Morehead, Ky.-- Morehead State came away victorious in their second match of the day with a tightly-contested sweep over UAB Friday afternoon in Evansville in the Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
Morehead State (5-3) was led by
M.E. Hargan with 14 kills. Hargan also added four services aces, tying her career high.
Amelia Nott tied her season high with 11 kills, adding four blocks.
Hollan Everett added 11 kills and two total blocks.
The final set scores were (25-22), (29-27), (25-22).
"Today was a good test for our team's composure," said Morehead State coach
Kyrsten Becker-McBride. "Both Western Illinois and UAB put together some very strong runs from the service line and challenged us to find different ways to score."
The first set was marked by multiple runs by both teams. Morehead State (5-3) ran off a 10-point run to take a 10-1 lead in the opening set, highlighted by three service aces by junior Libero
Courtney Fitzgerald. UAB responded with a six-point run to cut the lead to 10-7. UAB used another four-point run to get to within a point at 17-16. Morehead State used another four-point run to extend the lead to 22-17 and held off the Blazers 25-22. Â
The second set was another back-and-forth affair. Morehead State began the second set with a four-point run. The Blazers fought back and used a three-point run to tie the set 10-10. After Morehead State built a lead to 18-14, UAB battled back to tie the set at 21-21. The Eagles fought off two set points and took the frame 29-27 finishing off the set with a three-point run.
Set three was got off to another wild start. UAB scored five of the first six points to go up early. MSU responded with a seven-point run to go ahead 9-6, the run highlighted by three service aces by Hargan. Another three-point run moved the Eagles ahead 12-7. A 7-2 Blazer run evened the score at 18-18. The Eagles responded with a three-point run to go ahead 22-19 and closed out the match with a kill by
Bailey Brashear.
UAB (4-3) was led by Jorda Crook with 12 kills and eight digs. She added four blocks, including one block solo.
The Eagles close out the tournament against the host Evansville Aces at 4:00 tomorrow.
NOTABLE
- Morehead State finished with a 9-5 edge in service aces. "Our service pressure was great," said Becker-McBride. "That created fast points on aces, overpass opportunities and out-of-system swings that we were able to convert."
- UAB finished with a 13-10 advantage in blocks. Morehead State's Sarah Heath tied for match honors with six total blocks, giving her 18 on the season. Bailey Brashear finished with four blocks, giving her a team-high 23 blocks.
- Sydney Sennett finished with 31 assists while Courtney Fitzgerald recorded a game-high 13 digs.
- The match featured 14 ties and six lead changes. There were 10 lead changes and four ties in the second set.
