Murray State
Austin Peay
Volleyball Gets Past Austin Peay
9/30/2006 5:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
The Murray State women's volleyball team squeaked past host Austin Peay tonight, winning 3-2 and winning the deciding Game 5 by the score of 16-14.
The win is the fifth straight for the Racers (11-2, 3-0 OVC), tying a season-high win streak.
Murray State won the first game tonight 30-25, and in Game 2, the Racers held a 24-22 lead before the Lady Govs (3-12, 1-2 OVC) reeled off five straight points to take a 27-24 lead. MSU rebounded with four points of its own to retake the lead, 28-27, behind the serving of sophomore outside hitter Alison Mugler, but APSU scored the last three points to tie the match at 1-1.
In Game 3, Murray State jumped out to a 14-9 lead, but Austin Peay brought it back, tying the game at 18-18. The Lady Govs took a 28-26 lead before MSU ran off three straight points behind the serving of senior outside hitter Julie Lashley to take a 29-28 lead. APSU tied the game with a seideout, but the Racers scored back-to-back points to steal the third game 31-29.
In the fourth game, Murray State came out flat, as Austin Peay jumped out to a 4-0 lead and increased that to 16-8 en route to tying the match at two games each with a 30-18 fourth-game win.
In the fifth and deciding game, APSU led 2-0 before Murray State came back, taking an 8-5 lead. The Lady Govs were able to tie the game at 8-8 and took a brief lead at 12-11. The game was tied at 12-12, 13-13 and 14-14 before the Racers scored back-to-back points, punctuated by a kill from senior middle blocker Holly Jansen to win the match, taking the fifth game 16-14.
"Austin Peay played great tonight," said MSU head coach David Schwepker. "The lost one of their top players (Laura Wussow, who left the match in Game 1 with a foot injury), but they kept their composure. They were amazing, and they played really good defense and stayed with us. It was a really good match."
Jansen led all hitters with a career-high 24 kills to go with an attack percentage of .288, with nine errors in 52 attacks. Sophomore outside hitter Alyssa Groves and senior middle blocker Katie Kemezys added 15 kills apiece, with Kemezys hitting .310, getting only two errors in 42 attacks.
Lashley served up a career-high-tying four aces, while freshman setter Cassie Chesney had a team-high 61 assists. Sophomore libero Heather Norris repelled a match-high 34 digs -- her third venture into the 30-Dig Club this year -- while junior outside hitter Tara DeMage had 29, Mugler had 25 and Chesney had 20. Kemezys had a team-high five blocks, while Jansen had four.
For Austin Peay, Ashley Genslak had 21 kills, while Dorota Szymska had 19, Kristie Kidman had 18 and Kristin Distler had 16. Szymska hit .357, with four errors in 42 attacks, while Kidman hit .320, with two errors in 50 attacks.
Szymska and Leanne Kreps served up three aces apiece, while Kreps handed out 70 assists. Genslak had six blocks, while Kidman had three for APSU. Distler had 27 digs, while Kreps had 23.
Murray State ventures to Tennessee State tomorrow (Saturday) to close out the season-opening 14-match road swing for the Racers. The match is set to begin at 2 p.m.
