STATSNASHVILLE, Tenn. - Morehead State volleyball entered tonight's match against Belmont with a season-high three-match winning streak, but that streak came to an end as they fell to the Bruins in three sets. They lost 20-25, 16-25, 20-25.
With the loss, Morehead State falls to 6-5 in league play, while Belmont improves to 9-2.
"The disappointment tonight isn't in the loss, as much as it is in the performance," said head coach
Jaime Gordon. "Our offense was not as effective as it needed to be against a good team on the road. We gave up points on mental errors, which we have not done for quite some time. Belmont did a great job of executing on opportunities, and we didn't pressure them enough to get them out of rhythm."
Riding the momentum of their recent hot streak, the Eagles came out firing. They jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead and led 16-14 midway through the first. But, the Bruins scored eight of the next nine points to open a 22-17 lead of their own. They would close the set on an 11-4 run, 25-20.
After falling 25-16 in the second, MSU looked to extend the match in the third. Resembling the start they had in the first, they jumped out to an early 4-2 lead. Both teams fought back-and-forth throughout the set and Morehead State led as late as 18-17. But, the Bruins once again went on an extended run, outscoring the Eagles 8-2 the rest of the way, to win the third, 25-20, and close the match, 3-0.
During their recent run of success, the Eagles have implemented a balanced attack and that continued tonight. Junior
Sydney Schuler continued her strong play, leading the way with seven kills, while hitting an impressive .400 and putting up two blocks. Senior
Hannah Sigala, juniors
Courtney Smith and
Bailey Nichol, and freshman
Merideth Jewell all finished with six kills.
Morehead State managed 34 kills to Belmont's 39, but hit just .129 as a team, compared to the Bruins' .303.
"We have a quick turnaround to make some fixes because things are not going to get easier tomorrow," said Gordon.
The Eagles will look to split their quick two-match road trip in Nashville tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. as they face Tennessee State. Live stats of the match will be available at MSUEagles.com
