Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Eastern Kentucky
Racers Capture Victory Over Eastern Kentucky in First Home Match of 2008
9/26/2008 5:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
In its first match in Racer Arena for the 2008 campaign, the
“Overall we played well for our first home match of the year,” said head coach David Schwepker. “Your first home match the team is always nervous because they want to do well in front of the home crowd.”
The Racers (5-7, 2-1 OVC) came out a little flat in the opening set, but quickly recovered and continued to push the momentum of the match through each set. MSU was led by sophomore Sara Hayden, who tallied 13 kills on 19 attempts and only one error for a .632 hitting percentage.
Senior Alison Mugler also garnered double-digits in the kills column for the Racers, with 11. The
MSU also saw double-double performances from junior Cassie Chesney (13 assists-10 digs) and freshman Jade Guo (30 assists-12 digs).
The Racers were also strong defensively, tallying 11 total team blocks, including a career-high eight from sophomore Ashley Nenninger. Freshman Kayleah Sauer came up with 20 digs for MSU, as one of four players in double-digits in the column.
“I would have never guessed that we had that many blocks tonight,” Schwepker said. “Because at the beginning of the match when we were frustrated we didn't have a good block.”
The first set started off close, with no team leading by more than two points and included nine tie scores. The Colonels (2-11, 1-3 OVC) then started a 6-1 run with the set knotted at 13 to take an 18-14 advantage. The Racers mounted a come-back but, were only able to pull within one point (19-20) before EKU ended the set with a 5-2 run to claim the first win.
The second set started out the same as the first, with the two teams trading serves for the first 14 points. The Colonel's Abby O'Connor then recorded a service error to spark a 4-1 run by MSU to earn the led for the remainder of the set. EKU managed to get within one three times during the remaining 28 points, but the Racers always responded with to regain the momentum.
After the 10 minute break the Colonels emerged from the lockerroom with renewed energy and pulled out to an early 6-3 advantage. EKU padded the lead to five (14-9) before MSU started a come-back of its own. Nenninger sparked a 5-0 run to tie the score at 14. The Colonels then pushed the lead back to three (17-14), before MSU pushed back to tie the set at 19. Chesney then served seven-straight times to help the Racers end the set on a 9-0 run.
Despite a 2-0 run by EKU to start the final set, MSU took control early and never looked back. The Racers used strong serving and a well balanced attack to earn the victory. MSU saw three kills in the final set from five players.
The Racers hit a season-high .249 (58k-16e-169ta) in the match, while holding the Colonels to .140 (53k-28e-179ta). MSU also held a key advantage in the blocks column with 11 total team blocks to EKU's six.
The Racers will continue their three-match home stand Saturday against conference leader,
Notes: The Racers did not tally a single reception error for the second match in-a-row...MSU set season highs in the kills column (58), assists (53), and hitting percentage (.249)...sophomore Becca Lamb tallied a career-high four blocks and four assists.
Quotes
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“We really needed to learn to work around a block and blocking after our first conference match at UT Martin and I am pleased to see that what we have been working on in practice all week is paying off.”
