Box Score
MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Belmont Volleyball held off a fiesty Morehead State to pull off a win on Saturday afternoon on the road. The Bruins (12-12, 7-5 OVC) held off the Eagles (12-13, 3-9 OVC), 3-1, to snap a three-match slide.
The Eagles played the Bruins close for the first portion of the opening stanza before kills started falling all over the court, courtesy of the big swing of junior Maggie Mullins (Nashville, Tenn.). The set remained tight through the midpoint with the teams separated by one point through most of the action.
MSU called timeout after the Bruins crossed the 20-point threshold first, thanks to a service ace by graduate student Jessica Vestal (Concord, Calif.) and a pair of unforced errors by the Eagles. Kills by junior Alexa Nichols (Walton, Ky.), senior Brie Lewis (Stillwell, Kan.) opened the door for two more from Mullins to seal the 25-22 win.
BU came out of the gates hot in the second set. Fueled by kills from senior Arianna Person (Lenexa, Kan.) and Eagle attack errors, Belmont pulled away early, 7-4. Morehead State battled back and used errors to knot the score 10-10. The teams traded points once again with neither able to gain more than a one-point differential before their opponent caught up. Finally, MSU pulled ahead by a pair of points, 20-18, and BU called timeout to regroup. The Eagles quickly expanded their lead. A kill by Nichols kept the Bruins within two points but MSU surged for a final time to go on to take the set, 25-21.
After the intermission, the Bruins were firing on all cylinders, taking a convincing 6-1 lead from the top. Morehead State called timeout but the Bruins point assault continued with kills coming from Nichols, Vestal, Person and Lewis. BU doubled up on the Eagles, 16-8, and MSU was forced to call timeout. The brief break was enough to get Morehead State back into the contest with a 3-0 run that saw it hitting at .000 for most of set. However, Belmont regained its composure after the flurry and resumed piling on the points. BU held off another late rally by the Eagles to go on to win the set, 25-18.
Senior Emily Richards (Penfield, N.Y.) opened the fourth set with a service ace hoping to set the tone early. However, the Eagles would not go down without a fight and surged to take an 8-3 lead. Back-to-back kills by Person and Lewis followed by a pair of service aces by Person helped Belmont knot the score, 8-8. A stunned Morehead State bench called timeout to strategize, however, BU used the opportunity to extend its run to 7-0, to pull ahead by two points, 10-8. MSU rallied to knot the score, 13-13.
The set started to resemble earlier ones as the teams traded points through the midpoint but Belmont was able to pull away again after kills by Person and Lewis sandwiched MSU errors. BU was the first to reach 20 points and did not look back. The Bruins only allowed Morehead State to add one more point as they cruised to the 25-21 win.
Two Bruins reached double digits in kills led by Person's match-high 16 kills, followed by Vestal's 10. Senior Emma Price (Fort Mill, S.C.) finished with a match-high 47 assists. Classmate Ellie Ivancich (Naperville, Ill.) tallied a match-high 16 digs.
Belmont returns to action on Tuesday, October 31 concluding its longest road stretch of the season at crosstown rival Tennessee State. Match time is set for 6 p.m. Live stats will be available. Fans may also follow the team's Twitter account (@BelmontVB) for live, in-game updates.
