Racers Fall to Virginia in First Match of 2008 Campaign

Friday, August 29

Harrisonburg, Va.

4 p.m.

Murray State

Virginia

Racers Fall to Virginia in First Match of 2008 Campaign

8/29/2008 5:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

The Murray State volleyball team officially opened the 2008 season with a 3-0 (17-25, 19-25, 15-25) loss to Virginia at the James Madison/Days Inn Invitational in Harrisonburg, Va.

The Racers were led by sophomore Sara Hayden. The Louisville, Ky., native recorded eight kills and three blocks while tallying a .429 (8k-2e-14ta) hitting percentage. Freshman Mary Cunningham also turned in a strong performance in her first match at MSU, garnering a .444 (4k-0e-9ta) hitting percentage and adding a block.

Defensively seniors Heather Norris and Alison Mugler led the team with 15 and 12 digs, respectively.

In the first set, with the new NCAA rule changes that have sets being played to 25, both teams started off trading points until the Cavaliers went on a five-point run with the set tied at three. The Racers fought back to get within two (11-13), but Virginia did not let them get any closer the remainder of the set and pushed its lead to as many as 10 points.

Set two started close until MSU used a four-point run at a 5-5 tie to take the lead. The Cavaliers rallied back to get within one (13-12) before the Racers pushed the advantage back to four points. Virginia could not be stopped though, as they rallied with a 12-2 run to end the set with a 25-19 win.

The third set started out close until the Cavaliers started an 8-3 run to take a 12-6 advantage with a kills by Shannon Davis. The run kept the advantage on the Virginia side of the court, with the Cavaliers leading by as many as 11 points the remainder of the match.

MSU struggled with hitting and service errors throughout the match, while Virginia saw consistent attacking. The Racers ended the match with a .122 hitting percentage to the Cavaliers .306. MSU continued to improve its attack percentage throughout the match, but ended the day with 17 attack errors to Virginia's nine.

Next up for MSU will be a match against tournament host James Madison, Saturday, Aug. 30 at 11 a.m. The Racers will then face New Hampshire to conclude tournament action at 4 p.m.