MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State tied its season-high with 13 total blocks and posted its second-highest offensive efficiency to sweep Eastern Illinois (25-12, 26-24, 25-17) in the series opener Thursday night in Johnson Arena.
 
Morehead State (10-11, 6-5 OVC) was led by Haidyn Carter up front with a season-high nine total blocks and Hollan Everett led the MSU attack with 15 kills with an efficient .351 hitting percentage. The Eagles posted a .364 hitting percentage, it's second-highest efficiency of the season.
 
Morehead State cruised through the first set hitting an efficient .455. Amelia Nott led the Eagle attack with five kills on five swings, posting a 1.000 efficiency. MSU posted a 4-0 advantage in blocks in the set, led by Carter with three.
 
Eastern Illinois ran off a pair of four-point runs to take a 16-9 lead and got a 5-1 run to get to set point at 24-18. The Eagles responded by turning away six set points and closed out the set with an 8-0 run. Everett smacked nine kills to pace the Eagles and Warrick added five in the frame.  Carter and Kylie Sharp both led the way up front with three blocks.
 
The third set was closely contested through the early stages of the frame. A 7-0 Morehead State run pushed the Eagles ahead 16-8. The teams traded points as Morehead State closed out the match with a kill by Freshman Anna Schiltz.
 
Eastern Illinois (5-15, 4-5 OVC) was led by junior Katie Kopshever with 10 kills, and Jorah Rutter with nine terminations and a .333 hitting percentage. Morehead Stater posted a 4-2 advantage in team blocks and hit .375 for the set to .037 for EIU.
 

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UT MARTIN 3, SOUTHERN INDIANA 2
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - A reverse sweep was in store for the University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team this evening as the Skyhawks rallied for a 3-2 triumph (21-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 15-13) at Ohio Valley Conference rival Southern Indiana.

Tonight's result was only the third five-set decision of the season for UT Martin, who improved to 10-12 overall and 5-6 in OVC play after notching its first 3-2 victory in 2026.

Rylee Key shined on both ends as the Skyhawk freshman slammed down a career-best 15 kills on a sizzling .481 hitting percentage while adding a match-high five blocks. Carly Mueller and Maddy Gladson tacked on double-digit kills with 11 and 10, respectively.

Dylan Sulcer (career-high 51 assists, 11 digs) registered her fifth double-double of the season, also tallying five kills, three blocks and a pair of service aces while guiding the UT Martin offense to a .210 attack percentage.

Defensively, Abby Freund was responsible for a season-best 25 digs and was joined in double figure scoops by Luli Arcucci (career-highs of 17 digs and five blocks) and Lauren Mariscal (11 digs, match-high three service aces).

Mueller owned the hot hand early for the Skyhawks as her fourth kill of the opening set pulled UT Martin within a single point at 11-10. The Screaming Eagles (9-13, 4-6 OVC) scored the next three points and despite a Sophie Diouf kill that trimmed the Skyhawk deficit to 24-21, Southern Indiana converted the next point to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Mueller (five kills on a .333 hitting percentage), Freund (seven digs) and Arcucci (seven digs) led UT Martin in the first stanza.

The Screaming Eagles scored four of the first five points in the second set but back-to-back kills by Mueller and Key helped the Skyhawks trim their deficit to 11-9. Southern Indiana eventually went on top by a 22-13 margin but UT Martin soon went on a 5-1 run to get back in the match. However, the Screaming Eagles recovered and claimed a 2-0 edge. Key (four kills, .500 attack percentage) and Mariscal (six digs) guided the Skyhawks in Set 2.

UT Martin hit an even .400 with zero errors in the third set. Back-to-back service aces by Penny Kirkham helped spur an 8-3 Skyhawk run that included a pair of Riley Rushing kills. A kill from Sulcer opened up UT Martin's biggest lead of the match up to that point (16-12) as an assisted block by Key and Arcucci served as the set-clinching point. Sulcer was the engine who sparked the Skyhawks in the third stanza, posting team-highs across the board in kills (three), assists nine), digs (four) and blocks (two).

The Skyhawks never trailed in the fourth stanza, racing out to a 5-1 advantage. By the time that Mariscal landed a service ace, UT Martin had doubled up Southern Indiana (12-6) and forced the Screaming Eagles to burn a timeout. Gladson earned two straight Skyhawk kills to help UT Martin keep its margin at six points before the lefty extended the match with yet another kill on set point. Gladson and Key shared the team lead with five kills apiece while Sulcer (14 assists) and Freund (eight digs) also excelled in the fourth set.

The abbreviated fifth stanza featured five tie scores and three lead changes. Key had a hand in three points (two block assists, one kill) during an early 5-0 Skyhawk run. Southern Indiana briefly reclaimed the lead at 11-10 before UT Martin pushed through to take a 14-11 lead after a Mueller kill. The Screaming Eagles made the score 14-13 but the Skyhawks held on as Gladson put the finishing touches on the come-from-behind effort with a kill on match point. UT Martin was led by Gladson (three kills, .429 hitting percentage) and Freund (five digs) in the final set.
 

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SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri  swept Tennessee St.  3-0 on Thursday to win its sixth straight match. SEMO hit .379 with 42 kills and held Tennessee St. (0-20, 0-9 OVC) to .056, taking the sets 25-15, 25-11 and 25-16.

The Redhawks (17-7, 10-1 OVC) turned a one-point opening set into control by winning seven of eight rallies, moving from 13-12 to 20-13 behind kills from Jacey Young, Marin Johnson and Reagan Nelson and a Johnson service ace. The home side finished the set with three of the final four points, including a Katy St. John kill and a block by Alaina Lester and St. John, to take it 25-15.

After erasing a 6-5 deficit in the second set, Southeast Missouri used an 8-0 run from 9-7 to 17-7 that included seven straight service points on Marin Johnson's serve. SEMO kept the margin in double digits late and finished the set at 25-11.

In the third set, the Redhawks took control with a 6-0 run from 2-1 to 8-1, with Nina Schuberth serving the final five points of the surge. Johnson had four kills during that stretch, and Southeast Missouri carried the separation through a 25-16 set win.