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MOREHEAD, Ky. – Senior Ellie Roberson led Morehead State with 18 kills and a .361 attack percentage as the Eagle volleyball team opened Ohio Valley Conference play with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-22) victory over Belmont on Friday evening at Wetherby Gym.
The triumph improved the Eagles to 9-6 overall, while the Bruins fell to 4-11 and dropped their inaugural OVC match. MSU has now won seven consecutive matches this season and has claimed 37 of its last 39 league matchups dating back to 2010.
Roberson, who shifted to the right side on offense, converted her team-high in kills on 36 swings with just five errors. Junior outside hitter Aryn Bohannon smacked down 12 kills with just two errors for a .357 hitting efficiency to go along with a career-high six total blocks. She had three solo and three assisted rejections. Sophomore Laura McDermott totaled seven kills and four blocks and hit .500.
MSU won the stats battle in kills (51-26), assists (42-25), digs (45-37) and blocks (7-5). Senior setter Caitlin Clark had a double-double with 36 assists and a team-high 15 digs. Junior libero Leslie Schellhaas tied Clark for the team lead in digs with 15 ups.
Belmont got nine kills and a .259 attack total from Jen Meyer. Jamie Lundstrom, the reigning OVC Defensive Player of the Week, also tallied 15 digs.
The Eagles maintained control throughout a majority of the night. The match featured just four lead changes and 11 ties. The Eagles only trailed twice in the opening set and never fell behind in the third frame. MSU's largest scoring run of the night came after trailing 7-6 in the second set. The Eagles rattled off 14 of the next 16 winners.
Morehead State returns to the Wetherby Gym court Saturday at 2 p.m. ET against OVC foe Tennessee State. The match can be seen live on OVCDigitalNetwork.com. Live stats are available through MSUEagles.com and Twitter updates will be provided @MSUATHLETICS.
