MATCH NOTES | ESPN+ (MATCH ONE | MATCH TWO) | LIVE STATS (MATCH ONE | MATCH TWO)

MOREHEAD, Ky. – Coming off its fifth series sweep of the 2020-21 season last week versus Tennessee Tech, Morehead State continues its stretch of conference foes from the Volunteer State, hosting Belmont for a pair of matches at Johnson Arena.

The Eagles enter the weekend series after posting the team's highest hitting efficiency since 2016, hitting .438 in match two versus Tennessee Tech. Morehead State accrued 46 kills on 89 swings, committing only seven errors in the match as six of the seven players to take swings recorded a hitting percentage of .400 or better.

Morehead State ranks 29th in the NCAA and second in the Ohio Valley Conference in team hitting percentage, connecting at a .265 clip. On the other side, the Eagles also excel at limiting their opponent's hitting percentage; ranking seventh in the country and first in the league with a .109 opponent's hitting efficiency.

The weekend's matches also coincide with the program's Senior Day festivities, as the program will honor Liz Allen, Chandler Clark, and Lauren Rokey ahead of Sunday's match.

Morehead State and Belmont open their two-game series Saturday with first serve set for 6 p.m. ET before the series concludes Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Records: Morehead State (10-0; 10-0 OVC) | Belmont (1-9; 1-9 OVC)
Series: Morehead State leads 10-9
Last Five Meetings:  Nov. 2, 2019 (MOR 3, BEL 0) | Sep. 27, 2019 (MOR 3, BEL 1) | Nov. 10, 2018 (MOR 3, BEL 0) | Oct. 5, 2018 (MOR 3, BEL 0) | Oct. 28, 2017 (BEL 3, MOR 1)

NOTABLE

• Collecting 46 kills with just seven errors in 89 swings, Morehead State's .438 hitting efficiency in match two versus Tennessee Tech was the team's best since Oct. 29, 2016, against Jacksonville State. Monday's match also marked the team's best hitting efficiency of the season.
• From match one to match two versus Tennessee Tech, Morehead State improved its hitting efficiency by 278 points, the team's largest improvement from one match to the next. It also marks the second straight weekend the Eagles' hitting percentage from the first match to the second has improved 200 or more points, also improving 214 points against Tennessee State.
• Monday's match also saw six of the seven players who took a swing record hitting percentages of .400 or greater. Senior outside hitter Olivia Lohmeier posted a season-high .519 hitting efficiency—minimum 12 kills—collecting 15 kills with one error on 27 swings. The match was the sixth .500 or better hitting percentage match in Lohmeier's career.
• Morehead State enters the weekend ranked 29th in the NCAA with a .265 team hitting percentage, a total that ranks second in the Ohio Valley Conference. This season the Eagles have 478 kills with 164 errors on 1184 total swings.
• Sophomore Bridget Bessler tallied her third double-double of the season in match one versus Tennessee Tech, passing out 44 assists while digging 16 balls. Her 44 assists mark a season-high as the match was the 15th of her career with 40 or more digs while her 16 digs are a career-high.
• Bessler enters the Belmont series ranked 25th in the country and second in the OVC in assists per set, passing out 10.97 helpers per set. Overall, she's tallied 373 assists over 34 sets as she ranks fourth in the conference in total assists.
• Lohmeier enters the weekend ranked 32nd in the nation in kills per set (4.38) and 18th in the country in points per set (5.13). She's accumulated 149 kills and 174.5 points this season as she's tallied double-digit kills in each match this season and her last 22 matches—the second-longest streak of her career.
• Sophomore right-side hitter Abby Hulsman posted her first double-figure kill match of the season in match one versus Tennessee Tech, accruing a career-high 13 kills. The match was her second career match with 10 or more kills, posting 12 against Tennessee Tech last season also.
• Junior middle blocker Mia Swearingen enters the weekend ranked fifth in the OVC in hitting percentage, authoring a .324 hitting efficiency this season, collecting 62 kills with 17 errors on 139 swings. In two matches against Tennessee Tech, Swearingen hit .419, collecting 18 kills while committing only five errors on 31 swings.
• Redshirt freshman middle blocker McKenzee Wagener also nears the top of the conference in hitting efficiency, hitting .376 this season (45-10-93). She'd rank second in the league in the category, but falls just short of the 3.33 attacks per set minimum.
• The duo of Swearingen and Wagener rank third and fourth in the OVC in blocks per set, averaging 1.10 and 1.06 blocks per set, respectively. The two are the only blocking duo in the conference to average 1.00 or more blocks per set and are two of just five players in the league averaging one or more blocks per set.
• Morehead State also continues to lead the OVC while ranking seventh in the nation in opponent's hitting percentage, holding opponents to a .109 hitting efficiency on the year. Through 10 games this season, opponents have hit .200 or greater only once while the Eagles have held opponents to a .130 or less hitting percentage in eight matches this year.
• The Eagles also sit atop the league in both total service aces and service aces per set, ranking 19th in the nation in aces per set. Over 34 sets, Morehead State has landed 68 total aces, averaging 2.00 per set. Entering the Belmont series, four of the team's primary servers have landed 10 or more aces while all six have tallied seven or more winners.
• Redshirt junior defensive specialist and junior libero Allison Whitten rank second and third in the conference in service aces per set, averaging 0.47 and 0.44 winners per set. Hodges leads the Eagles with 16 aces while Whitten is just behind with 15 winners.