Following the season's opening weekend, Morehead State beach volleyball has established a new program-best mark for wins in a season. The Eagles picked up four wins-in four games-at this weekend's Principia College Beach Bash.
Morehead State swept the weekend in commanding fashion, capturing 18 of 20 possible flights pairings during the two-day event. Adding in the extra flights played in each of the four matches, the Eagles captured 21 of 24 flights on the weekend.
"This was a good start to the season for us," said head coach Jaime Gordon. "We have been making steps forward as a program and got better with each match on the weekend."
The Eagle's top three pairings each came away with perfect weekends, each concluding the event 4-0. Freshmen Hannah Keating and Allison Whitten paced things in the first flight while sophomore Olivia Lohmeier and freshman Margaret Musselman (second flight) and graduate student Georgia Childers and freshman Olivia Montelisciani (third flight) solidified the top lines for Morehead State. Junior Liz Allen and freshman Hannah Mabrey and junior Chandler Clark and sophomore Lauren Rokey filled out the final two pairings for the Eagles, both finishing the weekend 3-1.
The trio of redshirt freshman Taylor Hodges, junior Karlee Reynolds, and freshman Mia Swearingen each competed in the extra flight for the Eagles on the weekend, combining to finish 3-1. Hodges and Reynolds combined to go 1-1 while Swearingen paired with both Hodges and Reynolds, winning a match apiece with both partners.
"I think we had good production everywhere in the lineup, anchored by Hannah (Keating) and Allison (Whitten) at the 1's," added Gordon. “Opening weekend is an opportunity for us to try out some pairs, and the chemistry that occurred so quickly is very promising.
There are also quite a few areas that we need to get better at quickly because the season gets a lot tougher moving forward," Gordon concluded.
Morehead State returns to the sand on March 19, traveling to the Palmetto State to take on the Gamecocks of South Carolina. The match will be a single-match with first serves taking place at 6 p.m. ET.
