Volleyball team sits in second place in conference standings
October 6, 2015
After a 3-1 start to Ohio Valley Conference play the Eastern volleyball team is in second place in the OVC standings.
Sophomore middle hitter Allie Hueston tips the ball over the net during practice Tuesday in Lantz Arena.
Eastern has been dominating in the kill game this season having five players with over 100 kills. Sophomore Allie Hueston leads the team with 164.
The Panthers are all also getting involved in getting digs, but that category is mostly dominated by senior libero Stephanie Wallace.
Senior setter Marah Bradbury has 538 assists on the year, over 300 more than freshman Taylor Smith who has the second most with 219.
Murray State is leading the conference with a perfect 3-0 record. Murray State will take on Austin Peay Wednesday.
The Racers have won all three matches with out losing a single set. Murray State defeated Southeast Missouri to start the season, then won in straight sets against Tennessee-Martin and Eastern Kentucky a few days later.
Murray State is 13-1 overall this season.
Junior Scottie Ingram leads the Racers with 167 kills this season. Unlike Eastern, Murray State has many players getting digs and is not dominated by one player.
Belmont is tied for second with Eastern with a 3-1 record. Belmont has defeated Eastern Kentucky, Morehead State, and Eastern, but lost to Tennessee State.
Belmont has been strong all around except in their blocking game. Their opponents are out-blocking them in all blocking categories.
Opponents have 36 more assisted blocks and 19 more solo blocks than the Bruins,
Jacksonville State is 2-2 in fourth place. After losing to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and Eastern, the Gamecocks have won two straight against Tennessee Tech and Tennessee-Martin.
Senior Emily Rutherford has dominated the kill game earning 228 kills this season. Rutherford is also in second for digs with 206, 79 behind the leader.
Tennessee State is also tied for fourth place with a 2-2 record. Just like Jacksonville State, Tennessee State lost their first two matches and then won two in a row.
TSU was defeated by Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky. They beat Belmont and SIUE.
Junior Chloe Watson leads the Tigers with 218 kills.
Tennessee-Martin, Morehead State, Tennessee Tech and Eastern Kentucky all have 2-2 records as well.
Just like the Panthers, Tennessee-Martin likes to share the ball on kills. They have five players who also have over 100 kills on the year.
Sophomore Lael Ceriani leads that category with 190 kills.
Morehead State spreads the ball out a little for kills but it mostly is coming back to freshman Merideth Jewell to kill it home.
Jewell leads the conference with 305 kills, 282 of those coming in conference play.
Tennessee Tech also has mostly one target in senior Cody Dodd. Dodd has 252 of the team’s 696 kills. The rest of the kills are spread out among six players with only one having over 100.
Eastern Kentucky has played two of the top teams in Murray State and Belmont and lost both matches. They were able to come away with wins against Tennessee State and Morehead State.
Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and Austin Peay have all had rough starts to the season. Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville are both 1-3 and Austin Peay has yet to win a match.
For Austin Peay, that win may have to wait as they are taking on Murray State Wednesday night.
It is early in the season, but winning early can be crucial for some teams to make runs at hosting the OVC tournament at the end of the year.
Sean Hastings can be reached at 581-2812 or smhastings@eiu.edu
