TUESDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 3, Tennessee State 0
@Eastern Illinois 3, Western Illinois 1
MOREHEAD STATE 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State extended their winning streak to eight matches with a 3-0 sweep (25-13, 25-12, 25-18) over Tennessee State Tuesday night in Johnson Arena.
Morehead State (14-5, 8-0 OVC) was paced by M.E. Hargan and Amelia Nott with 10 kills apiece. Hargan added a match-high 11 digs to post her 28th career double-double. Nott paced a strong service game for Eagles with a season-high four aces.
MSU got off to a fast start in the match with a three-point run to begin the match. A pair of five-point runs put the Eagles out in front 17-6. The Eagles had six players record kills in the opening frame while posting a .321 hitting percentage.
The Eagles were again dominant in the second frame, slugging a.300 hitting percentage led by Nott's five kills and two blocks. MSU again used a couple of runs to gain separation: a six-point run put the Eagles ahead 12-4 and a 5-0 run put Morehead State up 21-10. MSU used a four-point run capped by Courtney Fitzgerald's second ace of the match to put away the Tigers 25-12.
Morehead State ran off a 7-0 run to take an early 9-3 in the third set. Tennessee State (1-22, 0-10 OVC) fought back to pull to within 9-11. The Eagles got a four-point run to pull ahead 20-14 and a 3-0 run put MSU up 23-15 and put the match away.
Tennessee State was led by Sagaia Reilly with five kills. The Tigers managed just a .012 hitting efficiency for the match
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EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, WESTERN ILLINOIS 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - EIU extended their winning streak to four after beating Western Illinois 3-1. EIU moves to 12-6 (6-2 OVC), while the Leathernecks fall to 5-16 (2-6 OVC).
After a dominant performance against SEMO, EIU continued their hot streak. A tight battle to start set one at 15-15 leading into the media timeout. After the break into the action, EIU came out swinging, charging a 5-0 scoring run. The momentum-shifting performance forced a Western Illinois timeout. The Leathernecks responded with two kills and a service ace. The Panthers did not panic, closing out set one 25-22.
The Panthers started strong in set two, leading 10-7 early, led by Katie Kopshever and company. Like set one, EIU used a long scoring run in the middle of the set to extend their lead to 17-12. Western Illinois called time and used the break to shift the momentum. Closing the deficit to 17-15, Eastern Illinois had to hold the Leathernecks at arm's length. Late in the match, WIU took advantage of the Panthers errors, earning their first lead of the set, 22-21. Eastern Illinois called a timeout and stormed back to win set two 26-24.
Down two sets, the Leathernecks used a 4-0 scoring run to start hot. The Panthers continued to struggle throughout the set but tied the match at 15-15, heading into the media timeout. Unfortunately, after the break, EIU was unable to hold off WIU, allowing them to score the next 6 out of 7 points. However, the Panthers charged a late comeback, fueling a 5-0 scoring run to energize the crowd with the set tied at 22. The Leathernecks would retake control and score three straight to win set three.
WIU stormed out of the gate, scoring six unanswered points to take an early lead. The Panthers responded with a 3-0 run to tie the match 7-7. Each team was unable to find separation early in the set until the Panthers went nuclear. EIU went on a 9-0 scoring run to race past the Leathernecks, leading 20-11. With the media timeout unable to stop the bleeding, Eastern Illinois ended the set on a 14-3 run, scoring five straight points to close out the match.
EIU was led by multiple contributors. Lilli Amettis led the way with 16 kills and 4 blocks, Rochaix recorded 46 assists, Anaya Rawlinson contributed 5 blocks, Ariadna Pereles earned 27 digs, and Tori Mohesky produced 21 points.