MOREHEAD, Ky. - Following a big win in front of a loud home crowd last Saturday against Murray State, Morehead State volleyball remains home this weekend to host Belmont (9-5, 3-1 Ohio Valley Conference) and Tennessee State (10-9, 2-2 OVC). They will face the Bruins on Friday night at 7 p.m. ET and the Tigers on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET.
With the win on Saturday, the Eagles are 6-11 on the year and 2-2 in Ohio Valley Conference play.
"Our offensive and defensive play really came together in the win over Murray State and it was a fun one," said head coach
Jaime Gordon. "It was our first home OVC match and you really have to take advantage of the times when you get a conference foe on your own court. We had a great crowd and we were really able to feed off of their energy."
Freshman
Karlee Reynolds led the team with eight block assists in the win over the Racers as the team combined for an impressive 13 total blocks. The eight blocks in a game marked the second most of her career, following an 11 block performance against West Virginia.
With 1.22 blocks per set, Reynolds ranks third in the OVC.
"Karlee has taken fantastic strides. I think being a middle (blocker) as a freshman is a very difficult transition to make because how quickly everything moves and the complexity of the offenses that you're facing," said Gordon. "From day one, she has tried to soak up as much as she could, she's always asked the right questions, and I think she's starting to see that work pay off."
Another key to the Eagles' win against Murray State was their ability to finish off sets.
"Finding ways to close out sets is key and we've talked about that, 'who's going to be that winner and give us that point when we need it'," said Gordon. "Not just in that first set, but all three sets against Murray (State) were really tight, and whether it was a scramble play by
Danielle McCarson or a big block from
Jessie Wachtman or a key kill from
Sydney Schuler, everyone was stepping up in big ways to give us scoring opportunities."
Now the Eagles must look to build off of the momentum created by the big home win over the Racers.
"The results are a byproduct of how we approach practice and how we approach our opponents. So, while Saturday was a good result, we have to realize that it was because of the process and the way that we performed," said Gordon. "We have to evaluate the performance and not get too caught up in the numbers, or what the score was. Instead, we need to ask ourselves, 'did we improve and did we get better in areas that we need to'."
Live video streams for both matches will be available on the
Ohio Valley Conference Digital Network and live stats can be found at
MSUEagles.com.
