Volleyball falls to Belmont in OVC Tournament opener

Box Score

MURRAY, Ky. - The Morehead State volleyball team's season came to a close on Thursday afternoon as they fell in three sets to Belmont in the first round of the OVC Tournament. They lost 18-25, 21-25, 22-25.

"It leaves a tough taste in your mouth, especially when these women put so much into the season," said head coach Jaime Gordon. "They've fought hard and they've stayed together all season, so this loss hurts for them, but at the same time I'm extremely proud of them."

The Eagles entered the third set trailing 2-0 and the Bruins quickly built an 8-3 lead. But, Morehead State fought back, scoring eight of the next 11 points to even it back up at 11. After Belmont extended the lead again, this time to 23-16, the Eagles once again showed resiliency, scoring six of the next seven points to trim the lead to 24-22, thwarting off three match points in the process. But, in the end, it was too little as Belmont's Arianna Person recorded her seventh kill of the match, as the Eagles fell, 25-22.

"The third set really showed the character of this team. They really exemplified it in the way that they fought back. They were down big and they didn't give up. They were aggressive and tried to make things happen," said Gordon. "But, it also shows why Belmont is such a good team. When we tied it up, they put a lot of pressure on us and that's a credit to their coaching staff and the players that they have."

Freshman Merideth Jewell led the way for the Eagles with nine kills and 12 digs. Junior Sydney Schuler added seven kills of her own, while hitting .294. Senior Hannah Sigala had five kills in her final match for Morehead State.

Senior Jocelyn Youngdahl led Belmont with 12 kills, while hitting .647. 

The Eagles had 29 kills to the Bruins' 42 and MSU hit .122 to Belmonts' .230.

Morehead State closes the year with a 10-21 record, but a very young team showed the ability to fight through bouts of adversity throughout the season.

"If you measure success with wins and losses, then someone from the outside would think this wasn't a very successful season," said Gordon. "But, if you measure it by character development, a commitment to each other, and the process, then it was a very successful season. You look at Alli Evans, who is in a tremendous amount of pain with some back issues. We had four freshmen playing significant roles today and I think that bodes well for our future, but at the same time, it's the present that you're in and this one still stings."