SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 3, Belmont 0 (25-20 27-25, 25-21)
MOREHEAD STATE 3, BELMONT 0
MOREHEAD, Ky. - – Eastern Illinois softball split its Saturday doubleheader with Belmont at Williams Field, but after winning the Friday night opener the Panthers won the weekend series to improve to 12-5 overall, 5-1 in the OVC. Belmont exited the weekend at 6-9 overall, 2-4 in the OVC.
EIU won game one of Saturday’s doubleheader 12-6 before Belmont salvaged the final game of the series 7-4.
In the opener EIU once again jumped out in front on a three-run home run by Haley Mitchell in the bottom of the first. The Panthers would extend that lead to 5-0 in the second on a Hannah Cravens two run double.
The Bruins rallied in the top of the third scoring five runs against EIU starter Sydney Cammon. Belmont strung together six straight hits with RBI singles in the rally by Kaley Varner, Cheyenne Cavanaugh and Alicia Veltre.
Belmont would take a 6-5 lead in the fourth as Cavanaugh had her second RBI single of the game. The single scored MyKayla Spurlin who was 2-for-3 for the game with two doubles. Cavanaugh added two hits for Belmont.
Olivia Price would come in to pitch in relief for EIU in the fourth and scattered two hits in four innings of relief. The Panthers would provide the freshman some offense in the bottom of the fourth and sixth frames as she improved to 3-1 on the year.
The Panthers big blow in the fourth came on a two-run double by Mia Davis as she was 2-for-3 in the game. In the sixth it was clutch pinch hitting for EIU, first by Abi Stahlhut and then by Andrea Sampson with a three run double to clear the bases.
Morgan Lewis added two hits for EIU while Megan Burton scored four runs in the game, hitting a solo home run. Autumn McDaniel (2-2) suffered the loss in relief for Belmont.
In the night cap, EIU again got on the board in the first inning as Burton hit a solo home run, the first of two by the Panthers shortstop in the game.
Belmont connect for its first home run of the weekend in the fourth as Abi Ledbetter hit a solo shot to right to tie the game at 1-1. Elison Ollinger would triple to follow Ledbetter and came around to score on an RBI ground out by Spurlin which gave Belmont a 2-1 lead.
The Bruins would add to that with four runs in the fourth providing starter Alicia Veltre all the support she would need in a complete game win. Veltre improved to 4-5 on the year. Jade Montgomery was credited with the loss for EIU falling to 5-4.
In the fourth Ollinger connected for a three-run home run as she was 2-for-3 on the day. Ledbetter was 4-for-4 on the afternoon for the Bruins.
EIU added a run in the fifth and two more in the seventh on Burton’s third home run of the day. Burton was the lone Panther with multiple hits in the night cap, going 2-for-4. Competing in its 49th season of collegiate volleyball, a program that began in 1972, Morehead State volleyball accomplished something Saturday night that no other Ohio Valley Conference has in the conference's illustrious history.
Morehead State's straight-set victory over Belmont Saturday marked the program's 1,000th victory, becoming the first OVC program to reach the milestone. The Eagles improved to 11-0 on the season, taking the match behind scores of 25-20, 27-25, and 25-21 as Belmont falls to 1-10.
The outside hitter duo of seniors Olivia Lohmeier and Lauren Rokey combined to slam home 30 of Morehead State's 46 kills, collecting 15 terminations each. Rokey finished the evening with a team-best .379 hitting percentage—minimum of 12 kills and minimum of 10 attacks—committing just four errors on 29 swings.
Right-side hitters, sophomore Abby Hulsman and redshirt senior Liz Allen, along with redshirt freshman middle blocker McKenzee Wagener added five, four, and four kills, respectively, in the match with Hulsman connecting at a match-high .500 hitting efficiency, committing one error on eight swings.
Orchestrating the offense for Morehead State, sophomore setter Bridget Bessler passed out 41 total assists (13.67 per set), posting a season-high assist total in a three-set match. She chipped in nine digs, nearly tallying a double-double.
Roaming the backline, junior libero Allison Whitten and redshirt junior defensive specialist Taylor Hodges scooped up double-figure digs for the Eagles with Whitten pacing the match with 19 digs while Hodges added 12.
Hodges also landed a match-high four service aces, one winner off her career-high. Sophomore defensive specialist Andrea Grimes and Hulsman each added an ace for Morehead State as Hulsman's winner to end the match marked the first of her career.
The Eagles also collected eight total blocks on the evening as Wagener paced the team with a match-best five total blocks—one solo block and four block assists. Saturday's match marks the third of the season in which she's collected five or more blocks.
Belmont's Kristen Clemons and Hallee Van Poppel each recorded eight kills while Carly Mason had 26 assists.