Looking to rebound from a defeat Friday night, Morehead State volleyball countered Friday's result with a sweep of its own Saturday afternoon. The Eagles (15-6, 6-2 OVC) defeated UT Martin (7-15, 3-5) in straight sets by scores of 25-14, 25-15, and 25-22.
Collecting 43 kills on the afternoon, Morehead State fashioned a season-best .371 hitting percentage. The Eagles committed 10 errors in the match on 89 swings to craft their season-best hitting percentage. Morehead State also assisted on 41 of the team's 43 kills, exceeding a 90% assist percentage in each match this season.
Making her first start since Sep. 12, redshirt junior setter Chandler Clark dished out 39 assists to lead the Eagle offense. Saturday's match also marked the first match since the season opener in which Clark featured in all sets, finishing the match recording 13 assists per set. Her 39 assists on the afternoon give her 1,965 career assists, tying former Eagle setter Dana Allender for 10th on the program's career assists leaderboard.
For the fourth time this season, junior outside hitter Lauren Rokey paced all Morehead State attackers, tallying a match-high 15 kills. She finished the match committing just two errors on 26 swings, hitting .500 for the match. Rokey's match-best hitting percentage marked the third time this season she's connected at a .500 or better clip this season.
Finishing just shy of double-figure kills for the match were sophomore middle blocker Hannah Keating, junior outside hitter Olivia Lohmeier, and sophomore middle blocker Mia Swearingen who recorded, nine, nine, and eight kills, respectively. Lohmeier's nine kills snapped a 32-match streak of collecting 10 or more kills, a streak that dated back to last season.
Defensively, Morehead State collected 40 digs and eight total blocks, both match-best totals. Redshirt sophomore defensive specialist Taylor Hodges led the Eagle backline, scooping up a match-best 10 digs while sophomore libero Allison Whitten dug up nine balls. At the net, Swearingen led the way, deterring a match-high four shots.
With Morehead State's brief road trip completed, the Eagles return home for a pair of Ohio Valley Conference matches next weekend. Eastern Illinois and SIUE travel to Johnson Arena next Friday and Saturday as all three programs continue league play. Match times are set for 6 p.m. ET (EIU) and 2 p.m. (SIUE).
