Morehead, Ky. -- The Morehead State volleyball team notched a pair of victories on the opening day of the Mercyhurst Invitation sponsored by Scott Enterprises Friday on the Owen McCormick Court at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center in Erie, Pa.
 
Morehead State (3-2) opened the day with a 3-0 sweep (25-13, 25-10, 25-20) over the host Mercyhurst (1-3). In their second match of the day, the Eagles turned back Cleveland State (2-3) 3-1 (25 17, 26-24, 15-25, 25-16).
 
Match One
 
In the opener against Mercyhurst, senior outside Hollan Everett led the Eagle attack posting a match-high 11 kills and posting a sizzling .529 hitting percentage (11-2-17). Freshman Ella Warrick added seven kills and three service aces.
 
Amelia Nott posted six terminations and a match-high three total blocks. Nott also notched her 300^th career block in the second set. She now ranks seventh in total blocks in the Morehead State record book for the modern era.
 
Morehead State opened the match with a four-point run to take the early advantage. A later 3-0 run put the Eagles on top 13-7 and Morehead State closed out the opening frame with an 8-0 run. MSU posted an efficient .417 hitting percentage in the first set, led by Everett who posted five kills on six swings for an outstanding .833 efficiency. Nott added three kills with no errors for a perfect 1.000 efficiency. Up front, Warrick and fellow freshman Anna Schiltz both posted block solos as Morehead State held Mercyhurst to just a .100 hitting percentage.
 
Morehead State broke out of an early tight second set with a 6-0 run to take a 10-4 run. The Eagles put a chokehold on the set outscoring the Lakers 9-2 to take a 19-6 lead. Morehead State closed out the set with a  4-0 run. The Eagles posted three more blocks up front and held the Lakers to a .000 hitting percentage in the frame.
 
The Eagles gave up the first point of the third set, then ran off four straight points to take a 4-1 lead and never trailed again. Mercyhurst improved to a .226 hitting percentage, while MSU posted a .222 attack efficiency. Everett and Warrick led the MSU attack with four kills apiece in the set.
 
Mercyhurst was led by Julia Shepherd's six kills with a .222 efficiency. As a team, the Lakers posted a .108 hitting percentage. Shepherd and middle Mia Mattingly paced the Lakers with two blocks each.
 
MATCH ONE NOTABLES

• Morehead State posted six team blocks to three for Mercyhurst.
• The Eagles smacked eight aces in the match, led by Warrick's three and two apiece from senior libero Courtney Fitzgerald and junior defensive specialist Tinsley Brown. Mercyhurst posted three service aces.
• Setters Sydney Sennett and Josie Certa posted 10 assists apiece to pace MSU.

 
MATCH TWO
 
In the nightcap for Morehead State, Everett again paced the Eagle attack with 15 kills posting a .368 hitting percentage. Nott was solid again in the second match of the day with 12 kills while hitting .391. Warrick posted her third career double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs.
 
Morehead State used a pair of late multiple-point runs to claim the opening set over Cleveland State. With score tied at 15-15, the Eagles ran off four straight points and closed out the opening frame with six-point run highlighted by two kills from Nott and a service ace by Warrick to set up the Eagles with set point. Nott led the Eagle attack with four kills hitting .571 in the opening frame. Warrick added three kills while Everett and Anna Schiltz each recorded a block solo. The Eagles posted a .314 efficiency while holding the Vikings to a .000 hitting percentage.
 
The Eagles came from behind to claim the second set a tightly contested frame that featured 13 ties. After a five-point run to put the Eagles ahead 19-17, Cleveland State stormed back with a 5-0 run of its own to push its lead to 22-19. Morehead State mounted a rally, outscoring the Vikings 6-1 to claim the set. Hollan Everett had four kills in the rally with freshman Norah Campbell clinching the set with her first ace of the match. Everett tallied eight kills in the set and MSU posted a .171 hitting percentage in the frame.
 
After the teams traded service errors to begin the third set, Cleveland State erupted with a seven-point run to take control of the set. The Vikings took a 15-5 lead into the technical timeout and cruised to the set win. CSU held the Eagles to a .057 hitting percentage while posting a .250 efficiency in the set.
 
Morehead State used a three-point run to gain some separation from the Vikings at 9-6 after seeing six ties in the early stages of the final frame. After giving up a point, the Eagles ran off five straight points to push ahead 14-7. Cleveland State could get no closer than three points the remainder of the set and MSU closed out the match outscoring the Vikings 6-1. The Eagles posted a sizzling .462 hitting percentage in the set paced by Nott with four kills and a .667 attack efficiency.
 
Cleveland State was led by Bryn VanVleet with 12 kills. Jazen Debina added 10 terminations for the Vikings. VanVleet also posted four service aces for match honors.
 
MATCH TWO NOTABLES

• Hollan Everett passed the 900-kill mark in the opening set against Cleveland State. She now has 910 career kills at Morehead State, which ranks 9^th in the Morehead State record book for the modern era.
• The Eagles posted a .226 hitting percentage in the match; the Vikings posted a .113 hitting percentage.
• Cleveland State had a 52-51 edge in digs. MSU's Courtney Fitzgerald and Ella Warrick led the Eagles with 10 digs apiece.
• Cleveland State posted eight service aces to six for MSU. Warrick led the Eagles with two.
• Cleveland State posted six total team blocks; Morehead State turned back four attacks, all block solos. Anna Schiltz led MSU with a pair of block solos.

 
Morehead State returns to action tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. ET, when it faces Siena. The match can be watched on the NEC Front Row streaming network. Links to the stream and live stats can be found on the volleyball schedule page at msueagles.com.