MOREHEAD, KY- Freshmen Madi Tyus (Plano, TX/Bishop Lynch) and Nicole Adams (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa East) each reached double figures in kills but a rally-heavy match went the way of the host Morehead State Eagles to start the Comfort Inn-Vitational on Friday morning.
 
The host Eagles took the opening match 25-20, 25-16, 25-20. Madi Tyus (Plano, TX/Bishop Lynch) had a match-high 14 kills while Adams was right behind her with 11, however the Eagles hit .303 as a team and had nine blocks, which proved to be the difference.
 
 
SET ONE

• The Eagles got out to a quick start, scoring four of the first five points to force an early Red Flash timeout
• SFU would chip away at the lead, a pair of Alexis Lambert (McKinney, Tx./McKinney-Boyd) kills and a combo block got the Red Flash within one at 10-9
• The Eagles would reel off three-straight to go up 13-9 before Madi Tyus (Plano, TX/Bishop Lynch) had four kills as part of a 6-0 run that gave SFU a 15-13 lead, forcing an Eagle timeout
• Morehead State would knot the match at 15 and the teams would trade points until it was 19-all
• The turning point of the set came on two-straight blocks from the Eagles, forcing the Red Flash to use their final timeout down 21-19
• SFU would get it to 21-20 but the Eagles ran off the final four points of the set to take it 25-20

SET TWO

• Again, the Eagles got out of the gate quick, forcing an early timeout out of the Red Flash and running out to an 11-3 lead
• Saint Francis would have to settle for trading points with the Eagles as the lead grew to as many as 12 at 22-10
• The Red Flash would get going mid-way through the set off a Jess Barrett (Broadview Heights, OH/North Royalton) service run, SFU ran off six-straight points off kills from Tyus and Kimmy Sweeney (Broadview Heights, OH/Beaumont School)
• The Eagles would rebound out of the Red Flash run to put together a pair of kills late to close out the set at 25-16

SET THREE

• Saint Francis prevented the fast start from the Eagles as the teams traded the first eight points of the set
• Morehead State would force a SFU timeout as part of a 4-0 run to go up 9-5
• The lead would grow to as many as five before kills from Lambert and Adams led up to an Elise Dumouchelle (Ashburn, Va./Broad Run) ace and forced an Eagle timeout with the lead cut to 16-14
• SFU would get to within one at 19-18 off a Tyus kill but couldn't get over the hump to tie the set
• A four-point run from the Eagles proved to be the turning point of the set as SFU would get no closer the rest of the way before Morehead State closed it out at 25-20

 
Kimmy Sweeney (Broadview Heights, OH/Beaumont School) got her first start of the season and the freshman delivered 30 assists in the match and led the way with two blocks. Alexis Lambert (McKinney, Tx./McKinney-Boyd) led the defense with 16 digs while Jess Barrett (Broadview Heights, OH/North Royalton) added 12.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The second match of the Inn-Vitational is set for 4:30 this afternoon against Wright State. The match will not be streamed but live stats are available through Stat Broadcast. The link can be found on the volleyball schedule page.