Racers Fall in Five-Set Battle With Jacksonville State

Saturday, October 24

Racer Arena

2 p.m.

Murray State

Jacksonville State

Racers Fall in Five-Set Battle With Jacksonville State

10/24/2009 11:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

The Murray State volleyball team forced Jacksonville State to five sets, but fell to the undefeated leader in the Ohio Valley Conference standings, 3-2 (20-25, 25-23, 25-16, 18-25, 12-15), in Racer Arena. The loss snapped a three-match winning streak for the Racers (6-16, 6-6 OVC), who are currently fifth in the conference standings.

Junior Ashley Nenninger led a trio of hitters with over 10 kills each. The Marble Hill, Mo., native tallied 13 kills, while junior Sara Hayden added a season-high 12 and sophomore Mary Cunningham added a career-best 11. Hayden led the team with a .435 (12k-2e-23ta) hitting percentage and added five block assists.

Sophomore Kayleah Sauer recorded 29 digs as one of four players with double-digit dig totals for the day. Junior Cassie Chesney and freshman Lydia Orf each garnered 12 digs and junior Becca Lamb added a career-best 10.

“The team was really into the match today and fought hard,” said head coach David Schwepker. “That is what I expect to see from our team even if we don't end up winning the match.”

The Gamecocks (20-5, 13-0 OVC) opened the first set strong and took an early 7-4 advantage and never allowed the Racers to get even or take a lead the rest of the set. MSU continued to fight through the set, but was not able to get closer than a four-point deficit and JSU earned the 25-20 win.

The Racers then turned the tables in set two, jumping out to an early 3-0 lead and not allowing the Gamecocks to even the score until late. JSU forced a tie at 16, after trailing by as many as five points, with several two and three point runs. The teams then traded the next four points before the Gamecocks earned their first lead of the set (19-18) and pushed ahead to lead by three points (23-20). Hayden then landed a kill in the middle of the court that sparked MSU to rattle off five-straight points to earn the 25-23 win and tie the set at one win apiece heading into the intermission.

After the break the Racers continued the run with the first two points of the third set, but JSU fought back and forced a tie at three. The teams then traded two and three point runs to force a total of eight tie scores. The final knot on the scoreboard came at 12-12, with MSU being the team that was able to gain the advantage and hold on to it the rest of the set. The Racers used a 13-4 run to claim the 25-16 victory.

The start of the fourth set looked like it would be a continuation of the third, as MSU jumped out to an early 5-0 lead. That was when the Gamecocks took control of the set with a 10-0 run and never relented the advantage. The Racers continued to fight and cut the deficit to one point (17-18), but were not able to get the neutralizer and JSU went on to win the set 25-18 and force the fifth-and-deciding set.

“The 10-0 run really hurt us in the fourth set,” said Schwepker. “We were either not able to get the pass in or we were blocked. But we responded will and played strong again in the fifth set.”

The teams traded the first few points of the final set , but after a 3-3 tie the Gamecocks pushed ahead with a 6-0 run to take a 9-3 lead. JSU pulled ahead 14-10 and the Racers managed to hold off two match-points, but the Gamecocks ended the match with a block for the 15-12 win.

While the JSU earned the victory the Racers held advantages in every statistical category except kills, service aces and assists. MSU out-hit the Gamecocks .235 (58k-20e-162ta) to .226 (70k-26e-195ta) and out-blocked JSU 10 (1-18) to eight (2-12). However the Gamecocks recorded six service aces to three from the Racers.

“Jacksonville State is a good team and played hard today,” Schwepker said. “It was just one of those days when you look at the stats and we won on paper, but we just weren't able to pull it all together and earn the win.”

The match was also the final match of the Swinging To Eliminate Cancer fund raiser that MSU was holding this weekend. The teams combined for a total of 578 total attempts on the weekend and will have to wait to see what the final donation total will be after the attack attempt donations come in. The team have already raised over $1500 for the Ashley's Angles. The money will be donated to the Gesler Family of Murray. Ashley Gesler is the wife of Dave Gesler, a professor at Murray State. Ashley was diagnosed with cancer in April 2009.

MSU now returns to the road for three matches after its four-match home stand, starting with its first match against Southeast Missouri State this season. The Racers face the Redhawks, Friday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. in Cape Girardeau, Mo., and then travel to Charleston, Ill., to face Eastern Illinois at 2 p.m. Oct. 31. The final match of the road swing is Thursday, Nov. 5 at UT Martin.

Notes: Sara Hayden tallied 11 block assists this weekend and moved up to the No. 9 spot on the Racer Total Block list and the No. 6 position on the MSU Block Assist chart…the Louisville, Ky., native now has 195 total blocks, including 153 block assists and 42 block solos.