Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Cleveland State
Volleyball Battles Cleveland State To 3-0 Loss
9/8/2007 5:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
The Murray State volleyball team battled with Cleveland State this morning in the Saluki Invitational in Carbondale, Ill., but the Vikings' blocking game was too potent, as the Racers fell 3-0. Game scores were 30-26, 30-22, 30-21.
The first game of the match saw 10 ties and three lead changes. MSU (3-5) trailed 19-16 before making a run, scoring six of the next eight points to take a 23-21 lead. The Racers held a 25-24 lead when CSU (6-4) made a run of its own, scoring three straight points to take a 27-25 lead. A kill by senior middle hitter Tara DeMage brought the Racers a sideout, but the Vikings scored the last three points of the match to win Game 1 30-26.
The Vikings controlled Game 2, taking a 9-7 lead and pushing out to an 18-11 advantage. Murray State fought hard when CSU had game point, scoring four straight points behind the serving of junior outside hitter Alyssa Groves, but Cleveland State finally pushed the final point across, winning the second game 30-22.
Murray State pushed out to a 9-6 lead in the third game, but the Vikings scored three straight points to tie the game at 9-9. A kill from junior outside hitter Alison Mugler retied the game at 13-13, but CSU scored nine of the next 10 points to vault out to a 22-14 lead en route to the 30-21 game win.
Mugler and freshman middle hitter Sara Hayden led the Racer offense with 10 kills, while DeMage had a team-high four blocks. Mugler, Groves and junior libero Heather Norris each had a co-match-high eight digs, while sophomore setter Cassie Chesney handed out 27 assists.
For Cleveland State, Jenni Ramminger had 14 kills, while Liz Fazio had 13. Ramminger had an attack percentage of .423, with three errors in 26 attacks. Amy Benz had seven blocks, while Mel Snyder had five and Ramminger had four. Snyder had 36 assists, while Kayla Lefeld and Jordan Bateman had eight digs apiece.
Murray State concludes play in the Saluki Invitational when the Racers take on tournament host Southern Illinois tonight (Saturday) at 7 p.m.
