Jumping out to early leads in each of its three set victories, Morehead State volleyball improved to 10-0 at home with a four-set victory over Austin Peay Saturday. The Eagles (14-4, 5-1 OVC) defeated the Governors (5-15, 3-3) by scores of 25-20, 21-25, 25-14, and 25-20.
The victory marked the 300th career victory for head coach Jaime Gordon at Morehead State, making him just the second coach in Morehead State history to reach 300 wins at the helm for the Eagles. He joins former Eagle baseball coach Steve Hamilton in the 300-win club, sitting six victories shy of passing Hamilton for the most by a Morehead State head coach.
Career-best efforts propelled Morehead State over Austin Peay as redshirt junior right-side hitter Liz Allen, freshman setter Bridget Bessler, junior outside hitter Olivia Lohmeier, and sophomore middle blocker Mia Swearingen put forth career-highs Saturday.
Allen (five), Lohmeier (seven), and Swearingen (eight) each collected career-high block totals as Morehead State deterred a season-best 14 shots. In addition to her career-best block total, Swearingen also chipped in a career-high 14 kills, tying with Lohmeier for the team lead in the category. Bessler earned her fourth career double-double, scooping up a career-best 13 digs while passing out a match-high 45 assists.
Elsewhere offensively, Allen, sophomore middle blocker Hannah Keating, and junior outside hitter Lauren Rokey record seven, six, and seven kills, respectively. As a team, Morehead State recorded 53 team kills, 51 of which feature an assist.
In cohort with the team's blocking effort, the Eagles put in work along the backline, collecting 70 digs in the match, holding Austin Peay to a season-worst .104 hitting percentage. Sophomore libero Allison Whitten captained the group, digging up 16 balls as she and Bessler reached double-figures. In total, 11 Eagles recorded digs with seven players digging up five or more balls.
In service, Morehead State once again led their opponent in service aces, landing four during the match. Saturday marked the 14th time the Eagles have led a match in service aces with Allison Whitten collecting a team-best two aces.
Morehead State returns to action Tuesday, stepping out of Ohio Valley Conference play to host West Virginia. The match will be the Eagles final non-conference match of the season. First serve is set for 6 p.m. ET.
