Ohio Valley Conference

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Before the Tennessee Tech volleyball team honored its seniors, the quartet put on an impressive show as Jordan Karlen, Bella Powell, MK Roberts and Ayanna Rodgers powered the Golden Eagles to a 3-1 victory over UT Martin on Friday in the Hooper Eblen Center.

Karlen finished the match with two kills, 37 assists, a service ace, 22 digs and an assisted block. Roberts had 11 assists, an ace, 34 receptions and 10 digs, while Powell had 24 kills, an ace, four receptions and seven digs and Rodgers collected two kills.

Audrey Berkebile also collected 10 kills, while Ella Watford had 10 digs.

Kayla Bryant led UTM (2-19. 1-9 OVC) with 11 kills, while Kylie Surratt had nine. Abby Freund recorded 15 digs.

UT Martin started strong in the first set cruising to a 25-17 lead, but the Golden Eagles were dominant in the second, third and fourth sets, winning 25-18, 25-13 and 25-18.

Tech fell behind quickly in the opening set as the Skyhawks surged out by five, including an additional point off of a red card and UT Martin led by eight before the first series came to a close. Bryant had five kills and Surratt four as the Skyhawks outpaced the Golden Eagles and out hit Tech .357 to .088.

The following three sets were the complete inverse as Tech hit .273 to the Skyhawks' .036 in the second, .237 to .023 in the third and .379 to .042 in the fourth. UTM had 14 attack errors and seven service errors in the final three sets.

Powell had eight kills in the third set to lead Tech, while she tied Berkebile in the third set with five kills each. Powell also had seven kills in the fourth to finish one kill shy of tying her career best of 25 earlier this season against Samford.

WESTERN ILLINOIS 3, TENNESSEE STATE 2
MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois volleyball battled through a five-set thriller on Friday night inside Western Hall, taking down Tennessee State 3-2 to earn its third Ohio Valley Conference win of the season.

The Leathernecks came out firing in the opening frame, hitting an impressive .318 while limiting the Tigers to a -.095 clip. WIU took control early with strong serving and efficient offense, jumping to a quick lead that Tennessee State could never recover from. Behind nine kills and three team blocks, the Leathernecks cruised to a dominant 25–13 win to start the night.

Momentum stayed with Western Illinois in the second match. A balanced offensive attack helped WIU push ahead midway through the set, while steady back-row play kept Tennessee State off rhythm. The Leathernecks tallied 11 kills and three more blocks en route to a 25–18 victory, taking a 2–0 match lead.

The third set saw Tennessee State find its footing. The Tigers' serving pressure caused problems for the Leatherneck defense, as TSU delivered five aces and capitalized on a few late errors. Despite WIU's 18 kills and continued offensive efficiency (.283), Tennessee State edged out the set 25–23 to cut the deficit to 2–1.

Tennessee State carried its momentum into the fourth, coming out strong with aggressive swings and sharp execution. The Tigers hit .436 in the frame, their best mark of the night, while limiting WIU to just 12 kills. The Leathernecks couldn't string together a sustained run, dropping the set 18–25 as the match evened at two sets apiece.

In the deciding set, Western Illinois regrouped and delivered when it mattered most. The Leathernecks' front line stepped up defensively, posting a pair of key blocks and holding the Tigers to a .111 hitting percentage. WIU's offense found its rhythm late, securing the 15–12 set win and the 3–2 match victory.

Western Illinois finished the night with 58 kills, 13 team blocks, and 77 digs, hitting .256 as a team. The win improves the Leathernecks to 6–16 overall and 3–6 in OVC play, while Tennessee State drops to 1–23 (0–11 OVC).

SOUTHERN INDIANA 3, SIUE 2
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Volleyball kicks off Senior Weekend with a win over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in five sets. The Screaming Eagles move to 6-3 in Ohio Valley Conference play, and 10-11 overall, to maintain a six-game win streak in Liberty Arena.
 
The Screaming Eagles put up a fight against the Cougars at the start of the game, with six tie scores, it was a back-and-forth push. Freshman Carley Wright got her night started with five kills, leading the court in the first set. Setter Aysa Thomas dished out 12 assists, getting kills to four different Eagles to spread the offense out.
 
USI took control of the set by the seventh point, maintaining a healthy lead for the remainder of the set. Junior Ashby Willis and senior Bianca Anderson made the greatest impact for the Eagles, each landing four kills to lead the court. Thomas had her best defensive set, picking up six digs.
 
The Eagles took a strong start, but gave up the lead when they struggled through a tough SIUE serving run. Wright found the floor for five more kills, followed by Willis, who had three. Three Eagles picked up an ace from the service line.
 
After a back-and-forth start, the Screaming Eagles pulled away for the lead by their seventh point. Willis led the Eagles on offense with five kills, followed by Wright and Anderson with four each. As a team, USI tallied 15 kills on just two errors, for their most efficient offensive set, hitting a .361 percentage. Sophomore Kerigan Fehr led the back row, with her best set at five digs.

The Screaming Eagles had a quick start, taking an early lead in the fifth set tiebreaker. Eight different Eagles picked up at least one dig, helping to keep the ball alive and the momentum high. USI's defense managed to keep the Cougar offense to a .000 hitting percentage. Wright finished off her career-high night with two more kills, bringing her total to 18 for the match.

For the game, Thomas recorded her 14th consecutive double-double, finishing with 48 assists and 12 digs. Five different Eagles picked up double-digit digs, including Fehr, who finished with a career-high 16.

This win marks USI's first win over SIUE since October 2023. With the win, the Screaming Eagles have marked six wins in a row in Liberty Arena, a streak they have maintained since the Battle of the Lloyd win against the University of Evansville.

MOREHEAD STATE 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 0
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - The Morehead State volleyball team ran their record to 9-0 in the OVC with a sweep (28-26, 25-22, 25-21) over Southeast Missouri in Houck Field House in Cape Girardeau Friday night. 

Morehead State (15-5, 9-0 OVC) was led by M.E. Hargan with a season-high 23 kills, hitting a .435 attack percentage. Hollan Everett added 12 terminations with a .476 efficiency. The Eagles posted a .323 attack percentage, their sixth match of the season with a .300+ efficiency.

Southeast Missouri (12-11, 4-5 OVC) was paced by Lucy Arndt with 12 kills. Freshman Katy St. John added 10 kills for the Redhawks, who have lost four straight matches. SEMO has now lost four straight matches.

The match opened tightly contested with 13 ties into the middle stage of the frame. Morehead State went on a three-point run to go ahead 15-14 into the set break. The Eagles went on a four-point run to stretch the lead to 21-17.  SEMO rallied with a 3-0 run to close within a point 21-20. After a MSU point on Hargan's fifth kill of the set, the Redhawks ran off four straight points to go ahead 24 22. Two kills- by Hargan tied up the set 24-24. The Eagles held off four set points before clinching the set 28-26. MSU hit .348 in the opening frame led by Hargan's eight kills.

The Eagles heated up early in the second set, taking an early 4-1 lead, capped by an ace by libero Courtney Fitzgerald. Morehead State ran off a five-point run, highlighted by two service aces by Hargan, to stretch the lead to 10-3. The Eagles slammed four service aces in the set. After a 4-0 SEMO run to get to within two at 16-14, the Eagles responded with a five-point run to stretch their lead to 21-14. Everett's ninth kill of the match clinched the set for MSU. The Eagles hit .292 in the frame and edged SEMO 5-3 in blocks.

Morehead State got out in front in the third set 6-3 with an early four-point run. Later in the frame, another 4-0 run put the Eagles in front 15-8. The Redhawks rallied with a five-point run to close to 18-16. The Eagles closed out the set and the match outscoring Southeast Missouri 4-1, with Hargan slamming three terminations in the final five points of the match.

EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, LITTLE ROCK 0
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The Panthers volleyball winning streak continues. The streak extended to five wins in a row after sweeping Little Rock in the first match of the weekend. EIU improves to 13-6 (7-2 OVC), while Little Rock drops to 11-10 (6-3 OVC).

EIU opened the match, winning set one 25-22. Both teams battled tightly throughout the match, which included 7 ties and 3 lead changes. Little Rock held a two-point advantage heading into media timeout, 15-13. After the break in the action, EIU regained the lead and never looked back. The Panthers led late 20-16 after a tremendous kill by Lilli Amettis off of a great set by Ariadna Pereles. As play continued, EIU's defense held strong, including a set point block assisted by Anaya Rawlinson and Catalina Rochaix. As a team, the Panthers recorded 14 kills, 2 service aces, and 2 blocks. Lilli Amettis recorded a .500 hitting percentage, leading the team in kills with 5. 

The Trojans sped out of the gate using a 6-0 scoring run early to take an 11-6 lead. After an EIU timeout, the Panthers responded quickly with a 4-0 scoring run of their own to close the deficit. With the set tied at 15 apiece, both teams took turns scoring. As the set continued, the score remained tied at 20-20 until EIU scored the next three out of five points. The Trojans were forced to call a timeout to break the Panthers' momentum. As usual, Tori Mohesky records a service ace, followed by a kill from Katie Kopshever to close out set two, winning 25-23. 

Leading two sets to zero, EIU jumped out of the gate, scoring four straight points. The Panthers continued their strong play, leading 14-9, fueled by Katie Kopshever and Lilli Amettis. At the media timeout, EIU led 15-10 with the match in their hands. After the break, Little Rock would provide resistance, scoring six unanswered points and forcing an EIU timeout. The Panthers wouldn't panic and regained momentum with a late 20-18 lead. Head coach Ryan Millar would use his second timeout after the Trojans scored two straight. Eastern Illinois' lead dwindled, but they used their spectacular defensive effort once again to close out the set 25-21. The Panthers relied on block assists from Destiny Walker and Emma Schroeder to clinch the set and complete a sweep over Little Rock. 

Katie Kopshever and Catalina Rochaix led the way offensively. Kopshever recorded 14 kills and 11 digs, while Rochaix totaled 44 assists. Lilli Amettis also produced 13 kills and a hitting percentage of .312. Defensively, Ariadna Pereles and Emma Schroeder held strong. Schroeder produced 4 blocks paired with Pereles' 25 digs.