RICHMOND, Ky. – A day after clinching at least a share of the Ohio Valley Conference Beach Volleyball Regular Season Championship, Morehead State beach volleyball secured its place as the first OVC Beach Volleyball Regular Season Champion with two victories on the final day of the OVC Weekend at Eastern Kentucky.

Morehead State secured the championship and the No. 1 seed in next weekend's 2021 OVC Beach Volleyball Championship with a 4-1 defeat of UT Martin in Sunday's opening match. In the day's final match, the Eagles secured another 4-1 victory, defeating Jacksonville State to finish the regular season 10-1 overall and 9-1 in conference play.

In Sunday's matches, four of Morehead State's five primary pairs finished the day undefeated while two pairs, Hannah Keating/Allison Whitten and Bridget Bessler/Taylor Hodges, finished the weekend undefeated.

Earning the No. 1 overall seed in the 2021 OVC Beach Volleyball Championship, Morehead State secured one of two byes in the double-elimination tournament. The Eagles opening match is slated for April 29 at 6 p.m. ET and will pit Morehead State against either No. 4 seed Austin Peay or No. 5 seed Jacksonville State.

SCORING SUMMARY
Morehead State 4, UT Martin 1
1. Hannah Keating/Allison Whitten (MOR) def. Lucy Kaufman/Hannah Phillips (UTM) 21-14, 21-13
2. Olivia Lohmeier/Trinity Miller (MOR) def. Kayla Carrell/Karen Scanlon (UTM) 21-17, 21-19
3. Margaret Musselman/Anya Reinhard (MOR) def. Addison Conley/Jessica Reynolds (UTM) 21-16, 21-17
4. Haeleigh Paulino/Logan Wallick (UTM) def. Liz Allen/Olivia Montelisciani (MOR) 21-17, 21-13
5. Bridget Bessler/Taylor Hodges (MOR) def. Baillie Kearns/Kambree Lucas (UTM) 12-21, 21-18, 15-11
Ext. Andrea Grimes/Peyton Kennedy (MOR) def. Zoe Merriweather/Lauren O'Neill (UTM) 21-7, 21-18

Morehead State 4, Jacksonville State 1
1. Hannah Keating/Allison Whitten (MOR) def. Kaylie Milton/Sadie Brown (JSU) 21-16, 21-15
2. Olivia Lohmeier/Trinity Miller (MOR) def. Courtney Glotzbach/Bailey Nelson (JSU) 21-12, 21-15
3. Margaret Musselman/Anya Reinhard (MOR) def. Erin Carnichael/Lena Kindermann (JSU) 21-18, 21-18
4. Macie Garrison/Payton Pauze (JSU) def. Liz Allen/Olivia Montelisciani (MOR) 21-13, 21-19
5. Bridget Bessler/Taylor Hodges (MOR) def. Grace Jarnagin/Bethany Randall (JSU) 21-19, 23-21

NOTABLE

• Picking up another pair of victories Sunday, the pairing of Hannah Keating and Allison Whitten improved to 27-6 all-time. The pair extends their program-record flight victory total while the pairs .818 winning percentage ties for third best in program history.
• With two victories Sunday, the pair of Margaret Musselman and Anya Reinhard improved to 14-3 all-time, owning a .824 career winning percentage. Both the pair's 14 wins and .824 winning percentage rank second in program history.
• Improving to 10-1 on the season after collecting two victories Sunday, the pairing of Bridget Bessler and Taylor Hodges became the third pair in program history to reach 10 career victories. The pair's career .909 winning percentage marks the best by a pair in program history.
• Appearing in a pair of flights Sunday, the pair of Liz Allen and Olivia Montelisciani became the seventh pair in program history to reach 15 career flights played. Montelisciani (16) becomes the third partner with which Allen has achieved 15 flights played, joining Chandler Clark (17) and Jessie Wachtman (15).
• With two victories Sunday, Musselman upped her career win total to 25, claiming sole possession of 5th place on the program's individual career list. She also becomes the fifth player in program history to reach 25 career victories.
• Also with two victories Sunday, Hodges became the seventh player in program history to eclipse 20 career victories. She ranks seventh all-time in career victories with 21.
• Improving to 12-1 in her career, Bridget Bessler owns the program record for individual flight winning percentage at .923. Whitten ranks second in the category with a .846 winning percentage, Anya Reinhard third at .824, Keating fourth at .800, and Trinity Miller fifth at .765.