Morehead State Volleyball Prevails over Evansville in Another Tight Sweep

Morehead, Ky.-- Morehead State capped off their southern Indiana weekend with a hard-fought 3-0 sweep in arguably their most closely-contested match of the season against the Evansville Aces in the Meeks Family Fieldhouse in Evansville, Ind.

The match featured 22 ties and 10 lead changes over the three sets.  The final set scores were (25-17), (26-24), and (25-17) as the Eagles ran their winning streak to five matches.

Morehead State (6-3) was led by M.E. Hargan with 18 kills. Hollan Everett added 11 kills and hit a sparkling .368 attack percentage.

Evansville (4-6) was led by McKenzie Laubach with seven kills and a game-high tying five blocks.   

The opening set was tightly contested in the opening stages. When Evansville's Hinsley Everett tied it at 7-7, there had already been six ties and two lead changes. The Eagles went on a three-point run to go ahead 10-7. A five-point string put the Eagles up 16-9. Morehead State stretched the lead and closed out the set outscoring the Aces 4-1 to take the set 25-17.

The second set was close throughout. The score was tied a total of 11 times and there were five lead changes.  Evansville rallied late in the set with a four-point run to take the lead 24-22. The Eagles fought off two set points, tying the score with Hollan Everett's ninth kill of the match. The Eagles then closed out the set with a four-point run to win 26-24. MSU hit a sizzling .406 hitting percentage in the frame.

Morehead State got off to a quick start in the third set: after spotting the Aces the first point of the frame, the Eagles ran off seven straight points, powered by five kills by Hargan. The Aces were undeterred, running off an eight-point string highlighted by two blocks and a service ace to take an 11-10 lead. The Eagles broke through with a five-point run to take a 20-14 lead and cruised to the victory.

Morehead State returns home Thursday to host Xavier in Johnson Arena. First serve is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. ET.

NOTABLE

• Morehead State finished with a .238 hitting percentage, while the Aces finished with an .069 efficiency.
• The match featured a battle of the Everetts: Morehead State's Hollan Everett squared off against her sister, freshman Hinsley Everett. Hollan's line for the match was 11 kills hitting .368 with a block solo. Hinsley finished with six kills and three blocks, including one block solo.
• Morehead State had a 7-4 advantage in service aces. Libero Courtney Fitzgerald led the service attack with three, while freshman Kennedy Tinch added two. Tinch and Hargan led the Eagles on the season with 13 aces apiece. Fitzgerald is third with 11. Middle Ameila Nott has 10.
• Evansville held a 9-7 edge in Team Blocks, led by Cloe Cline and McKenzie Laubach with five blocks each. Morehead State was paced by Bailey Brashear with five blocks, including one block solo.
• Junior setter Syndney Sennett posted another double-double with 27 assists and 15 digs, the 13^th of her career.
• Morehead State placed three players on the all-tournament team: Hargan, Nott and Everett. 
  • Hargan was named the tournament MVP. In the three games, she registered 54 kills hitting .282. She also notched seven service aces, 28 digs and six total blocks.
  • Nott smacked 24 kills hitting .234 on the weekend. She slammed two aces, added in 12 digs and turned away seven total blocks.
  • Everett slammed 37 kills hitting .271 for the tournament. She also was credited with six total blocks including one solo.