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MOREHEAD, Ky. – For the second-consecutive season, Morehead State volleyball makes an appearance in the Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball Championship's Championship Match, facing Jacksonville State at 6 p.m. ET Friday at Johnson Arena.

The match serves as a rematch of the teams' final regular-season series, a series split between the two teams this past weekend. The Gamecocks took the opening match of the series in five sets before the Eagles rallied Monday for a straight-set victory to claim a share of the OVC Regular Season Championship and the OVC Volleyball Championship's No. 1 seed.

Morehead State enters Friday's match featuring the OVC Player and Coach of the Year, three First Team All-OVC selections, and one Second Team All-OVC selection. Senior outside hitter Olivia Lohmeier and head coach Jaime Gordon captured Player and Coach of the Year honors, respectively, while Lohmeier, sophomore setter Bridget Bessler, and senior outside hitter Lauren Rokey garnered First Team selection and sophomore outside hitter Abby Hulsman garnered Second Team selection.

The Eagles also enter the Championship Match featuring the OVC's leader in assists and assists per set (Bessler); kills, kills per set, points, and points per set (Lohmeier); and hitting percentage (redshirt freshman middle blocker McKenzee Wagener).

Friday's match features a 6 p.m. first serve time and airs on ESPN+.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Records: Morehead State (15-1; 15-1 OVC) | Jacksonville State (16-1; 15-1 OVC)
Series: Morehead State leads 21-17
Last Five Meetings: March 29, 2021 (MOR 3, JSU 0) | March 28, 2021 (JSU 3, MOR 2) | Nov. 22, 2019 (MOR 3, JSU 0) | Nov. 9, 2019 (JSU 3, MOR 0) | Oct. 6, 2019 (JSU 3, MOR 2)

NOTABLE

• With the 2020-21 Postseason Awards and All-Conference Teams announced Wednesday afternoon, Morehead State found itself well represented, claiming Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, three First Team All-OVC, and one Second Team All-OVC selections. The program's four All-Conference selections marked the most since 2013.
• After leading the Ohio Valley Conference in kills, kills per set, points, and points per set, senior outside hitter Olivia Lohmeier earned her second OVC Player of the Year honor, becoming the third player in program history to claim the honor twice. She joins Dayle Hamontree (1988, 1989) and Amy Almond (2001, 2002) with the distinction.
• Leading the OVC in both total assists and assists per set while leading Morehead State to the second-highest team hitting percentage in the conference this season, sophomore setter Bridget Bessler earned her second-consecutive First Team All-OVC honor. She becomes just the third player in program history, joining Dayle Hamontree (1987, 1988) and Merideth Jewell (2015, 2016) to earn First Team honors in their first two seasons in an Eagle uniform.
• Ranking ninth in the OVC in both kills and points per set, senior outside hitter Lauren Rokey garnered her second-consecutive First Team All-OVC honor. She joins Bessler and Lohmeier as Eagles to double-up on Pre and Postseason honors, the second straight season she's accomplished this feat.
• Posting two of the most efficient matches in school history during her sophomore campaign, outside hitter Abby Hulsman earned her first All-Conference honor, claiming a spot as Second Team All-OVC. She becomes the Eagles' first Second Team All-Conference selection since Chandler Clark in 2018.
• Leading Morehead State to a conference championship, No. 1 overall seed for the OVC Volleyball Championship, and the program's 1,000th career victory, head coach Jaime Gordon earned his fourth OVC Coach of the Year honor. He also claimed the honor in 2003, 2010, and 2012.
• Behind a straight-set sweep of Jacksonville State Monday, Morehead State earned a share of the OVC Regular Season title and the No. 1 overall seed for the OVC Volleyball Championship. The 2020-21 season marks the first regular-season title for Morehead State since 2013.
• Bessler and Lohmeier also enter the OVC Volleyball Championship with additional honors, claiming the regular season's final OVC Setter and Offensive Player of the Week honors. The selection marked the third time this season and second-consecutive week the pair had swept the conference's weekly offensive awards.
• Bessler enters postseason play as the OVC's leader in assists per set, ranking fifth in the NCAA in the category. Overall she's passed out a league-leading 642 assists over 55 sets, averaging 11.67 helpers per set.
• Lohmeier enters the OVC Volleyball Championship leading the conference in both kills per set (4.44) and points per set (5.09), ranking 16th and 15th in the nation in the two categories, respectively. She slammed home a league-high 244 kills and scored a league-best 280.0 points.
• Redshirt freshman middle blocker McKenzee Wagener enters postseason play leading the OVC in hitting efficiency, hitting .400 on the season. She's slammed home 82 kills with just 18 errors on 160 total swings.
• As a team, Morehead State enters the OVC Volleyball Championship ranked tenth and 11th in the country in assists per set and kills per set, respectively. The Eagles have dished out 13.27 helpers per set while recording 14.27 kill per set this season.
• The Eagles also enter postseason play ranked 23rd in the country and second in the OVC in opponent's hitting percentage, holding foes to a .138 team hitting efficiency. Opponents have managed 578 kills with 309 errors on 1,950 attempts.
• Morehead State also enters ranked 34th in the NCAA in aces per set, averaging 1.71 per set after landing 94 service aces over 55 sets. Entering postseason play, all six of Morehead State's primary servers have landed 10 or more aces, paced by redshirt junior defensive specialist Taylor Hodges with 22 winners.
• The Eagles' March 13, straight-set victory over Belmont marked the program's 1,000th overall victory since the program's beginnings in 1972. The victory secured Morehead State's spot as the first and only team in the Ohio Valley Conference to reach the 1,000-win plateau.