Morehead, Ky.-- Morehead State battled a strong Xavier attack and fell 3-1 in the Cintas Center in Cincinnati Saturday.
The set scores were (22-25), (16-25), (29-27) and (19-25).
Morehead State (6-5) was led by M.E. Hargin who tied her season-high with 22 kills, hitting .300.
Hollan Everett notched 13 terminations and
Sarah Heath finished with a career high 12 kills on a career high 39 attacks. Heath also added two Block Assists.
Xavier (11-1) had four players post double-digit kills, led by Ava Tilden who posted a career high with 17 and hit .452. Emma Grace slammed 16, Margo Kemp had 11 and Anna Taylor finished with 10.
The Eagles led from the jump in the first set. A 3-0 run put MSU up 18-14 capped by a service ace by
Sydney Sennett. The teams traded 3-0 runs and the Eagles led 21-17. Xavier responded with a six-point run to take their first lead and extend to 23-21. Xavier closed out the set 25-22. Xavier posted a .386 hitting percentage in frame, while MSU hit .208.
Xavier never trailed in the second set using another strong attack. An early four-point run put the Musketeers up 9-5, and a five-point run stretched the lead out to 14-7. The Musketeers hit .353 in the set and were stout at the net holding the Eagles to a .098 hitting percentage and recording three blocks in the frame.
Morehead State opened the third set with a three-point run and led through the opening stages of the set. Xavier used a four-point run to take the lead 10-9. The traded points and the score was tied at every digit between 18 and 27. The Eagles closed out the set on Hargan's 19
th kill of the match. There were 15 tie scores and eight lead changes in the set.
The fourth set was tight early with ties on points on the first five digits. With MSU up 5-4, the Musketeers went on a 6-0 run highlighted by three kills by Tilden to take the lead 10-5. The Eagles chipped away and got to within a point at 16-17. Xavier ran off four straight points to extend the lead to 21-16 and closed out the set 25-19.
Morehead State returns to action Friday when they open Ohio Valley Conference play by hosting Southern Indiana in Johnson Arena.
NOTABLE
- Xavier posted a .323 hitting percentage; Morehead State hit .193.
- Xavier finished with a 9-3 advantage in blocks. Margo Kemp led with five total blocks, including one block solo. Morehead State was paced by Sarah Heath and Amelia Nott with two blocks apiece.
- MSU held a 76-66 advantage in digs. Courtney Fitzgerald led the Eagles with 13. Xavier's Kelsey Niesen finished with 24.
- MSU's Sydney Sennett finished with 38 assists.
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