Panthers Try to Scare Racers In Murray State?s 3-2 Win

Saturday, October 31

Charleston, Ill.

2 p.m.

Murray State

Eastern Illinois

Panthers Try to Scare Racers In Murray State?s 3-2 Win

10/31/2009 9:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

In a weekend of firsts the Murray State volleyball team claimed its second road win of the year and first five-set win over Eastern Illinois by a 3-2 (14-25, 22-25, 25-12, 25-23, 15-10) count. The Racers are now 8-16 overall and 8-6 in the Ohio Valley Conference. The victory also pushed MSU into a tie with Tennessee Tech for fourth place in the OVC standings heading into the final two weeks of the regular season.

“We have been working on attitude since we lost to Jacksonville State,” said head coach David Schwepker. “Today that finally started to show. Even though we lost the first two we were able to push through and win the match.”

The Racers were led by junior Sara Hayden, who not only recorded the most block assists in a match in MSU history (10), but also became just the eighth Racer player to tally over 200 total career blocks. Hayden also added a .269 (9k-2e-26ta) hitting percentage, one service ace and one dig. Junior Ashley Nenninger led the team with 17 kills; with sophomore Kayleah Sauer leading the way with 25. Freshman Lydia Orf added 18, junior Becca Lamb tallied a career-best 14 and senior Cassie Chesney added a season-high 13.

The opening point of the match stage for a long defensive battle, taking over six trips across the net before the point went in favor of the Racers. The teams then traded small runs that forced several ties before either team could take a lead larger than two points. The Panthers were the first to take control after the final tie of the set at 12, with a 4-0 run. EIU kept the momentum in their favor and allowed MSU to tally just two more points during the set on its way to a 25-14 win.

The second set was again a back-and-forth battle for control. The Panthers took the first two-point advantage and held it until the Racers tied the set at 10. Then it was the Racers turn to take the lead and held a one to three-point advantage until EIU tied the set at 20 and pushed ahead, 23-20, with a 6-0 run. MSU went on a 2-0 run to cut the lead to one, but the Panthers took a two set lead into the intermission after claiming the 25-22 win.

The third set opened like the first two, with ties at one and two, but the Racers took over and went on a 6-0 run to take their first large lead of the match. It was almost all MSU after that, with the Racers pushing the tempo and increasing their lead to as many as 12 (17-5) through the set. MSU allowed the Panthers to get on a roll just once during the match, with their longest run being 3-0. The Racers pushed through for the 25-12 win, with Sauer earning the last two points on two-straight service aces.

EIU started the fourth set with a 2-0 run, but MSU responded quickly with a 5-0 run of their own. The Panthers rebounded with a 4-2 run to tie the set at seven before the Racers went ahead by four. EIU again tied the set at 12, and 16, before MSU went on a 5-0 run to take a 21-16 advantage. The run included several blocks for the Racers. The Panthers kept pushing and went on a 7-2 run to tie the set at 23, but a kill from Su got MSU to set-point and an error by EIU gave the Racers the 25-23 win and forced the fifth-and-deciding set.

MSU came out strong at the beginning of the fifth set. The Racers took a 4-1 lead then allowed the Panthers to get back in with a 3-1 run that cut the lead to one (5-4). MSU regained the momentum and had an 8-5 lead at the side switch. The brief stop in play seemed to benefit EIU, as they came back to tie the set at eight and gain their first lead of the set, 9-8, with a 4-0 run. The Racer retook control of the match and never looked back, claiming the win with a 6-1 run.

“We talked to the team about the attitude that we need to have if we want to become champions between sets two and three,” said Schwepker. “That is what I wanted to see and I was so proud of them because they chose to be champions today and it has always been within their ability.”

Blocking became a key to victory as the Racers out-blocked EIU nine to five in the final three sets after being out-blocked eight to three in the first two. The total could have been higher for MSU, as several of their blocks were dug up by the Panthers, contributing to the 170 total digs by both teams in the match.

The Racers have one more road match before returning to Racer Arena for their final two home matches of the 2009 campaign. MSU travels to UT Martin, Thursday, Nov. 5 for a 7 p.m. match-up with the Skyhawks in Skyhawk Fieldhouse.

Notes: Junior Sara Hayden Hayden now was 209 total blocks, including 43 block solos and 167 block assists…sophomore Kayleah Sauer

Quotes
Head Coach David Schwepker
“We weren't going to accept making a come-back and losing in the fifth set today. Even though it was close we did some great things to make sure that we won. I am happier with this win than I am with yesterday's win over SEMO because of the change in attitude.”

“Everyone seems to be learning their roles and that is the change in the defense we have on the court. With everyone in again and Becca Lamb playing all-around it took a while for everyone to learn their roles and that had been the difference in the last few matches.”
tallied a career-best three service aces in the match, including two straight to end the third set for MSU.