MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State snapped a three-match losing streak with a 3-0 sweep (25-16, 25-22, 25-16) of Western Illinois Thursday night in Johnson Arena.
 
Morehead State (11-14, 7-8 OVC) was led by the tandem of freshman Ella Warrick and senior Hollan Everett. Warrick posted her seventh double-double of the season with 15 kills and 13 digs and posted a .382 hitting percentage. Everett notched 14 kills hitting .343.
 
Amelia Nott added eight kills with a .467 attack efficiency and added two service aces, giving her an OVC-leading 37 aces this season.
 
Western Illinois (3-20, 3-10 OVC) was led by Kennedy Adair with nine kills.
 
In the first set, Morehead State got an early 3-0 run to go ahead 4-1 and never trailed through the remainder of the frame. A three-point run put the Eagles ahead 17-13 paced by two kills by Everett. MSU closed out the set with a five-point run, powered by three kills by Warrick and an ace by Josie Certa. Morehead State's attack posted a .306 hitting percentage in the opening frame while holding WIU to a .072 efficiency.
 
The second set was closely contested with 11 tied scores and seven lead changes. An early 4-0 run highlighted by two aces by Nott put the Eagles up ahead 5-1. WIU rebounded to tie the score at 5 5. Morehead State closed out the set with kills by Nott and Everett. The Eagles posted a .231 hitting percentage and Western Illinois hit .122. Western recorded four blocks; Morehead State posted three blocks in the set.
 
In the third set, a Morehead State 4-0 run gave the Eagles a 10-4 lead. MSU closed out the match with a 4-1run, all points coming on kills by Warrick. The Eagles hit .385 in final frame and WIU posted a .049 hitting percentage. Warrick notched nine kills in the final set.
 

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LINDENWOOD 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood Lions (22-3, 12-1 OVC) took the first of this week's two matches against Tennessee State (0-24, 0-13 OVC) with a resounding 3-0 sweep at Hyland Arena on Thursday evening. The win keeps the pressure on at the top of the conference standings, with the Lions in pursuit of their first OVC regular season title and second overall league championship.

In the first set, the Tigers kept things close early with the score at 15-11 at the first media timeout. Following the break, the Lions broke the set open with a 10-2 run to win the set by a score of 25-13. Lindenwood were efficient with their attacking hitting .533 as a team in the opening frame. Kaci Johnson was impactful, handing out 14 assists to start the night.

The Tigers gained momentum late in set two following an unsuccessful challenge from Lindenwood that left the score at 22-19, but the Lions were able to close out the frame and take firm control of the match with a 25-21 win. Lauren Ortwerth was busy through the opening two sets, leading the team with 17 attack attempts that she converted into 7 total kills.

Lindenwood finished the match in three, capturing the third set by a score of 25-12. The Lions ran away with the set following a 10-1 run to make the score 15-6 at the media timeout. Lindenwood stepped up their defensive performance in the third set and held the Tigers to a .080 hitting percentage with the Lions putting up their first two blocks of the night to help close out the victory.

Lauren Ortwerth led the team offensively with nine kills. She was followed by Autumn Bax with eight kills on an efficient.583 hitting percentage. As a team, the Lions hit a combined .364 in the match.

Kaci Johnson put in another strong performance, providing a total of 39 assists for an average of 13 assists per set while adding six kills. She also gave the Lions two aces while tallying six digs defensively.

Meanwhile, Alayna Rudebeck led the Lions with 11 digs on the back row.
 

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EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, SIUE 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Panthers season-best hitting percentage of .320 leads EIU past SIUE in four sets. Eastern Illinois improves to 9-15 (8-5 OVC) and moves into sole possession of third place in the OVC. SIUE falls to 8-17 (6-7 OVC). Katie Kopshever led the way with 20 kills and a .326 hitting percentage. Defensively, Emma Hanson tied her career-high in blocks with seven.

After a struggling first set loss, the Panthers rebounded using multiple scoring runs. EIU held a 15-9 advantage heading into the media timeout. Eastern Illinois boosted its lead to 19-11 after four unanswered points. EIU's scoring run was not done there, collecting another 4-0 run to eventually close the set 25-14. Abana Teran and Alana Guibert were vital in the second frame, each totaling four kills and two or more blocks. As a team, EIU hit a match-high .435 hitting percentage.

The Panthers offense remained hot in the third set with a .407 hitting percentage. EIU exploded for a 10-0 scoring run to take an early 12-3 lead. Eastern Illinois faced no trouble the rest of the way, extending their lead to 10 with a 19-9 advantage. Jorah Rutter closed the door with a left-side kill from Alanys Nieves, winning 25-16. Rutter finished the match with five kills. Nieves led the way for EIU once again with 21 assists.  

Eastern Illinois took control of the fourth set with a 4-0 run, thanks to three straight attack errors from SIUE. The Cougars totaled 29 attack errors on the night, finishing with just a .114 hitting percentage. With the Panthers leading by eight, SIUE fought back, scoring four unanswered points to cut the deficit to 18-14. EIU was unfazed by the late rally, scoring the final three of four points. Eastern Illinois secured its fourth consecutive victory when Guibert softly tapped the ball into the wide-open middle of the court.

Eastern Illinois' defense was strong, paced by Ariadna Pereles' match-best 16 digs. As a team, the Panthers totaled 12 blocks. Hanson had seven, while Teran and Guibert each had five.
 

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SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, SOUTHERN INDIANA 0
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Nina Schuberth set the school record for service aces reaching 155 aces on her career as Southeast Missouri defeated Southern Indiana 3-0 on Thursday, winning 25-17, 25-23, 25-21.

SEMO won 9 of the last 11 points highlighted by four block assists from Katy St. John and Alaina Lester. Reagan Nelson added a kill and a solo block in the run as well.

The Redhawks (19-7, 12-1 OVC) have swept the last seven matches and extended its winning streak to eight matches. 

After an early 2-0 deficit, the Redhawks responded with a 6-0 run, getting an Alaina Lester kill before Reagan Nelson served five straight points to help build a 6-2 lead. Lucy Arndt had three kills during Nelson's service stretch, and Schuberth closed the opening set with back-to-back service aces as Southeast Missouri won 25-17.

In the second set, SEMO answered USI's (12-13, 7-6 OVC) 23-22 lead by scoring the final three points to win 25-23. Nelson delivered consecutive kills, both assisted by Megan Holder, before a Screaming Eagle attack error ended the set.

The Redhawks erased a late 21-20 deficit by scoring the final five points to take the third set 25-21. Lester had two kills and teamed with Katy St. John on two blocks during the closing run, while Nelson added a service ace. Earlier, Southeast Missouri had pulled even at 20-20 on consecutive blocks after trailing 20-17.