Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Kentucky
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Racers fall to No. 18 Kentucky and UIC in the first day of the adidas Classic
9/4/2009 4:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
The Murray State volleyball team opened the adidas Classic with a 0-3 (24-26, 15-25, 20-25) loss to No. 18 Kentucky. The second match of the day saw the Racers (0-5) fall, 1-3 (15-25, 22-25, 25-16, 18-15), to Illinois-Chicago at University Gym in Bloomington, Ind.
Sophomore Mary Cunningham led the MSU against the Flames (2-3) with a career-high .412 (8k-1e-17ta) hitting percentage and a career-best four total blocks (1-3). Junior Ashley Nenninger recorded a team-high 10 kills and added two blocks of her own.
“We had opportunities today to win, but things just didn't go our way,” said head coach David Schwepker. “We have improved in some areas, especially blocking, but there are still skills that we need to work to prepare for the conference season.”
At the beginning of the first set it looked like it was going to be a tight battle. The Racers and the Flames traded points through the first 22 points, including nine tie scores. The final tie of the set came at 11. UIC then took control and pushed ahead 14-11. MSU tried to fight back, but the Flames only allowed the Racers to score four points the rest of the set and earned the 25-15 win.
At the start of the second set the Racer seemed to rebound and earned a 6-2 advantage before the Flames went on a 7-0 run to take a 9-6 lead. MSU kept fighting and cut the lead to one before UIC again pushed the lead out to four points (12-9). The Racers again mounted a come-back with a 7-4 run to tie the set at 16. However, the Flames would not allow MSU to gain an advantage and quickly went on an 8-2 run to take a 24-18 advantage. The Racers then held off four set-points, with kills from four different players, but UIC claimed the 25-22 win.
MSU took the momentum from the end of the second set and used it in the third to take the lead right from the start. The Racers earned the first two points and despite one tie, never let the Flames get closer than one point the rest of the set. With the scoreboard reading 10-9, in favor of MSU, the Racers extended their lead to eight points with an 8-1 run. The push was started by juniors Sara Hayden and Nenninger when they combined for a block. Hayden then added two service aces and Nenninger tallied two kills during the run. UIC tried to close the gap with a 3-0 run, but MSU ended the set with a 7-3 run to take the 25-16 win.
UIC earned the first and final advantage in the fourth set, opening the set with an 9-3 lead. MSU pushed back with a 4-1 run to cut the lead to three points, on two blocks and a kills from Cunningham. But the Flames kept pushing and earned a six-point lead (15-9). The teams then traded the next eight serves before UIC ended the match with an 8-4 run for the 25-18 win.
Like the first match of the day, blocking was a key for the Racers, as they out-blocked the Flames 8-6. MSU also earned an advantage at the service line recording six aces to UIC's three and committing just three service errors to 10 by the Flames.
In the first match against No. 18 Kentucky, the Racers were led offensively by juniors Ashley Nenninger and Becca Lamb and sophomore Mary Cunningham. Nenninger tallied a .286 (5k-1e-14ta) hitting percentage, while adding two block solos. Lamb led the team with eight kills and added three digs and two blocks. Cunningham contributed seven kills and added a career-high four blocks.
Defensively, sophomore Kayleah Sauer recorded 13 digs, while her sister BriAnne tallied seven for Kentucky.
While the Wildcats came into the weekend ranked No. 18 in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, the Racers were not imitated and forced the first set into extra points. With the score tied at two UK took their first lead of the set with a 6-1 run. MSU then strung together a 3-0 run of its own to cut the advantage to two points. The score remained close, with both teams trading several 3-0 runs. The Wildcats then pushed the lead out to four points (14-18), but the Racers fought back and tied the set at 20 with a 6-2 run. The serve then toggled between the teams with tied at 21, 22, 23 and 24. The Wildcats earned the win with a block and a MSU error.
In the second set UK pulled ahead early with a 3-6 advantage. The Racers then tied the set at seven with a 4-1 run, but saw the Wildcats pushed back out to a two-point advantage. UK pulled ahead for good with a 5-1 run to give the team a 10-15 advantage. For the rest of the set UK lead by at least three points, but used a 6-0 run at the end to earn the 15-25 win.
The Wildcats continued their run into the third set, opening with a 4-0 lead. UK pushed the advantage out to seven points (3-10). MSU cut the lead to four, but the Wildcats pulled ahead again with a 5-0 run to go up 9-18. The Racers didn't back down and put together a 9-2 run to cut the lead to four (17-21). During the run MSU knocked down three Wildcat attacks. The run was not enough though, as UK earned a 25-20 win.
While the Racers hit .105 for the match, they recorded nine total team blocks against a Wildcat team that had allowed just 12 total team blocks in three matches last weekend.
MSU will end the adidas Classic against host Indiana, Saturday, Sep. 5 at 11 a.m. (CST) at University Gym.
Notes: Four of MSU's nine total team blocks against UK came in the first set of the match...red-shirt freshman Cassy Woolverton earned her first playing time against UIC…she tallied seven kills, one service ace, one dig and one block.
