Ohio Valley Conference

WESTERN ILLINOIS 3, UT MARTIN 0
MACOMB, Ill. - WIU volleyball won their sixth straight match this afternoon sweeping UT Martin in three sets and taking both matches from the Skyhawks this weekend. With the win, the Leathernecks remain in the top four in the Ohio Valley Conference standings improving their conference record to 8-3. 

WIU was once again led offensively by Keyana Cruse who finished with a match-high 16 kills hitting .324 on the afternoon. Maggie Craker had a match-high 30 assists and Julianna Schmidt led the way defensively once again with a match-high eight blocks.

In set one, UT Martin came out with a 6-3 run. Just like the night prior, the Leathernecks would respond in a big way going on a 6-2 run of their own to take the set lead at 9-8. During the run, the Leathernecks would have three blocks and Keyana Cruse and Brittany Wulf would each have a kill. The Skyhawks responded with an 8-4 run of their own taking the lead at 16-13. WIU would follow that with a 9-3 run and would go on to take the first set by a score of 26-24. 

In set two, the Skyhawks once again jumped out to a early lead by a score of 6-2. Just like the previous set, the Leathernecks would go on a big 9-2 run taking the set lead at 11-8. Brittany Wulf would have a kill and Keyana Cruse would have two kills to highlight the run. Later in the set, a Brittany Wulf kill would spark a quick 3-0 run for the Leathernecks giving them the set lead at 14-11. WIU would hold on to that lead the rest of the set and take the second set by a score of 25-19.

In set three, WIU would take control for most of the set. The Leathernecks jumped out to a 12-5 lead to start the set behind kills from Brittany Wulf, Keyana Cruse, and Julianna Schmidt. Wulf and Cruse would each have back-to-back kills later in the set to give WIU the set three victory by a score of 25-16, sweeping the Skyhawks in three sets.

SIUE 3, MOREHEAD STATE 2
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Cougar Volleyball (8-12, 3-6 OVC) played another five set match against Morehead State (9-12, 5-5 OVC) winning 3-2. SIUE lost the first two sets to the Eagles (25-18, 25-12) before turning the game around in the final three sets (25-20, 26-24, 15-10).
 
The energy and intensity of the game shifted in the third set, along with a few substitutions. First Community arena saw standout performances from three freshmen: Sophie Robinson, Elise Paul, and Claire Jones.
 
Robinson recorded 17 kills on 36 attempts, hitting at a .333 percentage. Paul had nine kills hitting at a .192 percentage. She also contributed five block assists and one solo block, and Claire Jones stepped in during the third set as Libero, recording four set assists, four service aces, and 13 digs.
 
Outside Bree Schreimann had four block assists and one solo block. She also tallied six kills at a .174 percentage.
 
Setters Alyse Drifka and Corinna Jones both recorded double-doubles. Drifka had 26 assists and 12 digs, while Corinna Jones had 11 assists and 10 digs. Corinna Jones's 11 assists put her four assists away from her 2,000th career assist.

LITTLE ROCK 3, TENNESSEE TECH 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Saturday's series finale at Tennessee Tech played out like a carbon copy of the opener, with Little Rock committing half as many errors on the way to another 3-1 victory at the Eblen Center. The Trojans (14-10 overall, 9-2 OVC) were once again the more efficient side and benefitted as such on the way to victory by scores of 22-25, 25-15, 25-22, and 25-23. Little Rock upped its win streak to six while matching its highest single-season win total since 2021.
 
Jeila Fullerton totaled 14 kills, 11 digs and five blocks, leading Little Rock to victory. The Trojans completed a 6-0 sweep of Tennessee teams in the Ohio Valley Conference, sweeping UT Martin, Tennessee State, and Tennessee Tech. Bella Cherry hit .370 on the way to 11 kills and also added four blocks. Four players had at least four blocks with Jaycee Kennedy (5) and A'lanae Margaritha (5) joining the party.
 
Dariana Valencia posted a double-double with 22 assists and 14 digs, Andrea Roman finished with 14 digs and six assists, and Kaylee Smith added 14 assists with five digs. Margaritha turned in another solid all-around effort, hitting .375 and hammering down eight kills while also serving up three aces.
 
Little Rock hit .218 for the match and held the Golden Eagles (16-6, 5-5) to just .177 on its end. The Trojans totaled just 27 errors for the night while Tennessee Tech had 50, including 29 on the attacking side. TTU fell to 6-2 at home, with both losses coming courtesy of Little Rock.