Junior middle blocker Hannah Sigala recorded a career-best 22 kills and senior setter Colbey Cameron a career-high 64 assists to help the Morehead State volleyball team post a 21-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-23, 15-13 win over Jacksonville State on Friday night (Oct. 24) at Mathews Coliseum.
The Eagles improve to 1-22 overall, 1-8 in the Ohio Valley Conference and 1-7 on the road. The Gamecocks slip to 14-11 overall, 6-3 in league action and 5-2 at home. The teams split the regular-season series, but Morehead State has won nine of its last 10 affairs against Jacksonville State.
"This victory feels good," Head Coach Jaime Gordon said. "I'm really proud of our team. They had a refuse-to-lose mentality down the stretch tonight. It was great to see us get over the hump because we've played a lot of really close sets throughout the season and had several five-set matches."
Sigala, who leads Morehead State in points, kills, hitting percentage and blocks this season, posted her best kill total in 91 matches as an Eagle. She also hit .312 on 48 swings. Cameron, meanwhile, tallied her best assist total in 106 collegiate matches. She collected all but three of MSU's helpers.
"Hannah and Colbey were big for us tonight," Gordon said. "It was really helpful that we were able to set Hannah 48 times. Not only did she have a career high in kills, but she had several key shots in critical situations. Colbey did a nice job running the offense. She consistently found the hot hand."
Senior middle blocker Laura McDermott added 17 smackdowns and hit .353 for Morehead State, while senior right-side hitter Alex Fitzmorris registered 13 winners and sophomore middle blocker Sydney Schuler notched 12 kills. The Eagles hit .455 in the second set and .222 for the evening.
Morehead State cruised to a 71-46 advantage in kills, including 29-14 over the final two sets.
"Tonight's match was one heck of a battle," Gordon said. "Our team stayed together and true to our process. We had to earn most of our points tonight, which makes the win pretty sweet. Anyone who knows volleyball will tell you that 71 kills are a really big number in a five-set match."
The match featured 22 ties and nine lead changes. The squads alternated set victories until the final frame. Jacksonville State opened the fifth with an 8-3 advantage, but Morehead State responded with a 10-3 surge. Fitzmorris smashed back-to-back kills after the score was tied at 13.
MSU sophomore libero Hope Rillema recorded a match-high 24 digs, while junior libero Samantha Bohne led JSU with 21. Junior outside hitter Emily Rutherford registered a team-high 16 kills and 13 digs for the Gamecocks, while freshman setter Jennifer Hart was credited with 43 assists.
Morehead State overcame 24 service errors, while Jacksonville State just committed five. The Gamecocks had a 74-69 upper hand in digs, while the Eagles had an 8-7 edge in aces.
The triumph halts Morehead State's longest skid in school history. MSU wraps up its OVC weekend on Saturday (Oct. 25) at Tennessee Tech. First serve from the Eblen Center is set for 5 p.m.
"I'm glad the gorilla is finally off our backs," Gordon added. "It's time to put the questions aside and move forward with our season. We will enjoy this win tonight and get back to business in the morning. We will need another really good performance at Tennessee Tech to sweep the weekend."
