MARTIN, Tenn. – Opening the first Ohio Valley Conference Beach Volleyball Championship as the No. 1 overall seed and battling Mother Nature's forced rescheduling of the opening round of the double-elimination event; Morehead State beach volleyball dropped a hard-fought opening round match versus No. 4 seed Austin Peay.

Morehead State dropped the match by a score of 3-2, winning at each the No. 1 and No. 5 flights while keeping the No. 2 and No. 4 flights close, forcing an extra set at each flight.

The Eagles return tomorrow afternoon with a lower bracket meeting with in-state rival and No. 6 seed Eastern Kentucky. The match from the Skyhawk Beach Volleyball Complex gets underway at 1 p.m. ET Friday afternoon.

SCORING SUMMARY
Austin Peay 3, Morehead State 2
1. Hannah Keating/Allison Whitten (MOR) def. Marlayna Bullington/Aysha Hood (APSU) 23-21, 21-16
2. Brooke Moore/Jenna Panning (APSU) def. Olivia Lohmeier/Trinity Miller (MOR) 17-21, 21-18, 15-13
3. Kelsey Mead/Tegan Seyring (APSU) def. Margaret Musselman/Anya Reinhard (MOR) 21-17, 21-12
4. Erin Eisenhart/Caroline Waite (APSU) def. Liz Allen/Olivia Montelisciani (MOR) 21-15, 16-21, 15-12
5. Bridget Bessler/Taylor Hodges (MOR) def. MiMi Arrington/Claire Darland (APSU) 21-13, 21-18

NOTABLE

• With a victory at the No. 1 flight, the OVC Pair of the Year Hannah Keating and Allison Whitten improved to 28-6 in their career, improving the pair's program-record win total. Individually, Whitten captured her 34^th victory while Keating, the OVC Player of the Year, captured her 33^rd victory, ranking second and third, respectively, in program history.
• Winning from the No. 5 flight, the pair of Bridget Bessler and Taylor Hodges improved to 11-1 on the season and in their career as a pairing. The pair's .917 winning percentage represents the program record for pairing flight winning percentage (min. seven victories).