Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Tennessee State
Racers Fall 2-3 at Tennessee State
10/4/2008 5:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
MSU saw four players record double digits in the kills and digs columns. Sophomore Becca Lamb led the Racers with 16 kills, while sophomore Sara Hayden added 14 and had a team-high .467 (14k-0e-30k) hitting percentage.
“This is what we need from Becca Lamb,” said head coach David Schwepker. “Her biggest asset is hitting and she needs to keep swinging hard game-in and game-out.”
Sophomore Ashley Nenninger and freshman Logan Su were the other two MSU players in double-digits, as Su added 13 kills and Nenninger garnered 10 and a .391 hitting percentage.
Seniors Heather Norris and Alison Mugler led the team defensively, with 21 and 20 digs, respectively.
The Tigers opened the opening set with a 6-3 lead and never let the Racers get closer than one point the rest of the set. TSU extended its lead to as many as eight points towards the end of the set with a 6-0 run.
Set two started out as a back-and-forth battle with both teams opening the set with 2-0 run before trading the next 12 serves. TSU then started a 4-0 run to take the first lead over two points in the set. MSU then battled back to tie the set at 14 and start another battle for the lead. The Racers started a 3-0 run with the score tied at 19 and jumped out to a 24-21 advantage, before the Tigers came back to tie the set at 24 and force extra points. TSU ultimately earned the set win on a 2-0 run to earn the 29-27 win.
Much like the night before MSU changed the momentum of the match after the 10 minute intermission, surging out to an early 6-1 lead. The Racers never relented and pushed the score to 14-4 with a 5-0 run. MSU allowed the Tigers to score only eight more points the rest of the set on the way to a 25-12 win.
The forth set was close again before TSU started a 3-0 run with the score tied at eight to take the first lead of the set. The Racers quickly responded and tied the set at 11 with a 3-0 run and then gained their first lead of the set with a 5-1 run. The Tigers pulled with in one point before MSU started an 11-2 run to close out the set with a 25-15 win.
Sophomore Ashley Nenninger was a driving force during the run for the Racers, with a block solo and block assists to start the run.
In a similar fashion from the match at Austin Peay, the Tigers opened the deciding set with a 4-1 run, but MSU recovered their composure quicker than the night before and tied the set at five. The teams then traded the next five serves and the Racers took an 8-7 advantage into the side switch.
TSU then started a 3-0 run to change the momentum in its favor. MSU then used a 3-0 run of its own to knot the set at 11. The Tigers again surged ahead with a 2-0 run before a long rally ended in the Racers favor. Like the match at Austin Peay, MSU then staved off two match-points, but could not hold off the third and the Tigers earned the 16-14 set and match victory.
“We saw a much better fifth set today,” said Schwepker. “When you're battling back and fourth someone is going to win and someone is going to lose. Today we had two teams that were playing well and you can't ask for a better fifth set.”
Like Friday's match blocking seemed to be a key factor in the victory as TSU out-blocked MSU 10-5. Besides service aces, blocking was the only statistical category that the Tigers had an advantage in, as the Racers out-hit TSU .272 (66k-16e-184ta) to .187 (67k-30e-198ta) and had 91 digs to the Tigers 82.
“It came down to blocking today,” said Schwepker. “We out-hit them, but we didn't do what we needed to do at the net to win.”
MSU will remain on the road for the next two matches. The Racers travel to
Notes: This was the second time this season that MSU has played two five-set matches in a row and the fifth overall...the Racers are now 3-2 in five-set matches...MSU's .272 hitting percentage was the best mark so far in 2008 for the Racers.
Quotes
Head Coach David Schwepker
“This team needs to start playing better in the first and second sets. I think that the team chemistry isn't where it needs to be right now and we need to work on that to help the intensity in the opening sets.
