KANSAS CITY - Lucy Arndt broke the Southeast Missouri volleyball record for kills in a career in the opening match at the Missouri Challenge in a win over Saint Louis University Friday afternoon.

The Redhawks (6-6) defeated the Billikins (4-5) 3-1 and in the second match of the day SEMO fell to Missouri State 3-1

Arndt had 14 kills which was the second highest in the match behind teammate Reagan Nelson who had 17. 

SEMO erased an early 8-4 deficit with six straight points, using Ellie Burns' serve to move in front 10-8. Billikens later pushed the set into extra points, but Southeast Missouri answered repeatedly and closed it on Nelson's kill and service ace for a 33-31 win.

The Redhawks broke an 18-18 tie behind Holland Guilliams' service turn, scoring four straight points on her ace, two Nelson kills and a Billikens attack error to move ahead 22-18. Billikens got within 24-23 late, but Lucy Arndt finished the set with a kill from Guilliams for a 25-23 SEMO win.

Southeast Missouri was level at 16-16 after Arndt's kill and went up 17-16 on a Billikens attack error. Billikens answered with four straight points to put the Redhawks behind 20-17, and the visitors got late points from an Alaina Lester kill and a Sydney Miller/Katherine St. John block before dropping the set 25-20.

SEMO turned the fourth set with a six-point run after trailing 4-3, with Burns serving five straight points that included her ace, a Lester kill and a block assist by Arndt and Lester. The Redhawks later pushed ahead 13-5 behind two Nelson kills and an Arndt ace, then finished the set 25-17 on Arndt's kill from Nelson.

The Redhawks totaled more kills, aces and digs, but hit .194 to the Bears' .292 and were outblocked 11-5.

SEMO gained separation in the first set by taking five of six points after a 14-14 score, with Reagan Nelson and Katherine St. John recording kills as the visitors moved ahead 19-15. Lucy Arndt added late kills, including one that made it 24-18, and Nelson ended the set with a kill for a 25-19 Southeast Missouri win.

The Redhawks opened the second set with four kills in their first five points, using Megan Holder assists to Nelson, Marin Johnson, Alaina Lester and Arndt to build a 5-1 lead. The Bears pulled even at 5-5, but SEMO later responded from 13-9 down with Johnson kills around a Nelson ace and eventually tied the set at 16-16. The Redhawks could not move back in front from there, and the Bears took the set 25-20.

Southeast Missouri erased an 0-3 start in the third set with seven straight points, including two Arndt kills and two Nelson aces during Nelson's service turn, to move ahead 7-3. After SEMO led 23-20 on a Nelson kill, the Bears scored the final five points to take the set 25-23.

The Redhawks turned a 13-14 deficit into an 18-15 lead in the fourth set, using kills from Katherine St. John, Lester and Nelson along with a Nina Schuberth ace during the stretch. The Bears responded after Johnson's kill put Southeast Missouri ahead 20-19, scoring the final six points to take the set 25-20.
 

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SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 3, SIUE 0
AUSTIN PEAY 3, SIUE 0
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - SIUE volleyball opened the Austin Peay Governors Classic Friday, falling to both SIU Carbondale and Austin Peay in three sets.  
 
In the morning matchup, the Cougars were able to keep pace with the Salukis throughout, however, it was Carbondale's scoring runs of five or more points in each set that proved difficult for the Cougars to overcome, dropping the sets 26-28, 24-26, and 22-25.
 
Kennedy Pike was the top offensive performer against the Salukis, recording 11 kills on 23 attacks for a .435 attack percentage, also adding two blocks and three digs on the match. Defensively, senior middle blocker Vienna Elliott led the Cougars at the net against her former squad, tallying four total blocks.
 
In the second match of the day, the offense was much more evenly distributed, with five Cougars recording three or more kills in the match. Additionally, the defense saw a nice improvement from the morning match, with six Cougars recording at least one block.
 

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LINDENWOOD 3, NEW MEXICO STATE 1
LINDENWOOD 3, UTRGV 0
PEORIA, Ill. - The Lindenwood women's volleyball team (9-2) added two more wins on day one of the CEFCU Invitational in Peoria, defeating New Mexico State (6-5) and UT Rio Grande Valley (3-8). The Lions' 9-2 start is their best record through eleven matches in the NCAA era (since 2011).

The Lions started off the weekend with a 3-1 come from behind win over New Mexico State on Friday morning. After dropping the opening set, a 13-2 Lindenwood run in the second set was the turning point of the match.

The Lions were unable to overcome ten combined service and reception errors in the first set, falling by a score of 25-21 despite hitting at a clip of .382 and recording four more kills than the Aggies in the frame. Lauren Ortwerth led Lindenwood with four kills in the set.

Lindenwood fell behind 20-12 in the second set before an 8-2 run cut the deficit to just a pair. New Mexico State used a timeout in an attempt to slow the momentum, but the breather was ineffective, as the Lions scored five straight out of the timeout to take the set. Susanna Beretti registered eight kills in the frame to spark the Lindenwood rally.

The third set was tied up at nine points apiece before an 11-2 run by the Lions gave Lindenwood a comfortable nine-point cushion. The Aggies made a late push with six unanswered points that cut their deficit to just two, but following a timeout, Lauren Ortwerth finished the job with a kill for set point.

Lindenwood led for virtually the entire fourth set, pouncing out to a 10-3 lead and never letting their advantage shrink to fewer than three points for the remainder of the frame, sealing the match with a 25-20 victory. Autumn Bax had the hot hand for the Lions, posting five kills in the set.

Bax finished the match with 13 kills on a .414 hitting percentage, trailing only Susanna Beretti, who registered 17 terminations .471 attack percentage. Lauren Ortwerth also finished in double digits with 11 kills.

Kaci Johnson continued to keep the Lindenwood offense on schedule, dishing out 47 assists for an average of 11.75 assists per set. The Lions recorded a team hitting percentage of .308, eclipsing the .300 mark for the fifth time this season after accomplishing the feat just once last year.

Defensively, Dana Grib paced the squad with 18 digs (4.50 DPS) for her second highest total of the season. Alayna Rudebeck and Susanna Beretti also reached double figures in the match with 12 and 11 digs, respectively.

Meanwhile, Kylee Richey had a big day with a season-high six blocks – including one solo rejection – while adding nine kills.

The Lions extended their win streak to four matches with a 3-0 sweep of UTRGV on Friday evening, never trailing in the match.

Lindenwood cruised to a 25-16 win in the opening set, jumping out to an early lead before closing out the frame on a 9-2 run. Ashley Geluck led the Lions in scoring with four kills and a pair of solo blocks.

The Lions led by as many as eight points in the second set before a 7-1 run by UTRGV cut their lead to just a pair. However, the Lions were able to regroup and hold off the Vaqueros to take firm control of the match with a 25-19 win. Geluck continued to lead the way with four more kills in the set.

Lindenwood was in control for the entire third set, leading by as many as seven points before settling for a 25-20 win to secure the match. Autumn Bax had another strong finish, leading the team with six kills in the frame to finish the contest with a team-leading 12 terminations on an extremely efficient .545 hitting percentage.

Ashley Geluck led the Lions with 14 total points on 11 kills, two blocks, and one service ace while Kaci Johnson handed out 38 assists (12.67 APS) as Lindenwood hit .269 as a team in the match.

On defense, Dana Grib led the LU back row with 15 digs, averaging five digs per set, and Kylee Richey collected three total blocks – including two solo efforts – to lead the squad.
 

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UT MARTIN 3, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 0
UT MARTIN 3, WEST GEORGIA 1
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team ran its winning streak to three matches today with a pair of victories in the Skyhawk Classic, downing Arkansas-Pine Bluff in three sets (25-10, 25-15, 28-26) before defeating West Georgia by a 3-1 margin (25-23, 25-15, 20-25, 27-25).

Dylan Sulcer ran an offense that hit .233 on the day, handing out 72 assists (10.29 per set) to go along with 11 kills herself on a scorching .556 attack percentage (just one error in 18 swings). The senior out of Brentwood, Tenn. also added a service ace, nine digs and five blocks (0.71 per set) on the day.

Sophie Diouf's 20 kills (2.86 per set) ranked as a team-high while Carly Mueller (2.43 kills per set on a .306 attack percentage and 1.43 blocks per set) also shined all-around today. Chyler Martin tacked on 16 total kills while Luli Arcucci (3.67 kills per set on a .444 hitting percentage), Maddy Gladson (3.25 kills per set, 2.75 digs per set) and Mari Haas (four service aces in the tournament opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff) also led UT Martin offensively.

Lauren Mariscal was responsible for a team-best 37 digs (5.29 per set) today while Mia Saenz (1.25 blocks per set) and Rylee Key (1.00 blocks per set) were both major contributors to a defense that held the opposition to an .048 attack percentage on the day.

The Skyhawks hit .241 offensively and limited the Lady Lions to an .010 attack percentage for UT Martin's first sweep of the 2026 campaign.

The Skyhawks did not trail during the first two sets, scoring the first six points of the match. UT Martin soon doubled up Arkansas-Pine Bluff (14-7) but did see its lead trimmed down to four points shortly before the technical timeout. However, the Skyhawks ended the set with 11 unanswered points, three of which occurred via service aces by Haas. Arcucci had six digs in the opening set to pace UT Martin.

Key delivered three kills in a seven-point span early in the second stanza, resulting in an 11-2 Skyhawk advantage. The Lady Lions pulled to within three points at 15-12 but UT Martin once again went on an extended run, compiling 10 of the final 13 points of the set. Abby Freund and Penny Kirkham landed service aces during the final surge that gave the Skyhawks a 2-0 lead in the match. Arcucci (5 kills) and Sulcer (12 assists) led the way for UT Martin in the middle set.

The third stanza offered up 13 tie scores and five lead changes. The Skyhawks overcame a 4-0 deficit to start the set and also trailed 15-12 before pulling out yet another late comeback. Facing set point twice (24-22 and 26-25), UT Martin received back-to-back Mariscal service aces as well as late kills from Arcucci and Mueller to finish off the victory. Arcucci (six kills, .667 hitting percentage, six digs), Mariscal (10 digs) and Sulcer (13 assists) each keyed the Skyhawks in the final set.

Four different UT Martin players (Mueller, Gladson, Martin, Diouf) reached double digits in the kill column as the Skyhawks hit .227 in their third win of the week.

Gladson and Martin each had a pair of kills during UT Martin's 10-7 lead to start the first set. A Saenz service ace helped the Skyhawks extend their lead out to 19-14 before a block assist from Sulcer and Mueller clinched the set after the Wolves closed the gap to one point late. Mueller's four kills on a .278 attack percentage guided UT Martin in the opening set.

The Skyhawks dialed up five of the first six points in the second stanza as Martin (five kills, .364 hitting percentage) sparked the squad. A kill from Mueller capped off a 7-2 UT Martin run before late kills by Gladson and Martin resulted in a double-digit set victory for the Skyhawks. Mueller swatted away three blocks while hitting a perfect 1.000 (two kills in two attempts) in the second set.

UT Martin led early in the third set but West Georgia was able to avoid a sweep. The Skyhawks trailed 10-5 but battled back to within a single point on three separate occasions. Gladson had a pair of kills in a four-point stretch before Diouf tacked on a kill to shave UT Martin's deficit to 21-20 but the Wolves answered with the last four points of the set. Gladson's five kills on an even .500 attack percentage guided the Skyhawks in the third stanza.

The fourth set featured 10 tie scores and four lead changes before UT Martin closed out the triumph. Trailing 10-7, the Skyhawks received back-to-back kills from Martin to go on top by a 12-11 margin. Diouf later added a kill to extend UT Martin's advantage out to 20-16 but West Georgia stormed back to secure set point opportunities twice. The Skyhawks fended off the Wolves and ended the extended set with a Diouf kill. Diouf and Mariscal led UT Martin in the fifth set with five kills and eight digs, respectively.
 

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MARSHALL 3, MOREHEAD STATE 0
HUNTINGTON, W.V. - The Morehead State volleyball team was swept by Marshall 0-3 (16-25, 21-25, 20-25) Friday night in the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, W.Va.
 
Morehead State (4-5) was led by senior outside Hollan Everett with 15 kills and a .306 hitting percentage. Freshman Ella Warrick added nine kills as the Eagles posted a.133 hitting percentage, a season-low attack efficiency. Warrick added a match-high three total blocks, including two block solos.

Marshall (6-4) was led by Maddie Smith with 17 kills while hitting .389. The Herd posted a .229 hitting percentage in the match.
 
In the opening set, Marshall ran off six straight points to take a 6-1 lead. After a Morehead State 3-0 run, the Herd outscored the Eagles 5-3 to take a 15-9 lead into the technical timeout. Morehead State ran off three straight points to cut the lead to 17-12. Marshall closed out the set, outscoring MSU 8-5. 
 
Everett led the Eagle attack with five kills in the first frame, tying Marshall's Logan Henderson for match honors. Haidyn Carter added four terminations. Marshall posted a .414 hitting percentage in the opening set and smacked four aces. Morehead State hit .207 in the opening frame.
 
The teams matched runs in the early stage of the second set. Heading into the middle stage of the set, the Eagles answered a Marshall three-point run with a 3-0 run of their own to even the score at 13-13. The Herd ran off four straight points to gain separation. The teams traded 3-0 runs and Marshall led 21-17, closing out the set trading points with the Eagles.
 
Everett and Henderson paced the attack with six kills apiece in the set. Morehead State posted a .174 attack efficiency; Marshall hit .239 in the set.
 
The third set was closely battled early. MU outscored the Eagles 7-1 to take a 14-9 lead and led 15-12 heading into the technical timeout. Marshall outscored Morehead State 4-1 out of the technical timeout to take a 19-13 lead. The Eagles trimmed the lead to three points twice but could get no closer.
 

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NOTRE DAME 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Eastern Illinois was unable to string together a consistent rhythm on Friday night against Notre Dame, falling in three sets. With the loss, EIU falls to 1-9 (0-0 OVC), while Notre Dame improves to 2-6 (0-0 ACC).  

The Panthers fell behind early in set one, trailing 18-9, but Alanys Nieves' substitution surged the Panthers back into the match. Nieves finished with 18 assists on the night. Powered by two separate 4-0 scoring runs to cut the deficit within three (20-17). Unfortunately, Notre Dame was unfazed, closing out set one 25-22.  

EIU had an improved start to begin set two, jumping out of the gate to hold an early 8-3 advantage. The Irish raced back into control fueled by a 9-0 run to explode for a 17-12 lead. The Panthers battled back but fell short, falling 25-19. 

Set three, the Irish held control heading into the media timeout with a 15-11 advantage. Notre Dame's offense was too strong to handle, pushing the lead out to 20-13 in the late stages of the set. The Irish finished the match with 41 kills with a .243 hitting percentage. Mae Kordas (16) and Isabella Sangha (13) each recorded double digit kills. 

The Panthers showed life but were unable to shrink the deficit to within four or less, falling 25-19, losing the match in three sets.  

Katie Kopshever led the Panthers on both sides, recording a team-high 12 kills and three blocks. Kopshever was the only panther to reach double-digit kills. 

Nieves directed the offense with a match-high 18 assists. Defensively, Arianda Pereles (18) and Peyton Castillo reached double figure digs.  

Kyla Coolman returned home to play in front of her family, appearing in two sets.
 

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GREEN BAY 3, WESTERN ILLINOIS 0
GREEN BAY, Wis. - The Western Illinois Women's Volleyball dropped the first of two matches at Green Bay.

In the first set of match 1, Western Illinois went on some good runs, but were unable to stop the strong Phoenix attack, allowing five runs of three points or more by the Phoenix, which led the final score to be 25-16.

During the second set, the Leathernecks again allowed three runs of four points or more, but combated that with runs of their own, leading 11-7, keeping the match tied at 14, and were down 19-21, before Green Bay went on one final run where they ended up winning the set 19-25.

The third and final set saw Western Illinois be unable to get many big runs going, as the Phoenix defense was unstoppable, ending with a 13-25 score and a loss for the Leathernecks.

In game one the Leathernecks were led in kills by Kennedy Adair with seven, followed by Audrey Pender, Emelia Kouri, and Ashlee Markert with four. Jaleah Bauss and Alysia Perez were the two primary assistants for the Leathernecks, having 10 and eight respectively. Audrey Pender had the only solo block for the team in game one, and Karlie Lane led the team with 11 digs.
 

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SOUTHERN INDIANA 3, EVANSVILLE 0
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Volleyball swept (3-0) the University of Evansville to win the Battle for the Lloyd championship for the second year in a row.
 
The Screaming Eagles are now tied 6-6 in the all-time series with Evansville, a matchup that dates back to 1989. For the 2026 season, USI moves to a 5-6 overall record in the final weekend of non-conference play.
 
The Screaming Eagles dominated the first set. Senior Ashby Willis tallied eight kills, her best set of the night. Sophomore Aysa Thomas, the Ohio Valley Conference Co-Setter of the Week, dished out 14 assists for a well-rounded offense.
 
Sophomore Carley Wright picked up her offense from the right side in the second set, landing four kills, followed by Willis with three more. Thomas dished out eight assists, reaching her 1,500 career assist milestone. Junior libero Audrey Small was one of three USI players who picked up three digs. Wright and Willis led the USI attack from the service line, helping the Screaming Eagles to six total aces in the set.
 
Wright led the Screaming Eagle offense to close out the game in the third set, tallying seven kills. Willis and fellow senior Leah Coleman added two kills each to round out the offensive effort. Small picked up seven digs to help keep the UE offense to a .000 hitting percentage.
 
For the match, Willis finished with 13 kills, nine digs, and a career-high five aces to lead the team. The OVC Defensive Player of the Week also reached 1,000 career digs in the second set.
Wright followed close behind with 12 kills, a career-high three aces, and four digs. Small led the back row, picking up 14 digs, and she tallied four assists. Thomas dished out a total of 31 assists, five digs, and a kill.
 
As a team, the Screaming Eagles landed a total of 12 aces, the highest a USI team has had in a match since October 2024 in a win at Eastern Illinois University.