Starkville, Miss. - The Eastern Kentucky volleyball team closed out its stay at the Mississippi State/Microtel Classic by splitting a pair of matches on Saturday. The Colonels (9-3) suffered a five-game loss at the hands of Memphis, but rebounded with a 3-0 win over Louisiana Tech.

Memphis 3, EKU 2
(27-30, 25-30, 30-27, 30-21, 13-15)
The Colonels outhit their opponents .230 to .176 in the match and fought back from a 0-2 deficit to force a decisive game five. But the Tigers hit .500 in the final set (10 kills and one error on 18 attempts) to pull out a 15-13 victory.

Senior Lesley Aldridge paced the WKU attack with 20 kills, followed by 14 a piece from freshman Amy Arlinghaus and junior Liz Guard, both of whom hit over .300 in the losing effort. The Colonels tallied 14 team blocks in the match, led by seven from Guard two solos and five assists) and six from sophomore Kasha Brozek (three solos and three assists).

Freshman Brittany Nobilio led all players with 30 digs, marking the fourth time this season she's registered 30-or-more digs in a match. Freshman Mallory Eikenberry chipped in a career-high 11 digs, followed by 10 a piece from sophomores Kelly Jennings and Jessica Sabath.

Memphis used a pair of big performances from Tiara Gilkey (25 kills, 17 digs) and Nancy Nellans (21 kills, 21 digs) to move to 9-4 on the year.

EKU 3, Louisiana Tech 0
(30-23, 30-28, 30-27)
Eastern rebounded with a three-game sweep of the Lady Techsters, thanks in part to an 18-kill, 15-dig double-double from Aldridge.

Neither team hit well in the match, as EKU enjoyed a slim advantage (.107 to .092). Guard was the lone exception for the Colonels, as Eastern's co-captain registered 13 kills off a .407 hitting percentage, while adding in three blocks.

Nobilio again led the way defensively, finishing with a match-high 24 digs, followed by 22 from Sabath. Jennings chipped in 14 digs in the win to go with her 30 assists and three kills.

The Colonels return to action next weekend when they open Ohio Valley Conference play on the road with matches at Tennessee-Martin (Sept. 24) and Murray State (Sept. 25).