Box Score MURRAY, Ky. – Belmont volleyball defeated Morehead State in three straight sets in the opening round of the OVC Tournament, 25-18, 25-21 and 25-22.
"I can't say enough on how well the girls played today considering all the obstacles we have faced in the last week and a half," said Head Coach Tony Howell. "The girls came out today and didn't miss a beat against a very good program in Morehead State."
Youngdahl (Stillwater, Minn.) led the attack with 12 kills for an average of .647 along with four total blocks. Redshirt freshman Alexa Nichols (Walton, Ky.) recorded nine kills followed by sophomore Brie Lewis (Stillwell, Kan.) with eight, sophomore Arianna Person (Lenexa, Kan.) with seven and freshman Tori Simmons (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) with four. Sophomore Emily Richards (Penfield, N.Y.) led the defense with 10 digs, with sophomore Ellie Ivancich (Naperville, Ill.), Lewis and Person each recording eight digs. Redshirt sophomore Emma Price (Fort Mill, SC) dished out 35 assists in the match.
"It was great to see the girls play well together and put together a well balanced offense form start to finish," said Howell. "Emma did a great job of spreading out the sets to all of our hitters, and the hitters did a great job and putting the ball down and doing their jobs."
Belmont and Morehead traded off points to start the first set of the match. When the Bruins trailed 3-4 they went on a ten to two run which gave them the 13-6 advantage. Morehead retaliated with a four-point run but a service error by the Eagles gave the Bruins control of the ball again. Belmont took the 18-12 lead with a three-point run and would hold that lead through until the end of the first set. In the final play of set one the Bruins would get blocked but Price's foot kept the ball from hitting the ground and Belmont would convert the last point taking set one 25-18.
Belmont and Morehead traded points back and forth to start set two until a five to two run gave Belmont a 15-11 lead. Morehead responded and rattled off three straight to bring the score within one 15-14. Both teams would battle for points but with perseverance the Bruins would take the second set 25-21.
Belmont jumped out to an early 5-2 lead featured by aces from Price and Person. Bruins went on a three-point run to take their lead to 8-3. The two teams traded off points, and small runs until Morehead strung together three straight to tie the match at 11. With kills from Nichols, Lewis and Person along with a handful of errors from Morehead, the Bruins roped together six straight to take the 17-11 advantage. Both teams swapped points, and Morehead went on a late six to one run before a kill from Person would close out the third set and the match at 25-22.
"Tomorrow we play Tennessee tech which is another great program that we lost to recently in a tight five set match," said Howell. "It will be a good match to see how Tech does coming off of a high after beating EIU in five, and us coming off a great match with Morehead. It will be interesting to see how well each team will play each other tomorrow."
Belmont and Tennessee Tech face off in the semi-finals of the OVC Tournament tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. CT. The match will take place in Murray and live stats and video will be available at belmontbruins.com.
