Volleyball kicks off season with Eagle Challenge

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MOREHEAD, Ky. -- The Morehead State volleyball team begins its 2015 campaign this weekend with three matches in the Eagle Challenge at Wetherby Gym. They open with two matches on Friday as they face Canisius at 11 a.m. and close out the day against Marshall at 7 p.m. They then face Indiana State at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. 

This marks the fifth straight season that Morehead State has hosted the Eagle Challenge at Wetherby Gym and the second year in a row that they will open their schedule with this event.

The Eagles are coming off of a 2014 campaign that saw them finish with a 3-28 record, despite being the preseason pick to win the OVC. Last season marked the first time since 2005 that they failed to finish with a winning record and it ended a streak of eight straight 20-win seasons. They entered last season with a 67-3 conference record over the previous four years and winners of the OVC regular season championship in six of seven.

Eight players from the 2014 roster return to the court, including redshirt junior outside hitter Courtney Smith, who missed the entire season due to injury. Smith's return should prove beneficial for the Eagles. As a sophomore, she started all 33 matches, led the team with 2.92 kills per set, and was named All-OVC.

"I learned a lot last season, being out with an injury, and I'm ready to put that all together on the court," said Smith. "The camaraderie that you develop with your team is something special and when you're on the sidelines it's just a little different. I'm really looking forward to getting back in there."

Senior middle blocker Hannah Sigala, a preseason All-OVC selection, also returns. As a junior she started all 31 matches and led the team with 100 total blocks and 310 kills.

Despite her invidual successes, Sigala is anxoius to get the Eagles back to winning form.

"Personally, it was a good year for me," said Sigala. "But, I don't really care about that because, as a team, we still won only three games. And that's a disappointment, coming from a championship team who's used to winning the rings and being that powerhouse of a team that everybody's afraid of."

Jaime Gordon, who is entering his 13th season as head coach at Morehead State (231-159), is excited about his team's mixture of youth and experience.

"We have a young group, but they're talented and very experienced," said Gordon. "We're going to be relying on some freshmen early on. They're giving us depth, they're giving us a lot of different options. But, Hannah Sigala is our lone senior and we'll be relying on her to carry a big load both offensively and defensively."