Grad student Olivia Lohmeier landed 14 kills and added five blocks while moving into sole possession of second place on Morehead State's career kills list as the Eagles rallied to defeat Tennessee State 3-1 at Kean Hall Friday night.
MSU won its fourth consecutive match, improved to 8-9 overall, and edged its Ohio Valley Conference record up to 4-2.
Lohmeier, who entered the match tied with Dayle Hamontree (1987-90) with 1,772 successful spikes in her career, upped her total to 1,786.
The Eagles fell 25-22 in the opening set to the host Tigers but rebounded to win by an identical score in the second frame. The Eagles coasted to a 25-15 victory to take a 2-1 lead before finding themselves down 23-20 in the fourth. But, a kill from freshman Maycie Welborn and a combo block by freshman Irene Wogenstahl and Lohmeier knotted it at 23-all. TSU scored the next point for set point, but Lohmeier and Welborn smacked down kills to take a 25-24 advantage. Senior Taylor Hodges then aced the Tigers to end the match. Hodges finished with a career-high five service aces.
Coinciding with the Eagles' winning streak has been stupendous team blocking, and tonight was no exception. The Eagles turned back 11 TSU attacks, and MSU now has 50 blocks in its latest four matches. Wogenstahl, Welborn and freshman McKenzee Wagener all had four blocks.
Besides Lohmeier's offensive prowess, Wagener notched a career-best 12 kills, and in fact her first-ever double-digit kills total in a single match. Sophomore Abby Hulsman also had double-digits with 11 kills tonight. Welborn registered double-digit terminations for the second straight match with 10.
Setter Bridget Bessler recorded her seventh double-double of the fall with 42 assists and a team-best 15 digs. Libero Allison Whitten and back row specialist Olivia Montelisciani also contributed 11 digs apiece.
The teams will conclude the two-match OVC set on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.
