Eastern Kentucky beats Gamecocks to push their conference record to 5-3: Volleyball
Taking full advantage of familiar conditions at home, the Eastern Kentucky volleyball team gave their fans exactly what they wanted. The Colonels of EKU swept the Jacksonville Gamecocks in an Ohio Valley Conference match on Friday, October 7. The McBrayer
Arena in Richmond, Kentucky hosted the action-packed thriller in glittery evening. The hosts made the difference with 25-17, 25-16, 25-8 in three consecutive sets and improved their conference record to 5-3. Moreover, they went up on the season with 10-9 record,
while the Gamecocks fell to 6-12, 4-4 OVC.
Abbey Cvelbar, the setter of EKU, played a big role in her team’s victory. She actively participated in assisting the attackers and also threw her hands in air at almost every attack attempt of opponents. She committed no errors and got 10 kills, 19 assists,
two blocks, and five digs. Colonels indeed could not do better without Miss Cvelbar. Freshman Hannah notched nine kills and two blocks, while
Dena Ott contributed 15 digs to lead the EKU to triumph in straight sets.
Stephanie Koontz killed team-high 11 shots. Freshman Nicole Merget followed her up with five kills and Alina Aqamy added three kills. On Jacksonville side, senior
sophomore Kelly Cole recorded 16 digs but it wouldn't be enough against the Colonels.
The first set of the match started off with balanced action and both sides showcased their brilliant game tactics. The home side was equipped with stupendous support of local fans and they tried to put pressure on the visiting team. However, the Gamecocks
remained hand-in-hand with Colonels and created 7 ties of scores in the first set. EKU scored straight points near the end of first set and claimed 8-point victory in first frame, 25-17.
Colonels were fully charged-up in the second set and didn’t allow JSU to come near them. EKU kept the operations well under hand throughout the second set and never trailed. Clever shots of Burkle and tricky bump passes of EKU setter created enough trouble
for Gamecocks. Hosts moved to 2-0 on the scoreboard with second-set win at 25-16.
In the third set, Gamecocks scored the first point and further led the scores with 2-1, but it was all about Colonels from that point on. They responded with back-to-back kills and recorded 14-2 run. Jacksonville team was restricted to very low score of
9 in third set, which eventually led them to defeat. EKU took away the game in three straight sets.
The Eastern Kentucky volleyball team has one more match at the weekend, when they will host Tennessee Tech Eagles for another OVC play. The match is scheduled to start at 1400 (local time) on Saturday. The Gamecocks, on other hand, will take the next roach
of Morehead State, in order to take on MSU Eagles on Saturday.
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