OVC volleyball teams nearing final weekend of season

Karina Delgado | The Daily Eastern News

Eastern outside hitter Ireland Hieb rises up for a kill attempt in a match against Tennessee State on Oct. 30 in Lantz Arena. Hieb had 15 kills and 6 block assists in the match, a 3-1 Eastern win.

Adam Tumino, Sports Editor

This weekend will be the last of the regular season for the volleyball teams of the OVC. 

There are five conference matches on both Friday and Saturday, and seeding for the OVC Tournament is still uncertain. 

Eight teams will make the tournament, and seven of these teams are locked into a postseason spot. 

But the eighth seed is still up for grabs, with Eastern, SIUE and Tennessee State fighting to keep their seasons alive. 

Eastern, which currently occupies the eighth seed, and SIUE are both 3-13 in conference play while Tennessee State is 2-14. 

Eastern has the toughest opponent of the three teams, with a pair of home matches against Austin Peay on the schedule. 

The Governors are 12-4 and in third place in the standings.

SIUE has a pair of home matches against Murray State. The Racers are 9-7 and in fifth place. 

Tennessee State will be on the road for a pair of matches against Tennessee-Martin, which occupies fifth place with a 9-7 conference record. 

With the eighth seed being the only one still open, all that is left is for the top seven teams to settle in to their positions. 

Belmont is currently in seventh with a 7-9 conference record. 

Tennessee Tech and Tennessee-Martin occupy fourth and sixth place respectively with 9-7 conference records, giving them the same records as Murray State.

Belmont and Tennessee Tech will play this weekend with the potential to shake up the middle of the standings. 

Second-place Southeast Missouri is one of three teams in the OVC with double-digit wins at 12-4. 

The Redhawks lost their last match to Murray State, breaking a three-match winning streak. 

Austin Peay sits in third place with a 12-4 record and has won its last three matches. 

Morehead State started the conference season 0-2, but have not lost since. The Eagles are now 14-2 against OVC opponents this season. 

They will put their winning streak to the test this weekend against Southeast Missouri in a clash between the conference’s top two teams. The Redhawks will be hosting and are 11-2 overall at home this season, including 6-1 in conference. 

Morehead State is 7-4 on the road overall and 5-2 in conference. 

Individually, Austin Peay’s Claire Darland leads the OVC with a 0.366 hitting percentage in conference play. The Governors have three of the top four players in hitting percentage in OVC play this season. 

Southeast Missouri has two of the top three players in kills per set this conference season, led by Laney Malloy with 4.09 kills per set. 

Eastern outside hitter Danielle Allen ranks seventh in conference play with 3.41 kills per set. 

Allen upped this number over the last five matches, in which she is averaging 4.62 kills per set. Eastern has gone 3-2 in those matches. 

 

Adam Tumino can be reached at 581-2812 or ajtumino@eiu.edu.