With less than a month left in conference season for the OVC volleyball teams, the standings are taking substantive shape.

All 10 teams have played 11 or 12 conference matches so far, with a few midweek matches upcoming this week before a full slate of weekend action. 

Let’s take a look at each team in order of the standings as well as upcoming matches. 

Austin Peay

The Governors are the only team in the OVC with just a single conference loss and are in first place with a 10-1 conference record. 

They have won six matches in a row with the last four wins coming in straight sets. 

They are hitting .279 and averaging 14.29 kills per set in OVC play, leading the conference in both categories.

Austin Peay has a big test this week with a pair of matches with third-place Southeast Missouri on Thursday and Friday. 

Morehead State

The Eagles are the hottest team in the OVC right now, currently riding a nine-match winning streak. 

They are now 9-2 in conference play after losing their first two OVC matches to none other than Austin Peay. 

They are averaging 13.62 kills per set in conference play, ranking third in the OVC, and will host Tennessee Tech Wednesday before welcoming Southern Illinois-Edwardsville for a pair of weekend matches. 

Southeast Missouri

The Redhawks are in third place with a 9-3 conference record after having an eight-match winning streak snapped in their last match. 

Their team hitting percentage of .219 is tied for second in the OVC in conference play. 

Their matches with Austin Peay later this week are set to shake up the top of the OVC standings regardless of the results. 

Tennessee-Martin

The Skyhawks have won their last two matches, improving their conference record to 8-4 and placing them fourth in the OVC. 

They are tied for second in the OVC in hitting percentage and lead the conference in blocks per set with 2.94. 

They are set to host Tennessee Tech for a pair of matches over the weekend. 

Murray State

After a slow start to conference play, the Racers have won four matches in a row to improve to 6-5 against OVC opponents. 

Their 13.83 kills per set rank second in the OVC in conference play this season, and they lead the conference in the category by a wide margin when nonconference stats are included. 

The Racers will be on the road in Nashville this weekend for a pair of matches with Belmont. 

Tennessee Tech

The Golden Eagles are also at 6-5 this season in conference play, although they have gotten there the opposite way thatn Murray State.

After a 4-0 start to conference play, Tennessee Tech has gone 2-5 in its last seven conference matches. Its .194 hitting percentage in conference play ranks fifth in the OVC. 

They have a tough schedule ahead, with a midweek match with Morehead State and two weekend matches with Tennessee-Martin on the horizon. 

Belmont

The Bruins are the only .500 team in the OVC this season, with a 6-6 conference record so far and a seventh-place slot in the standings. 

They rank seventh in the OVC with 11.98 kills per set in conference play. 

The Bruins will be hosting a streaking Murray State team for a pair of matches this weekend. 

Southern Illinois-Edwardsville

There is a large gap between seventh and eighth place in the OVC standings, with the eighth-place Cougars holding a 2-9 conference record. 

They opened the season 0-4, then won two of three matches before another four-match losing streak, which is the third-longest active losing streak in the OVC.

They are tied for last in the OVC in hitting percentage in conference play and rank ninth in kills per set. 

They have a midweek match with Eastern on Tuesday and then will travel to play Morehead State twice over the weekend. 

Tennessee State

The Tigers have just one win in conference play, that perhaps surprisingly came against Southeast Missouri early on in conference season. 

Since that win, the Tigers have dropped nine matches in a row and are now 1-10 in conference play. 

They have averaged 11.06 kills per set in conference play, the fewest in the OVC. They do rank fifth in digs per set, though, averaging 15.53.

They have a weekend series on the road against Eastern coming up this weekend.

Eastern

The Panthers are 0-11 in conference play so far, with their most recent losses coming at home against Morehead State. 

A midweek match with Southern Illinois-Edwardsville will give Eastern a chance to snap a 13-match losing streak overall this season. 

They will then return home to host Tennessee State for two weekend matches.

The Panthers are tied for last in the OVC in hitting percentage in conference play and rank eighth with 11.57 kills per set. 

Adam Tumino can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].