Murray State University Athletics
Volleyball Opens With Three Tournaments
7/23/2007 5:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
The Murray State volleyball team opens its 2007 schedule with three tournaments and features 12 matches against teams with 2006 season Rating Percentage Indices (RPIs) in the top 130 in the nation out of 320 Division I teams.
The Racers closed out last season at 19-8, 11-5 in Ohio Valley Conference play, finishing in third place in the league and an RPI ranked 121th. MSU returns six players from last season, including four starters and All-American libero Heather Norris, but they face challenges from the start.
Murray State head coach David Schwepker begins his 10th season at the helm of the Racers, having the longest tenure of any OVC coach at his school except for EKU's Lori Duncan, also beginning her 10th season with the Colonels. With the first win of the 2006 season, Schwepker became the first Racer volleyball coach to claim 100 career wins with the Navy and Gold.
Bolstering the Murray State lineup will be four returning starters: sophomore setter Cassie Chesney (12.69 assists per game, second in OVC, 42nd nationally, All-OVC Newcomer Team), junior outside hitter Alison Mugler (2.85 kills per game, 4.33 digs per game), senior outside hitter Tara DeMage (2.43 kills per game, 3.69 digs per game, 0.45 blocks per game, 0.21 aces per game) and junior outside hitter Alyssa Groves (2.36 kills per game, 3.51 digs per game, 0.26 aces per game).
Murray State led the nation with 23.48 digs per game, and the keystone of that staunch defense was junior libero Heather Norris, who led the OVC with 6.49 digs per game, ranking sixth on the national list. Norris earned AVCA All-Midwest Region Team and All-American honors last year as well as taking the OVC Defensive Player of the Year award. She had 30 or more digs eight times last season, repelling a career-high 40 digs in the last match of the season, and was named to the All-OVC Second Team.
Senior setter/libero Ashley Meagher, who saw limited action last season, also returns to the Racers this season. She will be joined by freshmen Sara Hayden (middle hitter, Louisville, Ky., Assumption HS), Becca Lamb (outside hitter, Highland, Ill., Breese Mater Dei HS) and Ashley Nenninger (outside hitter, Marble Hill, Mo., Notre Dame Regional HS).
Murray State opens the 2007 schedule on Aug. 24 at the MSU Microtel Classic in Starkville, Miss. The Racers take on Arkansas-Little Rock on Aug. 24, then oppose Clemson and tournament host Mississippi State on Aug. 25. The Clemson match is the first meeting between the schools, with the Tigers placing third last season in the Atlantic Coast Conference and sporting a season-ending RPI ranked 83rd, going 20-10 in 2006. Mississippi State wound up 2006 with an RPI ranked 107th.
The Racers then take part in the ASU/Bancorp South Classic in Jonesboro, Ark., on Aug. 31-Sept. 1. Murray State meets host Arkansas State on Aug. 31, then takes on San Jose State and Northwestern State on Sept. 1. Arkansas State went 21-14 last season and tied for second in the Sun Belt Conference's West Division with an RPI ranked 111th. San Jose State tied for fourth in the Western Athletic Conference with an RPI ranked 114th and faces Murray State for the first time.
The third tournament on the MSU volleyball schedule is the Saluki Invitational, held in Carbondale, Ill. The Racers meet Missouri-Kansas City on Sept. 7, then face Cleveland State and host Southern Illinois on Sept. 8. Cleveland State tied for second in the Horizon League and had a 19-9 overall record and an RPI ranking 140th.
For the first time ever, the OVC will play a 20-match double-round-robin schedule, with each team facing the others at home and away. After Jacksonville State and Samford joined the conference in 2003, league coaches voted to keep the schedule at 16 matches, playing six teams twice and four teams once, alternating home sites each year.
With this expanded conference schedule, Murray State has 10 home matches in Racer Arena in 2007 -- all OVC contests -- beginning Sept. 14 against Samford.
Jacksonville State (24-5, 16-0 OVC) went through last year's OVC schedule without losing a game, much less a match. The Gamecocks return five starters from last year's squad, including OVC Player of the Year Abbey Breit. JSU finished the season with an RPI ranked 55th out of 320 teams.
Tennessee State (20-14, 12-4 OVC) finished with an RPI ranked 128th, but loses 10 players, including four starters and its libero.
Eastern Kentucky (17-14, 10-6 OVC) tied for fourth with Morehead State (21-13, 10-6 OVC) with comparable RPIs, with EKU ranked 116th and Morehead State 117th. Both teams return three starters and the libero from last year's squads. Southeast Missouri (16-18, 8-8 OVC) rounds out last year's top six, and advanced to the final round of last year's O'Reilly OVC Championship Tournament. The Redhawks return four starters and the libero from last year's team.
Tennessee Tech (12-17, 8-8 OVC) returns five starters and its libero from last year's team, as does Tennessee-Martin (18-13, 7-9 OVC). Eastern Illinois (8-19, 3-13 OVC) returns four starters and the libero, while Austin Peay (4-24, 2-14 OVC) returns three starters and the libero and Samford (6-24, 1-15 OVC) returns all six starters and the libero.
"We are excited about the upcoming season," he said. "We have five members of last year's core group coming back, along with Ashley Meagher, who's been with us for four years. Our tournament schedule is a challenging one, and the OVC schedule is going to be tough as well. The 20-match format should be a good test for all of us. We are all looking forward to starting the pre-season workouts in a few weeks."
