The Morehead State volleyball team won the opening set in its final Hampton Inn Golden Flashes Classic match on Saturday (Sept. 6) at the M.A.C. Center, but Evansville responded with three consecutive stanza victories to take the match. Set scores were 18-25, 26-24, 28-26 and 25-22.
The Purple Aces, who compete in the Missouri Valley Conference, improve to 2-5 on the year. The Eagles, who play in the Ohio Valley Conference, have dropped all six matches this season.
The back-and-forth affair featured 31 ties and 13 lead changes. The score was knotted on 10 occasions in both the second and third sets. UE finishes 2-1 in the four-team weekend event.
Junior middle blocker Hannah Sigala led four Eagles in double-figure kills with 17, while senior middle blocker Laura McDermott contributed 13. Morehead State posted a .556 attack percentage in the opening set en route to .213 for the afternoon. McDermott hit .360, while Sigala hit .333.
Morehead State senior setter Colbey Cameron registered 27 assists, while sophomore setter Bailey Nichol collected 26. Sigala was credited with a team-best five blocks, while sophomore outside hitter Hope Rillema helped the Eagles to a 56-48 digs advantage with a match-high 17.
Evansville used three solo blocks and 16 block assists to force 30 attack errors. The Eagles also committed 12 service errors and seven blocking miscues.
UE senior outside hitter Ashley Ring notched a match-best 21 kills, swung 56 times and finished with a .250 hitting percentage. Junior setter Lorena Marquez distributed a match-high 38 assists for the Purple Aces, while senior middle blocker Meaghan Holmes rejected six attacks.
The Eagles return to Wetherby Gym for next weekend's Comfort Inn and Suites Invitational. MSU will be joined by No. 17 Arizona State, No. 24 Louisville and Northern Illinois in the two-day, non-conference tournament. The action begins with MSU vs. NIU on Friday (Sept. 12) at 10 a.m.