Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
South Florida
Racers Drop Two Close Matches at First Day of Crimson Tide Invitational
9/12/2008 5:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sophomore Sara Hayden led the team in kills for the day,
with 23. The
“This was definitely a huge improvement over last weekend,” said head coach David Schwepker. “I was very happy with the performance of our team today.”
Fellow senior Alison Mugler moved into the No. 6 position on
the Racer's career digs list during the match with Samford. The
The Racers are now 3-5 overall heading into the last
regular-season tournament match of the season.
MSU will face host
“It is still early in the season and we are still a little immature in how we play,” Schwepker said. “But I am very hopeful for how much we are going to continue to improve.”
The Racers were led by Hayden and sophomore Becca Lamb, who recorded 10 kills apiece. Hayden also added three blocks for MSU in the loss. Norris was the defensive leader with 14 digs.
In the first set the Racers jumped out to a 7-3 advantage on the scoreboard before the Bulls (5-3) used a 9-2 run to tie the set at nine. MSU then pushed its lead back out to three before the set got close again with tie scores at 15, 16, 17, and 19. The Racers earned a 22-20 advantage before USF rallied and used three blocks to spark a 5-1 run to earn the 25-23 victory.
MSU and the Bulls started the second set in a tight battle for the lead. The Racers did not allow USF to take a lead until Marcela Gurgel recorded one of her 26 kills to give the Bulls a 16-15 advantage. The set remained close and was tied at 18 when MSU went on a 3-0 run to take an 18-12 advantage. USF quickly rallied back with a 5-2 run to tie the set at 23 and then earned the final two points with a block solo from Nakia Williams and a kill by Allie Boez.
The final set was a back and forth battle, with USF leading by no more than two points. But MSU then started a 6-0 run to take a 12-8 lead off a kill by sophomore Ashley Nenninger. Freshman Kayleah Sauer kept the run alive by recording two-straight service aces. The advantage on the scoreboard was then retaken by the Bulls with a 6-2 run. The Racers tied the set at 19 and traded points for the next eight serves before USF claimed the final two points of the match to win the extra-point set 26-24.
Hayden led the way for MSU in the second match with 13 kills, five blocks, and three service aces. She was one of three Racer players in double digits in the kill's column; with freshman Teresa Krog tallying 11 and Nenninger added 12.
Freshman Jade Guo recorded her second double-double of the season with 46 assists and 10 digs. Four MSU players tallied double-digit digs, with Sauer at the top with 17. Norris added 16, Mugler garnered 15, and junior Cassie Chesney tallied 11 for the Racers.
Samford jumped out to an early 4-1 advantage in the first set and held on to the lead the entire way. MSU got within two points (2-4) but the Bulldogs started a 4-1 run to push ahead for good.
The Racers returned the favor in the second set, bounding out to an 8-1 lead that included MSU earning the first four points. Samford then fought back to pull within four points (10-6) before the Racers pushed the advantage back out to as many as seven (17-10). With the score at 19-15 in favor of MSU, the Bulldogs started a 7-2 run to tie the set at 22. The next eight points were volleyed back and forth before Mugler landed a kill and Samford's Sara Sears made an attack error to give the Racers the 28-26 victory.
The third set was much like the second, with MSU pushing out to an early 5-1 lead. The Racers were able to keep at least a three-point advantage and led by as many as nine (15-6) before the Bulldogs started a 7-0 run to tie the set at 17. MSU then went up by three points again before Samford battled back to tie the set at 24 and force the second extra-point set. With the set tied at 26, Lamb and Guo combined for two-straight kills to end the set with the 28-26 win.
The Racers started the fourth set with two-straight blocks by Hayden and Guo and went up 3-0 before the Bulldogs recovered and went on a 7-0 run to take the lead back for good. Samford led by six points (13-19), when MSU started a 6-1 run to get within one point (19-20) and force the Bulldogs to call a timeout. The set was then tied a 21 when Samford used a 4-1 to force the fifth and deciding set.
The momentum was in favor of the Bulldogs in the final set, as they jumped out to a 3-0 advantage and never looked back. The Racers got within two points (2-4) but Samford pushed harder and earned the 15-8 win to earn the 3-2 match victory.
Notes: This was the first match that MSU lost when it played more than three sets...the Racers are now 3-1 in four or five match sets...MSU's match with Alabama is the last non-conference match before the start of the OVC season...the Racers will have one more regular-season non-conference match against Southern Illinois this season...Krog tallied a career-high 11 kills against Samford, while Hayden's 13 were a season high...as a team MSU tallied a season-high 55 kills, 52 assists, and eight service aces against Samford.
Quotes
Head Coach David Schwepker
“ Sara Hayden was really solid for us today. Jade Guo was able to do a good job of getting her the ball, so those two working together helped our team a lot. Sara played very consistently today and got a lot of stuff done for us.”
“Hopefully we can come out tomorrow and do well so we can continue to learn and improve to get ready for the start of conference play on Tuesday.”
