STATSDAYTON, Ohio - The Morehead State volleyball team overcame a seven-point deficit to claim the first set, but lost the next three to fall to Wright State, 3-1. They fell 23-25, 25-20, 25-20, 26-24.
Wright State entered the game with an impressive 10-4 record and were 6-1 at home, but the Eagles gave them all they wanted at McLin Gym. At the start of the first, it was all Raiders as they jumped out to an early 10-4 lead and led by as much as seven as late as 15-8. Trailing 18-12, head coach
Jaime Gordon called a timeout and then MSU mounted a furious rally. They scored five straight points off of junior
Sydney Schuler's serves and quickly knotted the game at 18. A kill by freshman
Jordan Jones put the Eagles up 22-21, which was their first lead since 1-0. Three points later a kill by fellow freshman
Merideth Jewell would give the Eagles the set, 25-23.
MSU recorded 20 kills in the first set, as Jewell had six and junior
Courtney Smith added five of her own.
Wright State, however, bounced back by taking the second and third sets, both with scores of 25-20.
But, in the fourth, the Eagles fought back once again. They jumped out to a quick 8-4 lead off of a kill by sophomore
Alli Evans before the Raiders reeled off four points of their own to even the set at eight points each. Morehead State would record the next three points to go up 11-8, but the two teams would battle back and forth the rest of the way. Back-to-back errors by the Raiders late in the set gave MSU a 24-22 lead and two chances to force a pivotal fifth set. But, WSU would go on to win the set 26-24 as they scored the final four points of the match.
"Tonight was disappointing, considering the opportunities that we created for ourselves," said Gordon. "Credit to Wright State for being the aggresor. They blocked extremely well and were able to take advantage of some gaps in our defense."
In a very even contest, both teams finished with 56 kills, as the Raiders hit .253 to the Eagles' .195. MSU recorded 54 assists to WSU's 52, and also led in digs, 66-64.
Jewell continued her very strong play as she led both teams with 23 kills on 60 attempts, hitting .233. Her 15 digs tied for second on the team with Smith. Smith also had a strong day at the net, finishing with 13 kills, while hitting .206. She led the team with three service aces.
This match wrapped up the Eagles' non-conference slate as they open OVC play with two games at Wetherby Gym this weekend.
"We have got to become more resilient in the critical situations and I have all of the confidence that our team will get there," said Gordon. "We have two practices before we open conference play. We will make sure that our intensity and execution is at its highest level."
Morehead State faces Tennessee State on Friday at 7 p.m. and then squares off against Belmont at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
