LORETTO, Pa. – Morehead State used scoring runs late in the final two sets to sweep the Norfolk State volleyball team by a 3-0 score on Friday afternoon during the first day of the Red Flash Classic at Saint Francis.
 
The Eagles had just one attack error in taking the first set against the Spartans, 25-11. Down 21-20 in both the second and third sets, Morehead State needed those late rallies to win by scores of 25-22 and 25-22 in the opening match of the tournament at DeGol Arena.
 
MSU improved to 7-4 thanks to just 10 attack errors total. The Spartans committed 22 and fell despite having just four less kills than Morehead State. NSU dropped to 2-6 on the season.
 
Freshman Taylor Eichelberger had seven kills to lead the way for the Spartans, while senior Clarke Tyler added six while hitting .357.
 
As a team, however, they hit just .074 compared to a healthy .261 for the Eagles.
 
Still, NSU gave it a run in the final two sets after MSU cruised through the first. A pair of service aces for NSU and then eventually a couple of errors by MSU on back-to-back plays helped the Spartans build a 9-5 lead in the second set. A 10-2 run for MSU ended that lead, but the Spartans got kills from seven different players as they forced their way back and into a 21-20 advantage on the scoreboard.
 
Danielle McCarson hit a pair of service aces for the Eagles, and kills from Olivia Lohmeier and Jessie Wachtman were instrumental in MSU's 5-1 closing run.
 
Unfortunately for the Spartans, history repeated itself late in the third set. They never led in the early half of the stanza, but they did string together points later on. Senior Hope Forsythe hit a pair of service aces to tie the score at 16-16 and force an Eagle timeout.
 
MSU scored the next three, but NSU took the next four for a 20-19 lead. The third error on the Eagles right around that time made it 21-20 in favor of the Spartans, but MSU again scored five of the last six, this time to finish the match.
 
Eichelberger had all seven of her kills in the final two sets. Senior Melvina Brown posted a match-high 21 digs, exactly half of NSU's total of 42. Forsythe had another double-double with 14 assists and 11 digs while splitting time at setter.
 
Lauren Rokey led all players with 10 kills, while Lohmeier (seven) and Jordan Jones (six) also contributed for MSU.
 
NSU will play Saint Francis on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. followed by a contest against Bucknell at 2 p.m.