EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Morehead State collected 53 kills Friday in a 25-22, 25-12, 25-19 victory over SIUE volleyball at the Vadalabene Center.

The Cougars fell to 7-11 overall and 2-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Morehead State won its fifth straight match as the Eagles improved to 10-5 overall and a perfect 5-0 in the OVC.

Emma Anderson and Kelsey Augustine picked up six kills each to lead the Cougars.

"We just weren't terminating when we took swings. They were. Had we been terminating it's a whole different game," said SIUE Head Coach Leah Johnson. The Cougars finished with a season-low 26 kills.

Ellie Roberson and Aryn Bohannon powered the Eagles with 15 and 13 kills, respectively. Middle hitter Annie Gruensclaeger finished with eight kills on nine attacks.

The Cougars held tight early after falling behind 19-13 in the first set. SIUE battled back to tie the set 21-21 thanks to two service aces from Cori Harris and one from Julia Whitfield. The Eagles would close out the set by winning four of the next five points.

"It is a matter of full execution. You can't have one skill of your game strong and the others weak. You try to compensate when you can, but there has to be at least one attacker on, and we didn't have that," Johnson said.

Morehead State continued to strengthen as the match continued, hitting .314 in set two and .432 in the third set.

SIUE has Eastern Kentucky in a Saturday OVC matchup at the Vadalabene Center. Match time is set for 3 p.m.

"We are looking forward to Eastern Kentucky. I am confident the Cougars will respond. I think they are disappointed as well. We will come back, work hard, and keep getting better," said Johnson.

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