrea Roman had a team-high 25 digs.

LINDENWOOD 3, TENNESSEE TECH 0
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Lindenwood women's volleyball (12-7, 6-1 OVC) was able to sweep the Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech (15-3, 4-2) for the second straight match as LU now leads the Ohio Valley Conference with a 6-1 OVC record. The Lions have now won seven out of their last eight matches and are undefeated at home with a 6-0 record.

Autumn Bax led the way for the Lions posting 13 kills on 24 swings while hitting .458. Bax has now posted double-digit kills in five straight matches and in nine out of the last ten. Nyah Wilson also had 12 kills and 11 digs for her seventh double-double (third straight). Rebecca Janke was the third Lion in double figures with 11.

Allie Otten helped the Lions hit .352 for the night which is the best hitting percentage Lindenwood has had as a team this season. Otten posted 41 assists marking the seventh time she has gone over 40 assists. Lindenwood as a team had 47 total assists.

Jessie Seidel continued her dominant pace in OVC play with a team-high 14 digs. Lindenwood had six players record at least four digs including five each from Addy McAleer and Otten.

The first set was the closest of the night with seven ties and three lead changes but Lindenwood pulled out the victory with a score of 25-22. Wilson came out swinging with a team-high five kills while Janke added four kills hitting .571.

Lindenwood kept their energy in the second pulling out the win with a 25-20 set win going up 2-0 at Hyland Arena. Wilson chipped in another five kills while Bax exploded for six more. Otten had 14 assists in both the first and second.

Friday night ended in a resounding third set victory by a score of 25-17. Janke and Bax both had four kills while Lindenwood had 16 kills and just three attack errors on 38 attacks. Lindenwood had 16 kills in all three sets while hitting at least .342.

SIUE 3, TENNESSEE STATE 1
NASHVILLE - Cougars win in four sets against Tennessee State, with set scores were 25-21, 19-25, 25-19, 25-17.
 
As a team, the Cougars recorded 70 points, 55 kills, nine service aces, six blocks, 50 assists and 71 digs. The Cougars outplayed the Tigers in every category except service aces, where they tied at six.

LITTLE ROCK 3, SOUTHERN INDIANA 1
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Behind a season-high 15.5 blocks, the Little Rock Volleyball team earned a pivotal conference win Friday at the Jack Stephens Center, putting away Southern Indiana in four sets and setting up a chance for a series sweep when the teams meet again tomorrow for the afternoon session at 2 pm.
 
Little Rock (9-10 overall, 4-2 OVC) edged out the visiting Screaming Eagles (8-10, 3-3) in the first two sets (25-23, 25-21) then rebounded from a 25-16 loss in the third to close out USI in a dominant fourth set, 25-15. The Trojans never trailed in the final set and improved to 3-1 at home.
 
Jaycee Kennedy led the Trojans with a career-high seven blocks, A'lanae Margaritha had six blocks, Vivian Lucumi added five and both Bella Cherry and Kaila Harris had four. Little Rock totaled 27 block assists and two solos in the match, holding USI to just .089 attacking for the evening, the second time this season an opponent has been held below .100 percent.
 
Dariana Valencia notched her seventh double-double of the year with 16 assists and 15 digs to go with a pair of aces. Jeila Fullerton recorded her team-high ninth double-double, finishing with 18 digs, 13 kills, three aces and a pair of blocks. Kaila Harris finished just short of a double-double, adding 10 kills and nine digs. Lucumi hit .438 with no errors and chipped in seven kills and Andrea Roman had a team-high 25 digs.