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MOREHEAD, Ky. - Sophomore
Jordan Jones recorded a career-high 14 kills as Morehead State volleyball downed Belmont (9-6, 3-2 OVC) at Wetherby Gym on Friday night.
With the win, the Eagles move to 7-11 on the season and 3-2 in league play.
"I felt really good about the way we responded coming out of the second set. We had gotten a good lead and let it get away, then in the third set we got behind and fought back to get a good win," said head coach
Jaime Gordon. "We talked after the third set that we had let one get away in the second set and stole one in the third, and we needed to go out and earn one in the fourth set and I think that we did that."
After splitting the first two sets, the Eagles fell behind 16-12 in the third before mounting an 8-1 run to take a 20-17 lead. Belmont then responded by scoring four straight of their own to reclaim the lead at 21-20. But, Morehead State made the last run and took the set, 25-23, on a solo block by sophomore
Maddie Fella.
In the fourth, the Eagles jumped out to a 6-1 lead and never trailed as they took the set, 25-20, on a kill by sophomore
Merideth Jewell. The kill marked Jewell's eighth of the set as she helped close out the Bruins.
"Merideth stepped up for us big time in the fourth set and that's what really good players do, they start to execute in critical situations," said Gordon.
Entering the final set, the reigning OVC Freshman of the Year had just five kills, but her strong final set gave her 13 on the match. In the fourth, she had eight kills on 15 attempts and finished the match with a .243 hitting efficiency. She also added 11 digs.
Jones got off to a hot start with four kills in the first set and finished with 14 kills on 28 attempts, good for a .464 hitting efficiency, and was hitting plus-.500 late in the fourth set. She also recorded five assists, four digs, four block assists, and three service aces.
The 14 kills marked a career-high for Jones, surpassing her previous high of nine against Akron last season.
"No doubt for us, Jordan is a huge part of our success. We felt good about some opportunities we were going to have on the right side and she had a fantastic week of practice, which really showed tonight," said Gordon.
Senior
Sydney Schuler was the third Eagle to record double-digit kills as she finished with 12. Senior
Bailey Nichol led the team with 36 assists, while pitching in 16 digs and five kills of her own. Fella led the team with five block assists.
Freshman
Danielle McCarson led the team with a career-high 27 digs, while fellow freshman
Karlee Reynolds recorded seven kills and three block assists.
Overall, the Eagles finished with 53 kills and hit .203, while limiting Belmont to just 37 kills and a .090 hitting efficiency.
With back-to-back wins over the reigning OVC regular season and tournament champions, Morehead State now turns their attention towards Tennessee State, who they host on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET.
