The Morehead State volleyball team fell in three sets (25-17, 25-16, 25-21) to the host Xavier Musketeers Tuesday night (October 15) at the Cintas Center. Playing in its first year as a member of the Big East Conference, Xavier improved to 12-7 overall. The Eagles, who had won six in a row entering the night, slipped to 15-6.
No player on either squad reached double digits in kills, but the Eagles did get a team-best 13 digs from senior outside hitter Aryn Bohannon. Sophomore outside hitter Courtney Smith tallied 10 digs.
Junior middle blocker Laura McDermott topped MSU with eight kills, while the host squad's Abbey Bessler landed a match-high nine winners. Xavier libero Sarah Brown scooped a match-best 22 digs. Xavier hit just .171 but recorded 11 blocks and coerced MSU into 33 attack errors.
The hosts moved out to their largest leads of the first set at 13-4 and 22-13 and finished with a .323 attack efficiency in the opening frame. The Eagles gained a 10-6 advantage in the second set following a Bohannon winner and a Xavier offensive miscue, but the Musketeers engineered a 10-3 run to push past MSU and lead 18-13.
MSU trailed 6-2 early in the third set, but a 12-4 scoring flurry keyed by a pair of kills each from McDermott and Bohannon, sent the Eagles to a 14-10 advantage. MSU moved itself to a 19-16 lead, but Xavier ended the contest on a 9-2 run.
Morehead State returns home this weekend for a pair of Ohio Valley Conference matches. The Eagles host Jacksonville State Friday (October 18) at 7 p.m. and battle Tennessee Tech Saturday (October 19) at 2 p.m. MSU holds the nation's longest conference regular-season winning streak at 28 matches.
