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Beach Volleyball Impeaches Governors for First Conference Victory

MSU Athletics

Facing Atlantic Sun competition for the first time in program history, Morehead State beach volleyball worked a split versus familiar completion on Saturday. The Eagles (9-4, 1-1 ASUN) dropped the first match of their dual match with Austin Peay (6-10, 2-2) before storming back to claim victory in the second match.

Both matches featured the same final score of 3-2 and Morehead State's victory in the second match marked the program's first ASUN victory as well as the first victory over the Governors in the sand.

"The team did a good job learning from our first match against Austin Peay and applying the lesson to the second match," said head coach Jaime Gordon. "They showed a lot of resiliency and competitiveness and continued to get better as the day went on."

The dual match featured a pair of perfect afternoons for Morehead State's first and fourth flight pairings. Both duos of freshman Hannah Keating and Allison Whitten and junior Liz Allen and freshman Hannah Mabrey recorded a pair of victories. Allen and Mabrey swept all four matches they played on the afternoon while Keating and Whitten had each match stretch to three games apiece.

Gordon continued, "Austin Peay is very scrappy and forced our team to score and they stepped up to the challenge. Even in the pairing we lost, it was competitive the whole way through."

In the afternoon's first match, Morehead State's flight pairings reverted to the lines that have been featured for a majority of the season. In addition to Keating and Whitten at the one's and Allen and Mabrey at the four's, sophomore Olivia Lohmeier and freshman Margaret Musselman, graduate student Georgia Childers and freshman Olivia Montelisciani, and junior Chandler Clark and sophomore Lauren Rokey slotted in at pairings two, three, and five, respectively.

Redshirt freshman Taylor Hodges and junior Karlee Reynolds competed in the extra flight, splitting their match at a game apiece.

The second match of the day saw some shuffling of the lines for the Eagles at the second and third pairs. Childers slide up to partner with Musselman on the Eagle's second line while Lohmeier dropped back to compete alongside Montelisciani. The pairing of Lohmeier and Montelisciani would capture their flight in straight sets, helping the Eagles to their first conference win of the season.

Redshirt senior Jess Hall would slot into the extra flight, pairing with Reynolds to conclude the flight pairings for Morehead State.

"Every matchup in the ASUN is going to be a battle and this was a perfect example. It doesn't get any closer than coming down to the third set at the ones to get the final point. I'm proud of our team and how they stuck together to get our first conference win," concluded Gordon.

Morehead State wraps up their six-game homestand on Tuesday, playing host to in-state rival Eastern Kentucky for a dual match. Match times are set for 3:30 p.m. ET and 5:30 p.m.

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