Freshman Merideth Jewell led the way with 21 kills as the Morehead State volleyball team rallied past Jacksonville State, 3-1. They downed the Gamecocks, 18-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-21.
The win gives them a gutsy 2-2 record over the course of a tough four-game road swing. They also evened their record in the OVC at 4-4.
"This was a strong team performance today," said head coach Jaime Gordon. "Jacksonville State ran an efficient offense and was extremely effective in the first set. I was pleased with the way that our team responded with a couple defensive adjustments and a more effective service game."
After struggling to put a halt to extended runs yesterday, the Eagles fell victim to another extended run in the first set today. After opening with an 11-8 lead, MSU saw Jacksonville State reel off nine straight points to take a 17-11 lead of their own. The Gamecocks would go on to win the set, 25-18.
But, after the first set, today's match would be the complete opposite of yesterday's loss.
In the second set, the Eagles utilized runs of seven, six and five straight points to even the match with a 25-19 win. They then rode that momentum to an impressive 25-22 third set win, where they recorded 16 kills and hit .455. Then in the fourth, junior Sydney Schuler recorded kills to give MSU their 24th and 25th points, en route to a 25-21 set win, and a 3-1 match win.
The Eagles recorded 56 kills on the match, while hitting .254. Jewell's 21 kills led the way, while Schuler finished with 10. Junior Bailey Nichol had her second straight impressive performance, adding nine kills of her own. With Nichol playing more of an attacking role, freshman Jordan Jones was asked to set the offense and she put together one of the best performances of her young career with 44 assists, just one off of her career high.
Senior Hannah Sigala added seven kills and six assists, while junior Courtney Smith had seven kills and 12 digs. Freshman Alyssa Cecil led the team with 15 digs.
"I thought our attackers were extremely composed and it has been a long time since we've had six players hit better than .225," said Gordon. "Different players stepped up at different times and that is a sign of a strong team."
Jewell, Schuler, Nichol, Sigala, Smith, and Jones all hit better than .225 in the contest.
After being on the road for two straight weekends, Morehead State returns home next weekend to face these same two teams. Jacksonville State comes to Wetherby Gym on Friday night at 7 p.m., and then the Eagles get another shot at Tennessee Tech next Saturday at 2 p.m.
