Racers Lose Close Match to Xavier to Start the 2009 Season

Friday, August 28

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

5 p.m.

Murray State

Xavier

Racers Lose Close Match to Xavier to Start the 2009 Season

8/29/2009 1:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

The Murray State volleyball team opened up the 2009 campaign with a tough 3-2 (25-21, 26-24, 14-25, 23-25, 12-15) loss to Xavier in the opening match of the Middle Tennessee State Invitational in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

The Racers (0-1) took an early 2-0 lead in the fifth set before the Musketeers (1-0) tied the set at two. The teams then traded serves for the next10 points before Xavier took the 8-7 advantage into the side switch. The Musketeers then took control with a 5-1 run to take a 13-8 advantage. The Racers continued to battled and pulled within two, with a 4-1 run, before Xavier put the match away, 15-12.

“I'm not happy we lost, but it definitely lets us know where we are as a team and what we need to work on,” said head coach David Schwepker. “The skills that we need to work on are things that we can change and that is what we will do the rest of the weekend.”

After starting out the first set down 2-0, the Racers battled back to tie the set at three and then started a back-and-forth battle for the lead over the next six points. With the score tied a nine, Murray State then went on a 4-0 run to take the lead in the set for good. The run was sparked by great defense and a block solo by junior Becca Lamb. Xavier continued to fight through the set, but couldn't get closer than one point before the Racers earned the 25-21 win.

MSU took the momentum that they had gained at the end of the first set into the second, pushing out to an early 5-0 lead. The Racers continued to push and kept at least a two-point cushion until Xavier started a 5-0 run to tie the set at 16 and take its first advantage of the set (17-16). MSU quickly tied the set at 17, but a 3-0 run gave the Musketeers a 20-17 advantage. Xavier pushed the lead out to three points (23-20) before the Racers got back on track and used a 4-0 run to take a 24-23 lead. The Musketeers then earned the next point and forced the set into extra-points. Junior Ashley Nenninger then sent a shot down the line after a defensive save by Mary Cunningham allowed play to continue. Cunningham then ended the set on the next serve with a kill right in the middle of the court.

Xavier and MSU renewed the back-and-forth battle for control at the beginning of the third set before the Musketeers took control for good after a 10-all tie. Xavier kept pushing and earned a 25-14 win.

The Musketeers again pulled out to an early 5-2 advantage in the fourth set before the Racers tied the set at five and took a quick 6-5 lead. Xavier then pushed the momentum and was able to gain a 21-16 advantage with several runs. MSU would not go down without a fight and used a 5-0 run to tie the set at 21 before the Musketeers took control for good and forced a fifth-and-deciding set.

The Racers were led by Cunningham who tallied a .280 (10k-3e-25ta) hitting percentage. Junior Sara Hayden was also strong for MSU with a .200 (10k-5e-25ta) attack percentage and two service aces, while Nenninger led the team with 14 kills. Defensively sophomore Kayleah Sauer and freshman Lydia Orf were strong with 17 and 10 digs, respectively.

The Racers will play tournament host, Middle Tennessee State, Saturday at 1 p.m. and end the weekend with a match against Kansas at 5 p.m. in Alumni Memorial Gym.

"I'm not happy we lost, but it definitely lets us know where we are as a team and what we need to work on," said head coach David Schwepker. "The skills that we need to work on are things that we can change and that is what we will do the rest of the weekend."