MOREHEAD, Ky. – The Belmont volleyball (4-11) fell in three sets at Morehead State (14-3) Friday evening, 17-25, 12-25, 22-25. This was the first OVC match for the Bruins since joining the league in July.
"Morehead played like a championship team today and deserved to win," said head coach Deane Webb. "we knew that moving up to the OVC would lead to challenging matches, and I'm glad we got one right away. We want to play good teams, as this will help our team to grow and improve."
Morehead State jumped out to a 10-6 lead over the Bruins in the opening set. Belmont and the Eagles exchanged points, before Morehead State went on a 4-0 run. The Bruins responded with a 3-0 run sparked by Alex Martin (Ooltewah, Tenn.) and back-to-back kills from Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.) to bring the score to 15-11.
Behind kills from Madison Croft (Edwardsville, Ill.), Jen Myer (New Braunfels, Texas) and setter Hannah Miranda (Covington, La.) the Bruins put the score within three points of the Eagles. However, Morehead State closed out the opening set, 25-17.
In the second set, Belmont took a 5-2 lead before a 2-0 run, put the Eagles within one point. The two teams exchanged points and tied the set three times. Morehead State went on to score eight unanswered points to put the score at 16-8 before Myer silenced their run.
The Eagles put together a 4-0 run to extend their lead before taking the set, 25-12 and a 2-0 lead at the break.
After the break, the set remained close until the Morehead State scored five unanswered points to take a 14-7 lead. Belmont responded with a 4-0 run to bring the Bruins with three points.
Morehead State continued to extend their lead before Belmont scored three unanswered points to bring them within one, 19-18. The Eagles regained a lead before a kill from Martin tied the set at 22, but it wasn't enough to hold off the reigning OVC Champions, who took the set, 25-22.
Myer led the Bruins with nine kills while Martin and Gable each added six. Miranda dished out 21 assists while libero Jamie Lundstrom tallied 15 digs.
Belmont will continue league play tomorrow at Eastern Kentucky. The match is scheduled for 1 p.m.
