Ohio Valley Conference

NASHVILLE - It was an instant classic at Kean Hall in Nashville Friday evening, as the Tennessee Tech volleyball team outdueled in-state rival Tennessee State in the team's Ohio Valley Conference opener, 3-2.

In a match that featured plenty of ups and downs, the Golden Eagles (12-1, 1-0) reigned supreme behind a relentless attack and tenacious effort across the board. The purple and gold piled up 62 kills on a season-high 186 attempts, more than 22 more than the Tigers (4-11, 0-1).

Set one was a dogfight from the beginning to the end, with neither side building more than a three-point lead. Tech built an 18-15 advantage, but TSU called a timeout and promptly tied the set before eventually taking the opener, 25-23.

Despite holding a 16-11 advantage in the kill department in the set, the Cookeville crew couldn't make up for the Tigers' five combined blocks and three aces as the difference. Tech rebounded from there, holding Tennessee State without double-digit kills the rest of the way.

That included set two, when the Golden Eagles limited TSU to eight terminations and forced eight attack errors. The purple and gold rallied from a 12-10 deficit to take the lead and never look back, taking a 25-18 win with 12 kills.

The Tiger defense made things particularly difficult for the purple and gold in set three, amassing 6.0 total blocks while forcing a total of 12 Tech attack errors. It proved too much for the Golden Eagles to push past, with TSU collecting a 25-22 win and a 2-1 lead in the match.

Tennessee State seemed to have all the momentum on its side, rolling into set four and immediately taking a 4-1 lead. Tech ignored the pressure and ended the set on a 24-7 run, earning a 25-11 victory behind a 14-6 advantage in kills.

The match turned right back into a dogfight in set five, with the two sides trading blows up to a 9-9 tie. The Tigers edged out front by one, only to see the Golden Eagles respond with back-to-back kills from senior outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen.

Tech never let TSU back in, holding the advantage until the very end when a kill from outside hitter Bella Powell provided the final exclamation point on a 15-13 win. It took 11 more terminations from the purple and gold to solidify a perfect 1-0 start to OVC play, all while holding the Tigers to just six of their own.

Isringhausen paced the entire match behind an impressive 23 kills on 50 swings, smashing .300 for the match. She also tallied four blocks and 10 digs, recording her third double-double of the season. The Edwardsville, Ill. native passed Anne Morrow (2002-05) for sixth on Tech's all-time career charts for kills with 1,370 to her name so far. She also climbed to sixth on the all-time points list with 1,611.0, passing Vanessa Johnson (1980-83) and Laura Sidorowicz (2001-04) along the way.

Directing the league's top offense to another win, junior setter Jordan Karlen doled out 50 assists on the night while corralling a season-high 21 digs for her sixth double-double of the year. The Janesville, Wis. native currently ranks eighth in program history for assists.

Senior libero McKenna Young was all over the place for the Tech defense, producing 21 scoops to go along with five assists and an ace. The Murfreesboro, Tenn. native officially moved into second place on Tech's all-time career rankings for digs, inching past Courtney Smith (2011-14) with 1,765 so far.

Freshman outside Alayna Pierce locked down 15 strikes for the purple and gold, dialing up a pair of aces, nine digs, and two blocks for 18.0 total points. Joining her fellow outsides in the double-digit kill club was senior Bella Powell, smashing 12 terminations with six digs.

Rookie middle blocker Mallory Jenkins nearly joined the group, settling for nine kills and two blocks for the night. Defensive specialist Aleeya Jones chipped in seven digs and two aces to the effort as well.

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, SOUTHERN INDIANA 1
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Southeast Missouri volleyball (4-8, 1-0 OVC) started Ohio Valley Conference play with a 3-1 victory over Southern Indiana (5-8, 0-1 OVC) on Friday night from Screaming Eagles Arena. 
 
The Redhawks secured victory after dropping the first set, 25-23, before winning the final three sets 25-23, 25-21, 25-22 to down the Screaming Eagles behind 12 kills from Lucy Arndt. Arndt finished with 11 digs as well to record a double-double for her sixth of the season. 
 
Arndt was one of three Redhawks in double figures as Abby Johnson and Marin Johnson finished with 11 and 10 kills, respectively. 
 
As a team, SEMO outhit USI by a .158 to .122 hitting-percentage on 152 total attacks with just 22 errors. The Redhawks were all over the defensive side of the net accumulating 19 total blocks led by freshman Alaina Lester. 
 
Lester, who entered the match leading the Redhawks in blocks and ranked fifth in the conference, notched 11 blocks. She now has 55 total blocks through 12 games this season. Marin Johnson (8), Abby Johnson (5), and Ramiri Gardner (5) contributed their own blocks as SEMO forced USI into 37 total attack errors. 
 
The Redhawks dropped the first set in the only set that the Screaming Eagles outhit SEMO. USI used a .085 to .047 hitting-percentage to take the first set by just two points (25-23). 
 
SEMO responded with a thrilling second set as they hit .132 to just .000 from USI to take the second set by the inverse score from the first set. 
 
SEMO led 18-17 before a Lucy Arndt kill made it 19-17 Redhawks late in the second set. The teams would trade kills as USI's Ashby Willis attack was matched by Arndt on the next point to make it 20-18 Redhawks. 
 
SEMO would pull away by as many as four points as a block by Arndt and Ramiri Gardner made it 22-18 Redhawks. Three-straight USI points made it 22-21 as SEMO was forced into a timeout. 
 
An Arndt kill sparked a 3-2 run as the Redhawks closed the second set, 25-23. After two, the match was tied at one set apiece. 
 
SEMO was on fire in the third set, winning 25-21, off a .394 hitting-percentage as a team, including 15 kills, three blocks, and a service ace. 
 
USI hit just .238 in the third frame to give the Redhawks a 2-1 lead in the match, heading to the fourth set. 

The Redhawks trailed 18-14 late in the fourth set before a 3-0 run sparked by a kill from Abby Johnson made it 18-17 forcing USI into a timeout. 
 
An Arndt kill out of the break made it four-in-a-row to tie the match at 18. USI would take a brief 19-18 lead before an error on the serve retied the match at 19. 
 
SEMO would close the match on a 6-3 run, capped off by a Marin Johnson kill to secure the game, 25-22, and the match, 3-2.

WESTERN ILLINOIS 3, SIUE 1
MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois Volleyball not only won their fifth straight match tonight, but also started off 1-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play with a 4 set victory over the SIUE Cougars. This is the second year in a row WIU has won their conference opening match with a win over SIUE. The Leathernecks' five-match winning streak is the longest win streak for WIU Volleyball since 2007. 

In set one, WIU would start with a 7-4 lead following back-to-back kills by Brittany Wulf. The two teams would trade the next 10 points giving the Leathernecks a 12-9 lead. Wulf would extend the WIU lead with another kill, finishing the first set with six kills. The first set would continue to be back-and-forth until WIU would close the first set on a 7-2 run giving the Leathernecks the first set victory by a score of 25-17. During the run, Elizabeth Ziegler and Keyana Cruse would each have 2 kills along with a Julianna Schmidt and Brittany Wulf block to finish off the set. 

In set two, SIUE would jump out to a 5-1 lead with three different Cougars having a kill early on. The Leathernecks would respond by going on a 7-1 run of their own to take the second set lead at 8-6. Back-to-back kills by Maggie Craker and Brittany Wulf would be the highlight of the run, as WIU would remain in front until the middle of the set. A 6-1 run by the Cougars would tie the set at 17-17, making things uncomfortable for the Leathernecks. SIUE would have another big run late in the second set to win the set by a score of 25-23. 

In set three, SIUE would again jump out to an early lead at 9-4. A Grace Ulatowski kill would spark a Leatherneck comeback as they would go on a 4-1 run to cut the Cougar lead to 10-9. The two teams would again go back-and-forth for the next several points with SIUE hanging on to a 18-15 lead. Keyana Cruse and Maggie Craker would have back-to-back kills for the Leathernecks to give them the late lead at 19-18. SIUE followed that with a 5-3 run to get  the lead back in the set at 23-22. A kill by Brittany Wulf followed by back-to-back attack errors would give WIU the third set victory by a score of 25-23. 

In the fourth set, WIU would take an early 11-4 lead to start the set. During the early moments of the set, Elizabeth Ziegler would have 3 kills to lead the way for the Leathernecks.. SIUE would not go down without a fight as they would claw their way back into the set trailing late by a score of 19-18. A kill by Brittany Wulf would extend the Leatherneck lead to 20-18 and sparked a mini run by WIU, who would go up 22-18 late in the set. The Cougars would once again fight back and trail the set by a score of 23-22, but the Leathernecks would hold on for the fourth set victory by a score of 25-22.

LINDENWOOD 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Lindenwood women's volleyball (7-6, 1-0 OVC) swept the defending OVC Champions Eastern Illinois (4-7, 0-1 OVC) 3-0 on Friday to start Ohio Valley Conference play. Lindenwood's offense posted 49 kills vs. the Lions which was good for over 16 kills per set.

Autumn Bax posted her fourth straight match with over ten kills after posting 12 against the Panthers of EIU. She was second on the team in attacks with 24 and also second in hitting percentage with a .417. Nyah Wilson also had double-digit kills with 10.

Ashley Geluck and Rebecca Janke posed a threat in the middle collecting nine and eight kills respectively. Janke also had three blocks on defense. Libero Jessie Seidel continued her streak of double-digit kills with 10. Grib also provided five digs.

The first set was an offensive battle between the Lions and the Panthers. LU had a match high 18 kills in the first while hitting .350. Wilson had five kills while Ashley Geluck and Janke both had four. There were eight ties in the first, but Geluck ended the set with two kills to put LU up 27-25.

Eastern Illinois challenged the Lions in the second set, but LU closed out the second with a 25-21 set win. Otten helped the Lions offense with11 assists in the second and Bax added four of her 12 kills. LU's defense forced EIU into six attack errors.

Lindenwood's offense was too much for Eastern Illinois in the third set as they closed out the match with a 25-20 set win. LU had only two attack errors on 41 attempts in the third while hitting a match high .366. Geluck and Bax combined for seven kills as Lindenwood picked up their first OVC win. It marks the second straight season the Lions have won their opening OVC match.

LITTLE ROCK 3, UT MARTIN 0
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - With a rough ending to the non-conference schedule, Little Rock got exactly what it needed during Friday's Ohio Valley Conference opener, sweeping UT Martin in straight sets at the Jack Stephens Center. The Trojans dominated from start to finish in their most efficient outing of the season, a match that took just 90 minutes to complete.
 
Little Rock (6-8, 1-0 OVC) dispatched the visiting Skyhawks (2-8, 0-1) by scores of 25-21, 25-17, and 25-16, hitting a season-high .294 while setting a new season-low with only nine attacking errors. The two teams will complete their conference series tomorrow in Little Rock. First serve is set for 2 pm and the match can be streamed on ESPN+.
 
A'lanae Margaritha spearheaded an overwhelming Little Rock attack, hitting .615 with no errors while finishing with eight kills. She also added a game-high five blocks. Vivian Lucumi hit .571 and also committed no errors, finishing with eight kills and two blocks. Bella Cherry had a team-high nine kills and added two blocks and Jeila Fullerton finished with seven kills, eight digs and two blocks.
 
Kaylee Smith led the Trojans with 19 assists, Dariana Valencia had a double-double with 14 assists and 12 digs, and Andrea Roman led the defense with 17 digs to go with seven assists. Kaila Harris filled the stat sheet with six kills, four aces, six digs and a block. Jaycee Kennedy recorded her 100th career block and added three kills.
 
Little Rock got better as the match progressed, hitting .250 in the opening set, .273 in the second and finishing at .375 in the third with 13 kills and just one error on 32 attempts. The match saw just six lead changes. UT Martin finished with a .136 attack percentage and committed 34 total errors. Little Rock improved to 10-3 all time against UT Martin and now owns a three-game win streak against the Skyhawks.