Box Score vs. Florida A&M  |  Box Score vs. Ole Miss

MOBILE, Ala. – Eastern Kentucky split a pair of matches Friday at the Jaguar Invitational presented by Holiday Inn Express and hosted by the University of South Alabama.  The Colonels beat Florida A&M 3-1 before falling to Mississippi 3-0.
 
EKU beat Florida A&M by scores of 25-17, 25-20, 13-25 and 25-21.  The Colonels (8-4) lost to Mississippi 25-14, 25-20 and 26-24.
 
In the first set against Florida A&M, the Colonels used a 6-2 run to go from down one to in front by four.  Carson Ledford had two kills during the run and EKU served up two aces.  A kill from Sarah Mitchell and a FAMU attack error extended the lead to six, 20-14.  AG Vandagriff's kill gave Eastern Kentucky set point, and a block from Katie McKune and Ledford finished off the eight-point win in set one.
 
The Rattlers scored the first two points of the second set, but then EKU rolled off six straight to start an 11-1 run.  McKune's kill made it 6-2.  A block by McKune and Maddy Campbell finished off the run and gave the Colonels an 11-3 lead.  Florida A&M drew within two, 18-16 on an ace from Dominique Turner but Eastern Kentucky scored five of the next six to regain control.  Chloe Mason's kill ended the set, 25-20.
 
After Molly Michalak tied the third set 2-2, it was all FAMU the rest of the set.  A 14-3 run gave the Rattlers a 16-5 lead and they cruised to a 25-13 victory.
 
The Colonels controlled the fourth set from the start, scoring the first three points and 10 of the first 13.  A kill from Mitchell made it 11-4.  Michalak's kill put Eastern Kentucky ahead 17-10.  After Florida A&M got within three, 24-21, on a kill by Emerald Jacobs, McKune finished off the match with a kill.
 
Michalak, Mitchell and Mason each recorded double-doubles.  Michalak had 12 kills and 10 digs.  Mitchell had 10 kills and 12 digs.  The junior from Berea, Kentucky surpassed 500 career digs in the match.  Mason finished with 25 assists and 10 digs.  Ledford had seven kills, no errors and six blocks.
 
Washington led Florida A&M with 12 kills.
 
EKU made just 17 errors and hit .256 for the match.  The Colonels held a 10-7 edge in blocks.
 
Michalak had a team-high 11 kills and 11 digs for Eastern Kentucky against Ole Miss.  Ledford registered seven more kills without an error against the Rebels (4-6).
 
In an effort to extend the match to a fourth set, the Colonels tied the score in the third at 22-22, 23-23 on a kill by Michalak, and 24-24 off a Mississippi service error.  However, the Rebels scored the next two points to win the match.
 
EKU wraps up the event on Saturday at noon against host South Alabama.  The match will air live on ESPN+.