Racers Fall to Valparaiso in Three Sets

Friday, September 11

Carbondale, Ill.

5 p.m.

Murray State

Valparaiso

9/11/2009 11:15:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

The Murray State volleyball team opened the 30th Annual Saluki Invitational with a loss to Valparaiso, 0-3 (14-25, 16-25, 17-25) in Davies Gym.

The Racers (0-7) were led by junior Ashley Nenninger, who tallied a season-high 11 kills and hit .200 (11k-5e-30ta). The Marble Hill, Mo., native also added five digs and three blocks. Junior Sara Hayden tallied a team-high four blocks and placed her name on the MSU all-time block list in the No. 10 position. The Louisville, Ky., native came into the match needing four blocks to make the list and now has 143 total blocks and is tied with Trena Fish. Hayden will need 28 more blocks to move into the No. 9 spot held by Melisa Webster (170).

Defensively, sophomore Kayleah Sauer led the match with a season-high 18 digs, while adding a service ace.

The Crusaders (4-3) opened the first set with a 7-2 lead, with several points turning into long rallies. The Racers then started to fight back and cut the advantage to two points (5-7) with a 3-0 run. Valpo responded with a 7-2 run of its own to push the lead out to seven points. The rest of the set the teams battled back-and-forth, but the Crusaders lead was too much to overtake and they earned the 14-25 win.

Valpo kept the momentum on their side at the start of the second set, taking a 5-0 advantage. MSU then got on the scoreboard with a 3-0 run of its own to cut the lead to two points. That was as close as the Crusaders allowed the Racers to get, as they quickly built their lead back out to seven points and held it between five and seven for most of the set. MSU did mount a come-back in the middle of the set, as they used a 3-0 run to make the score 9-12, but Valpo took a 16-25 win and a 2-0 lead into the intermission.

Like the first two sets, the Crusaders opened with a 3-0 lead before the Racers got on the scoreboard. With the score reading 4-2, in favor of Valpo, MSU started a 4-0 run to take its first lead of the match (6-5). The teams then traded the next four serves before the Crusaders tied the set at eight. The back-and-forth battle resumed again with ties at nine and 10 before Valpo took control of the momentum for good and used a 10-1 run to earn the final advantage of the set. The Crusaders then pushed ahead to earn the 25-17 victory.

The Racers continue the 30th Annual Saluki Invitational, Saturday, Sep. 12 with matches against host Southern Illinois at noon and Alabama-Birmingham at 5 p.m. MSU will then head home to get ready to host its first home match of the 2009 campaign. The Racers will play host to Ohio Valley Conference rivals Morehead State (Sep. 18 at 7 p.m.) and Eastern Kentucky (Sep. 19 at 2 p.m.) in Racer Arena.