Box Score MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Despite a strong comeback effort early in the match, Belmont Volleyball (9-6, 3-2 OVC) was unable to sustain to momentum and fell on the road at Morehead State (7-11) Friday night, 3-1.
MSU came out hot to start the match, going up 10-2 at the top of the first set even with a Bruin timeout in the midst. BU struggled to find an offensive rhythm until the midpoint of the frame when it narrowed the point differential to five, 13-8. It was a short lived flurry as the Eagles surged again. Belmont would get as close as six points before Morehead State was able to clench the first set, 25-20.
Set two opened with an intense back-and-forth battle between the teams before Morehead State went up 15-9. Belmont rebounded and knotted the set at 20-20 behind a pair of Eagle errors. The Bruins dug in their heels for the final points, looking to kills by juniors Arianna Person (Lenexa, Kan.) and Brie Lewis (Stillwell, Kan.) to move them close to victory. Junior Emma Price (Fort Mill, S.C.) tallied a service ace to seal the 25-21 win.
Unfortunately, Morehead State came out swinging in the final two sets. BU hung tough in the top of the third frame, forcing a pair of early ties before the Eagles began to slowly pull away. Belmont rallied at the midpoint, pulling ahead four points, 16-12, forcing MSU to burn a timeout. However, the pause in action saw Morehead State once again, knotting the contest at 16-16 with a service ace. The Bruins continued to fight down the stretch, forcing three more ties before the teams were knotted at 23-23. MSU went on to take the final to points in the closest set of the match, 25-23.
The fourth frame fared the same as the earlier ones for Belmont. Morehead State jumped out to an 8-2 lead and never looked back. The Bruins closed the gap to as few as two points, 16-14, but the Eagles surged once again. Despite scoring four of the last six points of the set, BU was unable to close the gap in enough time to hold off the Eagles. MSU went on to take the final set, 25-20.
Price notched her fifth double –double of the season with 24 assists and 16 digs to lead the Bruins, while hitting a blistering .643. Person finished with a team-high 13 kills. Junior Ellie Ivancich (Naperville, Ill.) led Belmont with 19 digs.
Belmont returns to action on Saturday with a contest on the road at Eastern Kentucky. Match time is set for 1 p.m. Live stats will be available and the duel can be seen live on the OVC Digital Network.
