Valiant Rally Comes Up Short for Volleyball in OVC Tournament

BOX SCORE

MARTIN, Tenn. -- Despite a valiant comeback effort, the Morehead State volleyball team lost in five sets (24-26, 23-25, 25-23, 26-24, 9-15) to the Tennessee State Tigers Thursday at Skyhawk Fieldhouse in the opening round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.

The Eagles trailed 2-0 and were down to their final gasp at 24-22 in set four but fought back to force a deciding set. MSU finished 14-16 on the season.

Game Notes
» Abby Hulsman registered a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs.
» Morehead State attackers were helped by a match-high 50 assists from Bridget Bessler, her 15th career match with 50+ assists. She also had her 15th double-double of the season with 17 digs.
» Maycie Welborn had a team-high 16 kills for Morehead State.
» Morehead State got a career-high 20 digs from Shea Hefner.
» Tennessee State pestered MSU's attack with 17 blocks.

Season/Career Notes
» The match was the final collegiate action for Bridget Bessler, Abby Hulsman, Andrea Grimes and Kinsey McAfee. 
» Bessler finished with 4,068 career assists to rank third in program history.
» Hulsman finished with 914 career kills. 
» Irene Wogenstahl led the team with 115 blocks this season and now has 201 total blocks in her career.

How It Happened
SET 1 | The Eagles couldn't survive a furious Tennessee State rally in the first set, losing 26-24 after leading by seven points at 10-3 earlier in the set.

SET 2 | A 25-23 set-two loss put Morehead State behind 2-0 in the match. Morehead State trailed by as many as six points as Tennessee State grabbed the advantage for good at 2-1 in a set that was tied up five times before the Lady Tigers took over the lead.

SET 3 | After falling in the opening two sets, Morehead State rallied to win set three and make it a 2-1 match. The Eagles won the set 25-23 thanks to a solid showing on the attacking end. Morehead State put together a .317 attack percentage with 15 kills in the set win. After the lead changed hands two times, the Eagles took control for good at 24-23 and rode that advantage to victory.

SET 4 | Morehead State then kept the comeback train rolling, winning the fourth set 26-24 to bring the match level at two sets apiece. The Eagles persevered in a back-and-forth set to win in a stanza that featured three lead changes and was tied 15 times. Neither team was able to grab a lead larger than two points along the way.

SET 5 | Morehead State dropped the first two sets, but rallied to tie it at two sets apiece before falling 15-9 in the final set. The Eagles trailed by as many as six points before dropping the fifth set.