Murray State
Appalachian State
Volleyball Takes Two Of Three At UNF Tournament
9/2/2006 5:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
The Murray State women's volleyball team won two of its three matches at the UNF Labor Day Classic this weekend, closing out its competition with an exciting 3-2 win over Appalachian State. The Racers' sole loss in the tournament was to eventual champion and host North Florida.
The Racers (2-1) won the first game of that match 30-25, lost the second game 30-27 and won Game 3 30-25 before the Mountaineers (3-3) took Game 4 30-22.
MSU trailed in Game 5 9-6 before running off three straight points behind two kills from junior outside hitter Tara DeMage and an ace from sophomore outside hitter Alyssa Groves. ASU scored two points to take an 11-9 lead, but the Racers outscored Appalachian State 6-1 down the stretch to seal the win. A kill and a block by senior middle blocker Katie Kemezys, an ace from freshman setter Cassie Chesney and a kill by sophomore outside hitter Alison Mugler led Murray State to match point, where a block by Groves and senior middle blocker Holly Jansen sealed the deal.
Jansen had a match-high 19 kills and a co-match-high six blocks. Mugler and Kemezys had 13 kills apiece, while Groves had 11.
Sophomore libero Heather Norris had two aces and a 23 digs -- both team-highs -- while Groves had 21 digs and DeMage had 20. Chesney handed out 56 assists to go with 14 digs for MSU.
Brittany Zahn led the way for Appalachian State with 15 kills and three aces. Ashley Fliehr and Dianna Thomas had 14 kills each, while Carla Durham had 12 and Amy Lewis had 10. Cassie Engelgau had a match-high 33 digs, while Durham had a co-match-high six blocks. Lorelle Rau handed out 60 assists for ASU.
Kemezys and Norris were named to the all-tournament team. Joining them were tournament MVP Maegan Weisert, Emily Kohler and Tara Taylor from North Florida; Zahn of Appalachian State; and Nikki Havens of Idaho State.
Kemezys finished the tournament averaging 12.67 kills per game, 0.62 blocks per game and a .259 attack percentage, while Norris averaged 6.31 digs per game.
"Overall, I'm really pleased with the way we played," said MSU head coach David Schwepker. "There are still some things to work on, but we played tough throughout the tournament; we never gave up. I am really happy with where we are now and the direction we are going in."
Murray State next takes part in the Kent State Invitational. The Racers open against host Kent State on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT, then face North Carolina State on Saturday at 11:30 a.m., followed by Chicago State at 4:30 p.m.
