Murray State University Athletics
Racers Tapped As Pre-Season Co-Favorite, Three Named To Pre-Season All-OVC Teams
8/14/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
After winning 11 of its last 15 matches of 2002, the Murray State women's volleyball team was picked as the pre-season co-favorite in this year's Ohio Valley Conference Pre-Season Poll, released today by the league office.
The Racers, 12-12 last season and finishing fourth in the OVC at 10-6, received four of the 11 possible first-place votes, more than any other team in the poll. MSU tied with Southeast Missouri State for first place, with each team receiving 88 points. SEMO received three first-place votes.
Morehead State was picked third in the pre-season poll with two first-place votes and 82 points, while newcomer Jacksonville State was fourth with 71 points and one first-place vote and defending champion Tennessee-Martin was fifth with 69 points and one first-place vote.
Austin Peay State was picked sixth with 55 points, followed by Eastern Kentucky in seventh with 42 points, newcomer Samford eighth with 40 points, Eastern Illinois ninth with 39 points, Tennessee Tech 10th with 21 points and Tennessee State 11th with 10 points.
Teams received 10 points for a first-place vote, nine points for a second-place vote, and so on. Balloting was done by OVC head volleyball coaches, who could not vote for their own team or members of their team.
"We've been working really, really hard over the last three years to develop this team," said MSU head coach David Schwepker. "Now, we're trying to put it all together. Hopefully, it will work for us. We can't go based on what the pre-season poll says. We will have to work hard and earn that top spot."
Last year's OVC Freshman of the Year, Nikki Wong, and one-time AVCA Division I Player of the Week Abbi Gui were named to the All-OVC Pre-Season First Team, while All-OVC Second-Team honoree Paige Sun was named to the All-OVC Pre-Season Second Team.
Wong, who was also an All-OVC Second-Team honoree, was fifth in the OVC with 10.89 assists per game and was 10th in the OVC in hitting percentage at .243. She picked up Murray State's first four triple-doubles last season as a freshman and had 11 double-doubles. Wong is a 5-9 sophomore setter from Shijiazhuang, China.
Gui, who began play late in the season, did well in her 10 matches as a freshman last season, averaging 5.12 kills, 3.50 digs and 1.12 blocks per game. She was named the AVCA/Sports Imports Division I National Player of the Week on Nov. 4 for averaging 6.71 kills, 2.71 digs and 0.86 blocks per game in two matches that week. Gui is a 6-2 sophomore middle blocker from Shanghai, China.
Sun, who was also named to the All-OVC Freshman Team last season with Wong, set a school record with 37 kills against SEMO, breaking an 11-year-old record. She led the OVC with 4.39 kills per game, and was second in the league with 0.42 aces per game. Sun is a 6-0 sophomore outside hitter from Beijing, China.
"This is a great accomplishment for us," Schwepker said. "It says a lot about the players we have here. They work hard, and this is a great honor for them."
Others named to the All-OVC Pre-Season First Team were Emily Scannell, Southeast Missouri; Cherelle Lampkins, Morehead State; Erica Gerth, Eastern Illinois; and Sarah Schramka, Austin Peay.
Also named to the All-OVC Pre-Season Second Team were Jamie Fitzwater, Tennessee-Martin; Alyssa Whitehead, Samford; Christina Cary, Jacksonville State; Heather Kea, Tennessee-Martin; Sarah Frost, Southeast Missouri; and Amy Walk, Austin Peay.
Murray State opens its 2003 season on Sept. 5 at Michigan in the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Racers will also face Louisville, who was ranked 22nd in this year's AVCA/USA Today pre-season poll, and Texas A&M.
