COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – After being held to the team's lowest hitting efficiency of the year in the opening match versus Tennessee Tech, Morehead State volleyball bucked that trend Monday by authoring its highest hitting efficiency since 2016, leading to a straight-set victory.
Morehead State improved its hitting percentage from match one to match two by 278 points, hitting .438 Monday, collecting 46 kills with only seven errors on 89 swings. In the first and third sets, the Eagles hit .500-plus, combining to tally 31 kills with just three errors on 52 swings in the two sets.
Six of the seven players that took swings for Morehead State hit .400 or better in the match. Leading with a match-high 15 kills, senior outside hitter
Olivia Lohmeier committed just one error to post a .519 hitting efficiency—her sixth career match hitting .500 or better when slamming home 12 or more kills.
Adding eight kills apiece, sophomore right-side hitter
Abby Hulsman and junior middle blocker
Mia Swearingen nearly reached double-digit kill totals for the second consecutive match.
Sophomore setter
Bridget Bessler posted a match-best .750 hitting efficiency, dumping in six kills on eight attempts without an error. Finishing just behind Bessler on the efficiency leaderboards was redshirt freshman middle blocker
McKenzee Wagener who recorded four kills on six swings without an error to hit .667.
Bessler orchestrated the Eagle attack all evening, passing out 33 assists in the match, averaging 11.0 assists per set. Monday's match marked the best hitting efficiency under Bessler's direction and the best hitting percentage as a program since Oct. 29, 2016, against Jacksonville State.
Junior libero
Allison Whitten paced the Morehead State defense with a game-high 13 digs, leading Morehead State to 40 digs over the match's three-set duration. Finishing a dig shy of double-figures, Bessler scooped nine balls for the Eagles.
Morehead State also recorded seven total blocks in the match, holding Tennessee Tech to a .122 hitting efficiency. Redshirt senior right-side hitter
Liz Allen and Wagener each recorded four total blocks as Allen posted a season-high with Wagener's total marking her sixth match of four or more blocks.
The Eagles landed four service aces in the match, led by sophomore defensive specialist
Andrea Grimes who landed a career-high two winners.
Morehead State returns home to Johnson Arena next weekend, hosting Belmont for a two-game set.
