Box Score
Box Score (PDF)
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – Third-seedeed Morehead State (21-10) won a thrilling five-game (25-21, 25-22, 23-25, 21-25, 15-12) match over second-seeded Austin Peay Friday night in the semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball Championship. The Eagles got double-digit kills from five players en route to advancing to the championship game tomorrow night against host Jacksonville State.
MSU fell behind 1-6 in the first set before battling back to take the lead 10-9 behind three kills from
Kaitlin Craven and an ace from
Emma Keough. The Eagles pushed the lead to four points at 22-18 and the two teams traded points from there before
Ellie Roberson landed a kill to give the Eagles the 25-21 set one win.
Annie Gruenschlaeger led the way for MSU with six kills followed by Roberson with five and Craven with four.
MSU continued their momentum from the first set into the second and built a 10-4 lead behind kills from Roberson, Keough, setter
Kirstie Brangers, and Craven. The Lady Govs were able to close the MSU lead to 14-12 and got within one at 23-22 before a kill from Craven gave the Eagles the set point. A block from Gruenschlaeger and Evans on OVC Player of the Year Stephanie Champine closed out the set at 25-22 for MSU. Craven tallied four more kills in the set while Keough and Roberson each slammed home three balls in the set. Gruenschlaeger led the defensive effort with three block assists.
APSU built an early 4-7 lead in the third set before MSU went on a 4-0 run behind an ace from
Lindsey Ruddell, a block assist from Roberson and Keough and a Roberson kill. The Lady Govs battled back to take an 10-11 lead. The teams traded points before APSU rallied off three straight points to take a 14-16 advantage. The lead grew to 15-18 before two service aces from
Liz Schuler were part of a 3-0 MSU run to tie the game at 18-18. The Lady Govs fired back with four straight to push the Eagle deficit to four at 18-22. MSU closed the lead to one, 23-24 before a Jessica Mollman kill gave the Lady Govs the third set 23-25 set win. Gruenschlaeger ripped off four more kills in the set to lead the Eagles.
Kills from Keough, Evans, Gruenschlaeger, and Roberson propelled MSU to a 12-7 lead in set four. APSU retaliated with eight straight points to take a 12-15 advantage. The Lady Govs pushed the lead to 18-24 before the Eagles rallied for three points to close to 21-24. The Lady Govs got a kill from Kirstin Distler to close out the set 21-25. Evans and Keough had three kills apiece for MSU in the stanza
MSU jumped out to 6-1 lead in the fifth and final set, taking advantage of two APSU free balls that lead to kills from Evans and Gruenschlaeger. The Eagles also recorded three stuffs in the early going of the set. APSU then rallied to close the gap to 10-9. The teams traded points till a Craven kill gave the Eagles the match point at 14-12. A block from Evans and Keough gave MSU the 15-12 set and match win. Evans ripped off four kills in the final set to lead the Eagles.
Gruenschlaeger led the five player assault with 14 kills. Roberson and Craven tallied 13 spikes apiece, while Evans and Keough finished with 11 and 10 kills respectively. Gruenschlaeger and Keough led the defensive effort with 9 and 7 blocks respectively.
Kristina Schoo led four players with double-digit digs with 32, her second straight 30-plus dig effort. Brangers, Schuler and Craven also totaled double-digit digs. MSU's 102 team digs was a season high. Brangers finished with 53 assists in the match.
MSU improves its record to 3-2 in five-set matches this season.
The Eagles now face top-seeded Jacksonville State tomorrow night in the championship match 8:30 p.m. EDT.
