Volleyball Welcomes Music City Foes to Wetherby Gym

MSU TWITTER   /   VS. BELMONT -- LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS   /   VS. TENNESSEE STATE -- LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS

MOREHEAD, Ky. -- The Morehead State volleyball team returns to Wetherby Gym this weekend for a pair of Ohio Valley Conference matches.  The Eagles (1-23, 1-9) host Belmont (12-12, 8-2) on Friday at 6 p.m. ET and Tennessee State (9-16, 3-7) on Saturday at 2 p.m.  Both tilts have significant promotions.

Morehead State will look to shatter its home attendance record (1,767) on Friday when Wetherby and Laughlin Gyms host the fourth-annual Say Boo to Drugs.  The event is coordinated by the Morehead-Rowan County Chamber of Commerce, Rowan County Unite, Blueblank First Church of God and MSU Athletics.  For more information, click here.

Morehead State players and coaches will host a camper's reunion and kid's clinic after the match on Saturday.  Boys and girls in elementary or middle school who attended MSU's summer volleyball camp are invited back for the match and will be admitted free.  The clinic is open to anyone eighth grade or younger.  For more information, click here.

Both contests will be shown live on the Ohio Valley Conference Digital Network.  Former collegiate player and coach Angela McGuire will call the play-by-play on Friday, while Director of Volleyball Operations Daniel Becker handles the duty on Saturday.  Aryn Bohannon, who played in two NCAA Tournaments as an Eagle, will be the analyst both days.

Morehead State dropped a five-set heartbreaker to Tennessee State on Sept. 26 and three-set decision to Belmont on Sept. 27.  Both matches were in Nashville.


Releases and pre-match information:

MOREHEAD STATE | BELMONT | TENNESSEE STATE | OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE


Ten notes heading into the matches:

REVIEWING LAST WEEK
Morehead State won its first match of the season last Friday night, defeating Jacksonville State in five sets (21-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-23, 15-13). On Saturday afternoon, the Eagles dropped a three-set decision to Tennessee Tech (25-20, 28-26, 25-15).

UNCHARTED TERRITORY
Morehead State ended its longest skid in school history (22 matches) on Friday evening.  The Eagles started their varsity volleyball program in 1972, and the Ohio Valley Conference began sponsoring the sport in 1981.

SET IT UP, PUT IT DOWN
Senior Colbey Cameron handed out a career-high 64 assists during Friday's win at JSU. She also dished out a match-best 31 assists in Saturday's loss at Tennessee Tech. The setter had 95 assists and four kills during last week's matches.

CAN YOU DIG IT?
Sophomore Hope Rillema registered a match-best 24 digs during Friday's win at Jacksonville State. The libero posted a match-high 16 digs during Saturday's setback against Tennessee Tech.

BUMP IT, SET IT, SMACK IT DOWN
Junior Hannah Sigala leads Morehead State with 4.63 points, 4.12 kills and 1.00 blocks per set.  The middle blocker recorded a career-best 22 kills and hit .312 in Friday's victory at Jacksonville State. It was her 91st match in an Eagle uniform.

LEADING THE WAY
Jaime Gordon is in his 12th year as Morehead State's head coach.  He is 229-154 (.598) at MSU and 309-181 (.631) in 14 years leading a collegiate program.  Gordon has piloted the Eagles to seven regular-season conference titles, two league tournament crowns and both of the school's NCAA Tournament berths.

DOMINATING THE CIRCUIT
Morehead State is 1-9 in Ohio Valley Conference play, but went 67-3 in league matches over the last four years.  No other Division I program won 96 percent of their league tilts during that stretch.

HEADING TO THE BIG DANCE
Morehead State has participated in two of the past three NCAA Tournaments.  The Eagles traveled to Big Ten Conference opponent Purdue in 2011 and visited Big Ten foe Illinois in 2013.

BEST IN THE NATION
Morehead State won 36 consecutive Ohio Valley Conference regular-season matches from 2011 through 2013.  The nation's longest streak was just one shy of the all-time league standard.

AN INSPIRATIONAL STORY
Josh McKinney, the sports director at Hazard's WYMT-TV, produced an inspirational story on Morehead State volleyball player Hannah Sigala and her family.  The feature originally aired on Saturday, Oct. 18.  To watch, click here.