NASHVILLE, Tenn. – SIUE volleyball returned to action Saturday afternoon, falling in four sets on the road to Tennessee State. The set scores were: 16-25, 28-26, 15-25 and 16-25.

Following the loss, the Cougars drop to 10-12 overall and 5-6 in Ohio Valley conference play. Tennessee State improves to 11-14 and 5-7.

Knotted up at 10 in the first set, the Tigers used a 9-2 run to gain a six-point lead. The Cougars responded with a 4-1 run to cut their deficit to three, but Tennessee State would finish the first on a 6-0 run to win the opening frame, 25-16.

The second set played back and forth, as it featured nine lead changes and 17 ties. Tied at 26, a Tiger attack error and a kill by Jessica Vineyard gave the Cougars their lone set victory in the match, winning 28-26. SIUE played its best offensive set of the match, hitting .132 on the attack.

Tied 9-9 in the third, Tennessee State would use a 9-2 run to extend its lead to seven and never look back. Tennessee State would go on to grab the third set, 25-15 and take a 2-1 advantage in the match. SIUE hit .081 in the third frame compared to the Tigers' .344 attack percentage.

The Tiger offense stayed hot, taking control of the set at 3-2 and held the lead for the rest of the match to win, 25-16. SIUE went on to hit -.091 in the fourth as the Tigers took advantage of eight attack errors by the Cougars.  

Priscilla Jones finished the match with a team-best 10 kills and three blocks. Ainsley Ranstead also notched nine kills in the loss. On the service line, Sydney Hummert led SIUE with three service aces for a new career high.

On defense, Nicole Kijowski racked up 21 digs. Alyse Drifka also ended with double-digit digs, picking up six while dishing out a team-best 14 assists for a double-double.

SIUE will continue its midseason road swing at Lindenwood on Tuesday, Oct. 25. First serve is set for 6:00 p.m. and the match will be streamed on ESPN+.