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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
VBTeam
1
Radford Rad 1-5,0-0 Big South
3
Winner Morehead St. More 3-3,0-0 OVC
Radford Rad
1-5,0-0 Big South
1
Final
3
Morehead St. More
3-3,0-0 OVC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Radford Rad 19 25 13 16 (1)
Morehead St. More 25 23 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball |

Highlanders Battle Early, Come Up Short at Morehead State

MOREHEAD, Ky. – The Radford volleyball program battled tough early but ultimately came up short in their 3-1 final at Morehead State Saturday afternoon.
 
KEY STATS
  • After recording just four kills in the first set, the Highlanders bounced back big and finished the day with 35.
  • Freshman Olivia Ryno had another solid match, finishing with a team-high 14 kills.
  • Service errors were aplenty in the match, but the Highlanders were able to commit five less than the Eagles. Sierra Moore finished with three aces.
 
PLAY BY PLAY
The Highlanders would go out ahead early in the first set of the day, 4-0 over the Eagles thanks to two aces from Moore. The Eagles quickly fought back to tie the set at 8-8 and used a 7-0 run to go ahead 13-8. The Highlanders couldn't bounce back and struggled offensively as Morehead State took the first set 25-19.
 
Needing a bounce back, Radford got just that in set two and found their offensive rhythm. A kill early from Gabriela Smolenska set the tone early. After going down 12-7, the Highlanders stormed back behind kills from Aubrey Hatch and Ryno to pull back within a couple points.
 
The Highlanders wouldn't go away and used a 6-1 run through two Eagles timeouts to take a 19-18 lead. Two kills by Moore, block from Smolenska and an ace from Lea Gage all fueled the run. Both squads would trade points as Smolenska and Moore continued to lead the offense late into the set with a 23-21 edge. Wiktoria Jakubik sealed the deal for Radford with a kill to claim the 25-23 second set win and even the match at one set each.
 
Two kills to start set three by Ryno helped put Radford ahead 4-2 early. An extended 7-1 run by the Eagles helped the weekend hosts pull ahead for a big lead that never quite faltered. Moore and Ryno were able to collect some more kills throughout the set, but Radford ended up on the wrong end of a 25-13 finish to set three.
 
The Eagles stayed hot and began the fourth set with an 8-2 advantage. Radford would battle back to make it a 9-6 deficit thanks to an ace and kill by Ryno. Ryno stayed hot with four more kills through the midway portion of the set, but the Highlanders weren't able to come any closer to tying than three points. Morehead State held on and eventually won the fourth set 25-16 to take the match 3-1.
 
UP NEXT
Radford will look to bounce back in their next tournament which gets going this upcoming Thursday, September 11th. In Cookeville, Tenn., Radford will face Wichita State in a 2017 NCAA Tournament First Round rematch at 11:00 a.m.

STAY SOCIAL WITH RADFORD VOLLEYBALL
For all the latest on Radford Volleyball, be sure to follow the team on X (@RadfordVB), Instagram (@radfordvb), and "like" the team's official Facebook Page (Radford Volleyball).
 
#RiseAndDefend
 
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