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MOREHEAD, Ky. -- A school-record crowd of 4,012 rolled through Wetherby and Laughlin Gyms on Say Boo to Drugs Night, but the Belmont volleyball team rallied from two sets down to spoil Morehead State's Halloween. Scores were 22-25, 26-28, 25-14, 26-24 and 15-10.
"A school-record crowd with a win would have been nicer than a school-record crowd with a loss, but tonight's support was still outstanding," Head Coach Jaime Gordon said. "Our players and coaches want to thank everyone who came out. We hope they return for future matches."
The Bruins improve to 13-12 overall, 9-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference and 7-3 on the road. The Eagles slip to 1-24 overall, 1-10 in league play and 0-12 at home. Belmont sweeps the regular-season series, but Morehead State still owns a 5-3 advantage in the all-time series.
Morehead State jumped out to a 2-0 advantage in the match with victories by three and two points, but BU came all the way back to escape with the five-set win. The Bruins posted an 11-point victory in the third period, two-point win in the fourth stanza and five-point win in the final set.
Belmont hit .250 for the match, including .423 in the third set and .421 in the final period. Morehead State posted a .203 attack percentage, with its best number of .400 coming in the opening set.
The Bruins tallied advantages of 64-58 in kills, 60-54 in assists and 13-5 in aces. The Eagles managed a 64-57 upper hand in digs. Both squads collected two solo blocks and 14 assists in the tilt.
"You have to give Belmont a lot of credit," Gordon said. "There's a reason they're 9-2 in conference. They didn't panic when we won the first two sets and stuck to their script. I thought our serving and passing were solid in the first two sets, but we didn't get the job done down the stretch."
Morehead State sophomore middle blocker Sydney Schuler recorded a career-best 14 kills and hit .265, while senior setter Colbey Cameron tied a career high with 17 digs and registered 43 assists. Cameron was playing her 108th match as an Eagle, while Schuler was playing her 41st.
Belmont freshman outside hitter Arianna Person pounded a match-best 16 kills. She also managed a team-high 13 digs, plus four blocks and three aces. Three other Bruins reached the 10-kill plateau, while freshman setter Emma Price handed out a match-high 55 assists.
The contest featured 30 ties and 14 lead changes.
The Eagles finished the second set on an 8-2 run. The Bruins closed out the third frame on a 10-2 surge. Belmont jumped out to a 10-6 advantage in the decisive period and never looked back.
MSU returns to action on Saturday when it entertains conference opponent Tennessee State at 2 p.m. ET. The Eagles will host a camper's reunion and post-match kid's clinic for anyone eighth grade or younger. Adult tickets are just $5, while children are only $2. There is no charge for parking.
Saturday will also be Morehead State's final 2014 match on the OVC Digital Network. The site is free and requires no registration. Director of Operations Daniel Becker will call the play-by-play, while former Eagle standout Aryn Bohannon serves as the analyst and Zack Howard leads the production crew.
