Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Southern Illinois
SIU Outlasts Racers 3-1; Mugler Sets Record
9/8/2007 5:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
The Murray State volleyball team battled host Southern Illinois tooth-and-nail, trailing two games to one in a match that could have given the Racers another tournament co-championship. The fourth game saw 10 ties and five lead changes, but when the smoke cleared, the Salukis won the game 34-32, winning the match 3-1. Game scores were 30-21, 27-30, 30-27, 34-32. Southern Illinois won the tournament, winning all three of its matches.
In that fourth game, Murray State (3-6) vaulted out to a 12-7 lead, scoring three straight points behind the serving of sophomore setter Cassie Chesney. MSU led 17-12 when Southern Illinois (8-2) began a run of its own, scoring five straight points to tie the game at 17-17. When Chesney came back around to the serving position, MSU again scored in bunches, notching three straight points to take a 23-18 lead.
MSU led 24-19 when SIU made a crucial run. The Salukis ran off eight of the next 10 points to take a 26-25 lead, and the race was on. The teams tied the score at each point after that: 26-26, 27-27, 28-28 and 29-29. A kill from senior middle hitter Tara DeMage gave the Racers game point at 30-29, but SIU retied it at 30-30. A kill from freshman outside hitter Becca Lamb gave MSU another game point at 31-30, but Southern Illinois tied it, then had match point at 32-31. A DeMage score tied the game again at 32-32. Finally, the Saluki offense put two points together, winning the game 34-32 and taking the match.
SIU controlled the first game almost from the start, hitting .346 with only one error in 52 attacks to win 30-21. Murray State came out in Game 2, taking a 12-9 lead and converting it into a 16-9 lead behind Chesney's serving. Another three-point burst behind DeMage gave the Racers a 21-12 lead, but the Salukis went on a tear, scoring nine of the next 11 points to close to within 23-21. MSU scored three straight behind the serving of junior outside hitter Alyssa Groves and were able to keep SIU at arm's length, winning 30-27.
Game 3 featured 13 ties and four lead changes, as both teams battled to take the 2-1 game lead. Murray State led 25-20, but the Salukis scored eight straight points to vault into a 28-25 lead. A kill from freshman middle hitter Sara Hayden stopped the run, but SIU scored back-to-back points to take the game 30-27.
Junior outside hitter Alison Mugler set a Murray State record with 80 attacks in the four-game match, just three short of the record for attacks in any single match. The former record for attacks in a four-game match was 79, set by Paige Sun in 2002. Mugler was named to the all-tournament team, averaging 4.82 kills, 3.82 digs and 5.05 points per game.
"It was unbelievable," said MSU head coach David Schwepker. "It was an awesome match. Our girls played their hearts out; it could have gone either way. I think, if it had gone five games, that we had a good chance to win because we're used to the way we play with our defense. Overall, I was very happy with our team."
Mugler led the Racer offense with a match-high 27 kills, making only seven errors in her 80 swings. Hayden and Lamb added 12 kills apiece, with Hayden hitting .324, making only one error in 34 attacks. Chesney handed out 58 assists for the Racers.
On defense, three Racers had 20 or more digs, led by junior libero Heather Norris, who had 26. Groves repelled 23 digs, while Mugler had 20.
For Southern Illinois, Marina Media had 19 kills, while Kristie Berwanger had 17, Chandra Roberson had 14 and Kelsie Laughlin had 12. Medic hit .436, with only two errors in 39 attacks, and Roberson hit .324, with three errors in 34 attacks. Brooklyn Robins handed out 60 assists.
On defense, Kristy Elswick had 29 digs, while Berwanger had 21. Roberson had 10 blocks, while Medic had nine and Laughlin had seven. SIU had 20 blocks to MSU's two.
Murray State begins its Ohio Valley Conference schedule and its home slate this weekend in Racer Arena, as the Racers host Samford on Friday at 7 p.m. and Jacksonville State on Saturday at 2 p.m. Admission is free.
