Racers Fall in Close Match with Morehead State

Saturday, September 27

Racer Arena

2 p.m.

Murray State

Morehead State

9/27/2008 5:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

The Murray State volleyball team fell to Ohio Valley Conference leader Morehead State 1-3 (22-25, 25-23, 22-24, 27-29) in the second match of a three match home-stand in Racer Arena.

The Racers (5-8, 2-2 OVC) were led by sophomore Sara Hayden for the third-straight match. The Lousiville, Ky., native garnered a .419 hitting percentage on 15 kills, one error, and 31 total attempts. Hayden also added four block assists to help MSU tally double-digits in total blocks for the second match in a row.

“Sara is playing very well for us,” said head coach David Schwepker. “She has been very stable and is hitting smart.”

Freshman Jade Guo earned her second-straight double-double with 39 assists and 14 digs. The DaTong, Shanxi, China, native was only one kill shy of a triple-double as she tallied nine kills for the Racers.

Defensively MSU had four players in double-digits in the digs column, with freshman Kayleah Sauer coming away with a team-high 18. Senior Alison Mugler added 15 digs to her career totals and is now just 20 away from claiming the No. 5 spot on the Racers all-time dig list.

The opening set was tight with 11 tie scores, until the Eagles (14-2, 5-0 OVC) pulled away for good with the set tied at 15. Morehead State started a 6-0 run to take the final lead of the set. MSU didn't let the Eagles off easy though, as they roared back from a five-point deficit to force five set-points before Morehead State earned the 25-22 win on a hill by Holly Evans.

The Eagles tried to change the momentum in the second set, jumping out to a 3-1 advantage before the Racers tied the set at three. The teams then battled back and forth with Morehead State holding the lead for most of the set, until MSU tied it at 23 and used a 4-0 run to earn the 25-23 win. The final three points of the set for the Racers came from three blocks from freshmen Logan Su, Guo, and sophomore Ashley Nenninger

MSU didn't let the 10 minute intermission cool them off, as it pulled away with a 9-2 run to open the third set, including a 5-0 run at the start of the set. The Eagles couldn't be silenced though, as they battled back to tie the set at 18. The two teams then battled back and forth for the next six points before Morehead State started a 4-1 run on a kill from Katelyn Barbour to earn the key set victory.

The teams then battled back and forth for the advantage in the fourth set, with the Racers holding a slight advantage early. The Eagles then tied the set at 15 before taking the lead for the remainder of the match. Morehead State built its lead to as many as five, 19-24, before MSU started a 5-0 run to force extra points and tie the set at 24. The Racers could not get the momentum in their favor though, and the Eagles earned the set and match victory, 29-27.

The difference in the match seemed to be kills and digs, as Morehead State tallied 68 kills to MSU's 55 and garnered eight more digs (86-78) than the Racers.

MSU will remain at home for one more non-conference match before hitting the road for two conference matches next weekend. The Racers host Southern Illinois, Tuesday, Sep. 30 in Racer Arena at 7 p.m.

“Southern Illinois has a huge block so it will be a lot of good practice for us for the rest of the conference season,” added Schwepker.

Notes: Mugler is now seven kills closer to the 1,000 Kill Club and needs just 11 more to earn the honor...MSU hit above .200 for the third-straight match and improved its season hitting percentage to .183 on the season and .221 in conference play.

Quotes

Head Coach David Schwepker

“I thought that we had a lot of good blocks tonight. We have been working on that a lot in practice and it is nice to see it starting to show.”