Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Missouri-Kansas City
Volleyball Bests UMKC 3-1
9/7/2007 5:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
The Murray State volleyball team got its third win in its last four matches, hitting .256 as a team and taking advantage of 18 Missouri-Kansas City serving errors to take a 3-1 win over the Kangaroos in the Saluki Invitational at Carbondale, Ill. Game scores were 30-21, 28-30, 30-23, 30-17.
In the first game, the Racers (3-4) hit .406 to UMKC's .116, making only four errors in 32 attacks. MSU jumped out to a quick 9-4 lead, but UMKC (3-6) was able to trim that to 16-12 before Murray State scored the next three points. Leading 25-19, the Racers got a sideout on a Kangaroo serving error, then scored on two kills from senior middle hitter Tara DeMage and a kill from freshman middle hitter Sara Hayden to get to game point at 29-19. UMKC scored two points, but lost the game on another serving error, 30-21.
In the second game, Murray State trailed 24-21 after a Kangaroo run was halted by a kill from freshman outside hitter Ashley Nenninger, but a UMKC service error and a kill from junior outside hitter Alyssa Groves pulled the Racers to within 24-23. UMKC was able to get a sideout to take a 25-23 lead, but a kill by Groves and back-to-back aces from sophomore setter Cassie Chesney gave MSU its first lead of the game at 26-25. The Kangaroos scored back-to-back points to retake the lead, but a kill by junior outside hitter Alison Mugler knotted the game at 27-27. UMKC scored two points to get to game point at 29-27, and a kill from Mugler kept the game alive, but the Kangaroos were able to win the game 30-28.
Game 3 was a battle featuring 12 ties and four lead changes. Trailing 15-14, Murray State mounted a comeback, starting with a kill by freshman outside hitter Becca Lamb to tie the game at 15-15. Hayden slapped a kill, then senior setter/libero Ashley Meagher served up an ace and DeMage got a block to give the Racers an 18-15 lead. UMKC got within 21-19, but MSU got a sideout on a service error, then used kills by Mugler and Lamb and a Kangaroo attack error to forge a 25-19 lead en route to the 30-23 game win.
In the fourth game, Murray State led from the start, winning the first three points behind the serving of junior libero Heather Norris. The Racers got out to as much as a 28-14 lead before winning 30-17.
"We did pretty well," said MSU head coach David Schwepker. "(UMKC) tried to serve us tough because of our passing, and I think a lot of teams will do that this season. They tried to serve close to the line, and that led to a lot of service errors. We sort of eased up in the second game, and I didn't like that very much, but we battled well in the third game, and did well in the last game.
"We're still in for the win. Tomorrow will be tough for us, because Cleveland State looked really good early in their match against Southern Illinois, and it's always tough to beat SIU on their home court. We'll just try to keep doing what works and see how things work out."
Mugler led the offense with 16 kills and a .300 attack percentage, making four errors in 40 attacks. Hayden, DeMage and Lamb each had 11 kills, and Lamb hit .391, making only two errors in 23 attacks. Chesney handed out a match-high 50 assists.
Norris had a match-high 22 digs, and Mugler, Chesney and DeMage each had double-doubles, as they chipped in 14, 10 and 13 digs, respectively. Groves also had 14 digs for the Racers. Mugler and DeMage each had three blocks, while Chesney, Norris and Meagher each had a match-high two aces.
For UMKC, Jamie Hagerman had a match-high 20 kills, while Sarah Johnson had 14 and Kelly Gettinger had 10. Hagerman hit .381 for the Kangaroos, making only four errors in 42 attacks. Mandy Tipton had 18 digs, while Gettinger had 13, and Caitlin Koenig had 47 assists. Hagerman had a match-high five blocks, while Koenig had three.
Murray State continues play in the Saluki Invitational tomorrow (Saturday), facing Cleveland State at 10 a.m. and tournament host Southern Illinois at 7 p.m.
