Ohio Valley Conference

CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Panthers swept the series after beating UT Martin 3-1 on Halloween evening. The Panthers moved to 16-6 (10-2 OVC), while the Skyhawks dropped to 2-21 (1-11 OVC). 

The Panthers came out firing on all cylinders, scoring four straight points to set the tone for the rest of the match. EIU continued their run, extending their lead to 18-9, forcing the first Skyhawks timeout of the night. After the break, the Panthers sped away, cushioning their lead using a 5-0 scoring run to close out set one with a 25-12 victory. 

The second set had a similar tone, with the Panthers dominating early, including a 7-0 scoring run to take an early 7-5 lead. Later on in the set, Eastern Illinois faced no trouble scoring five unanswered points, forcing two UT Martin timeouts. With a large 19-10 lead, the Panthers used their defense to hold off any potential comeback, winning 25-14.  

With back-to-back dominating sets, coach Ryan Millar mixed up the lineup; however, UT Martin took advantage early in the set. EIU trailed 15-11 heading into the media timeout. After the break, UT Martin got the better of EIU, stringing together multiple scoring runs to take their largest lead of the night, 20-13. The Panthers would panic, rallying for three out of the next four points to close the deficit to 21-16. UT Martin would reach a set point after a 3-0 scoring run; however, EIU responded with a run of their own, forcing a late UT Martin timeout. Unfortunately, the Panthers ran out of gas, dropping set three 25-20.  

As UT Martin held momentum, the Skyhawks and Panthers battled back-and-forth to start the final set. Each team used a scoring run to find separation, but EIU held a short one-point advantage before the media timeout. Eastern Illinois, leading 15-14, found their rhythm and rattled off three straight, including kills by Destiny Walker and Katie Kopshever. The Skyhawks would quickly respond, setting up a chaotic finish. UT Martin used their last timeout with EIU leading 22-19 to charge a comeback. However, the Panthers' offense was too strong, closing out the match 25-21.  

The Panthers extend their winning streak to 8 and their home record to 7-0. Destiny Walker led the offense with 18 kills, 19 points, and 11 digs. Katie Kopshever was right behind her with 16 kills, 4 service aces, 7 digs, and 21 points. Catalina Rochaix led the way with 25 assists, followed by Sylvia Hasz with 20 assists. Defensively, Ariadna Pereles was spectacular once again with 20 digs. Emma Schroeder produced 3.5 blocks. As a team, the Panthers totaled 64 digs, 54 kills, 48 assists, 8 service aces, 8 blocks, and a .257 hitting percentage.

LINDENWOOD 3, WESTERN ILLINOIS 1
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood women's volleyball team (9-10, 5-6 OVC) picked up a pivotal 3-1 win over Western Illinois (7-17, 4-7 OVC) at Hyland Arena on Friday night. The Lions hit .294 as a team with three players in double-digit kills.

The opening set was back-and-forth early, but the Lions ended the frame on an 11-4 run to take a 25-20 victory as Jade Roth led the LU attack with six kills on a .556 hitting percentage. Lindenwood carried their momentum into the second set, using separate runs of 6-0 and 5-0 to claim the frame 25-15. Autumn Bax had her biggest set of the night with six kills.

Lindenwood led by as many as three points in the third set before Western surged ahead 18-17 with a 4-0 run. The Lions would eventually regain a 28-27 lead after turning away multiple WIU set point opportunities, but the Leathernecks rallied with three unanswered points to take the set. Ashley Geluck posted eight kills in the set.

The Lions were put to the test again in the following set as they saw a four point lead dissipate, but with the score tied at 20, Autumn Bax and Ashley Geluck took over, carrying LU to victory behind five consecutive kills.

Autumn Bax and Ashley Geluck combined for 37 kills in the match as both players posted season highs. Bax went for 19 kills on a .341 hitting percentage, while Geluck posted 18 terminations on .273.  

Joining them with double digit kills was Kylee Richey will 11. It was Richey's fifth consecutive double-digit kills performance and her ninth overall on the year.

Meanwhile, Amelia Thro handed out 62 assists for an average of 15.5 assists per set, surpassing her previous career-high of 42 assists set against SIUE earlier this week. It was the most assists recorded in a single game by any player in the OVC this season.

Dana Grib had a fantastic game defensively, racking up a career-high 34 digs for an average of 8.5 digs per set. It was the most digs recorded in a four sets by any OVC player this season, and the second most overall.

Jade Roth led the Lions with five blocks in the match, bringing her scoring total on the night to 11.5 points.

TENNESSEE TECH 3, SIUE 1
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Freshman Jordyn Milhouse put on a show Friday night as she led the way to a Tennessee Tech victory in a key match against SIUE.

The freshman from Mobile, Ala., collected 16 kills – a season-best for her – as she hit .419 on 31 attacks.

Bella Powell collected a double-double with 14 kills and 17 digs, while MK Roberts had 31 receptions and 11 digs, Alayna Pierce had nine kills and 12 digs. Jordan Karlen finished the match with 46 assists and seven digs, along with four kills.

Tech improved to 10-14 overall, 7-5 in Ohio Valley Conference and slipped just above SIUE in the standings with the Cougars 12-12 on the year, 7-6 in the league.

The Golden Eagles took the first two sets by a pair of 25-20 scores with five ties and only one lead change as Tech controlled the early action. SIUE rallied to take the third set 25-18, while Tech cruised to a 25-16 victory to clinch the match in the fourth set.

Kennedy Pike led SIUE with 10 kills, while Paige Bernstein had 15 assists and Ally Hughes 11. Claire Jones had 17 digs.

MOREHEAD STATE 3, LITTLE ROCK 1
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Morehead State had four players register double-digit kills and ran their record to 11-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference with a four-set win (28-26, 26-24, 21-25, 25-17) over the Little Rock Trojans in the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock, Ark., Friday night.

Morehead State (17-5, 11-0 OVC) was led offensively by senior M.E. Hargan, who posted 21 kills with 19 digs (both match highs) for her 31st career double-double, and recorded a .269 attack percentage. She also posted seven total blocks, tying teammate Amelia Nott for match honors.

Junior Hollan Everett set a new career high with 17 kills, one shy of tying her career high for terminations, and posted a .455 attack efficiency. Junior middle Amelia Nott slammed a season-high 12 kills, hitting .435 with two service aces and those seven blocks. Senior Sarah Heath added 10 kills for the Eagles.

Junior setter Sydney Sennett set a new career high with 49 assists, running an Eagle offense that hit .284 in the match. Sennett also collected 11 digs for her 20th career double-double. 

Little Rock (11-12, 6-5 OVC) got off to a fast start in the first set: a 6-0 run gave the Trojans an early 9-4 lead. A five-point run put the hosts up 14-7. Morehead State battled back: a pair of three-point runs set up the Eagles to shave the Little Rock lead to 21-20.  The teams traded points, the Eagles held off two Little Rock set points and Amelia Nott closed out the first frame with her third kill of the match. The Eagles hit .196 in the opening frame, while Little Rock, hot early, cooled off to hit just .130 in the opening set.

The second set was tightly contested from the start. The teams traded points, and the score was tied at every digit from one through 10. Little Rock used a 3-0 run to take a 12-10 lead, but Morehead State rallied with a three-point run of their own to go ahead 13-12. Little Rock, down 15-14 at the set break, rallied with a six-point run to take a 20-15 lead in the set. MSU fought back with a three point run to trim the lead to 23-22. The Eagles held off two Little Rock set points and took the frame on three straight terminations by Hargan.

Little Rock started quickly again in the third set running off the first three points. Another 3-0 run put the Trojans up 7-3. The Eagles responded with a 4-0 run on two kills by Sarah Heath and two blocks by the tandem of Hargan and Nott to cut the Trojan lead to 13-11. The Trojans ran off three straight points to extend the lead to 18-12 before MSU was able to force a side out. Little Rock outlasted the Eagles to take the third set 25-21. The Trojans hit .361 in the set to .316 for MSU. Little Rock hit .361 in the frame to .316 for Morehead State.

The fourth set was again tightly contested early. Little Rock rode a three-point run to take an early 4-1 lead. The teams traded points and side outs until MSU took a 12-9 after a four-point run. A 5-0 Eagle run extended the Morehead State lead to 17-11 as Morehead State cruised to a 25-17 set win. The Eagles hit .333 in the final frame, recorded four aces and notched four blocks to close out the match.

Little Rock's attack was led by Sophia Garrido, who posted a career-high 16 kills. Crismeyli Rodriguez added 14 for the Trojans, who have now lost five straight matches.

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0
NASHVILLE - Southeast Missouri Volleyball (13-12, 5-6 OVC) swept Tennessee State in straight sets on Thursday evening at Kean Hall Gymnasium, winning 25-18, 25-18, 25-10. The Redhawks recorded 11 service aces in the victory.

Tennessee State gained early momentum with two consecutive service aces from Erini Bitsaktsi, leading 6-3. SEMO responded with a series of kills from Marin Johnson and Ramiri Gardner, tying the set at 10-10. SEMO took control with a service ace and a kill from Kara Oxenknecht, pushing their lead to 15-12. Johnson secured the set for the Redhawks with a decisive kill, finalizing the score at 25-18.  

Tennessee State took an early advantage with a 3-0 start, featuring a service ace by Bitsaktsi. SEMO responded with a 4-point run, including kills from Gardner and Lucy Arndt, to level the score at 3-3. Johnson contributed significantly to the Redhawks' momentum, recording four kills during a stretch that pushed the lead to 12-7. Katherine St. John and Gardner each added a service ace as the Redhawks extended their lead to 17-10. SEMO held off a late surge from Tennessee State to claim the set 25-18, capped by a kill from Arndt.

Southeast Missouri opened the set with a 3-1 lead, highlighted by a kill from St. John assisted by Megan Holder. Oxenknecht contributed two kills, helping the Redhawks extend their lead to 6-3. Holder's service ace pushed the visitors' advantage to 10-5. The Redhawks closed the set with back-to-back service aces by Nina Schuberth, securing a 25-10 victory.