Racers Headed to Bearcat Invitational

The Murray State volleyball team remains on the road for the second-of-four straight weeks to open the 2010 season, as it travels to Cincinnati, Ohio to participate in the Bearcat Invitational hosted by Cincinnati. The Racers (0-4) will open the tournament against James Madison, Friday, Sep. 3 at 4 p.m. in Fifth Third Arena. Saturday's matches include Kent State (9 a.m.) and the host Bearcats (6:30 p.m.).

Scouting James Madison
The Dukes opened the 2010 season on a strong note, winning their own tournament (JMU Coca-Cola Classic). JMU went 3-0, winning all three matches in three sets, and hit .302 as a team while holding its opponents to a .092 mark.

Danielle Erb had an outstanding opening weekend, hitting .462 and recording 49 kills. Kelly Turner also turned in a strong performance for the Dukes, hitting .317. Jessica Zeroual was a strong defensive player at the net, tallying eight blocks, including five block solos.

The Series
The Racers and JMU have met on one previous occasion, at JMU/Days Inn Invitational in 2008. MSU came home with a 3-2 victory on the Dukes court.

Then-sophomore Ashley Nenninger tallied a team-best 26 kills, four blocks and a .500 (16k-3e-28ta) hitting percentage in the match, while Logan Su added 12 kills and three blocks.

JMU has three players back on the 2010 squad that saw action against the Racers. Lindsay Callahan garnered a .256 hitting percentage on 17k-7e-39ta. Kelly Turner added six kills, with Jessica Zeroual contributing three kills.

A key to victory for MSU was blocking, as the Racers out-blocked the Dukes 10-1.

Scouting Kent State
The Golden Flashes come to Cincinnati with a 3-1 record after participating in the Spartan Classic hosted by Norfolk State last weekend. Blocking was the key to success for KSU, with the team averaging 2.2 blocks per set, but also allowing 1.3 by their opponents. Serving also became a key focus, as the Golden Flashes landed 1.9 service aces per set.

KSU has three main hitters, in Liva Brivule, Maigan Larsen and Meredity Paskert. Brivule leads the team in kills (39), hitting percentage (.313) and blocks (15). Larsen in close behind her with 34 kills and a .250 hitting attack, while also adding 40 digs. Paskert has tallied 30 kills and a .284 hitting percentage. Zuzana Markova is the team's setter, with 112 assists and is also second on the team in blocks (10).

The Series
MSU and KSU have met on one previous occasion, with the Racers earning a 3-2 victory at Kent State, Sep. 8, 2006.

Scouting Cincinnati
The Bearcats are 3-1 after going 2-1 at the Aztec Invitational, hosted by San Diego State, and winning a match against UC Santa Barbara Monday night. Cincinnati is a strong overall team, with a .300 hitting percentage and averaging 2.8 blocks per set. The Bearcats are allowing their opponents to hit .225 and garner 1.6 blocks per set.

Cincinnati has four hitters, but two that see the majority of the sets. Stephanie Niemer and Misy Harpenau have both attempted over 100 attacks. Niemer has a .358 attack percentage and leads the team with 54 kills. Refenes is hitting .168, with 36 kills. The other two main hitters are Jordanne Scott and Becca Refenes. Scott has tallied 38 kills, while Refenes has 29 on the season. Refenes is also the team's blocking leader with 21 (3-18).

The Series
The Bearcats currently own a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series with MSU. The last meeting occurred Sep. 10, 1999 on a neutral court.

Doubling-Down
SeniorBecca Lamb was a consistent performer for the Racers in the Wyoming Invite. The Highland, Ill., native garnered two double-doubles over the weekend. Her first came against Northern Arizona when she tallied 10 kills and 11 digs. She added her second of the season a day later against the host Cowgirls, with 12 kills and a career-best 15 digs. Lamb tallied 32 kills and a .256 hitting percentage over the four-match tournament.

Guo Garnering Honors
Junior Xiao Yu "Jade" Guo was the first MSU player to pick up an award this season when she was named to the Wyoming Invite All-Tournament Team. The DaTong, Shanxi, China native contributed 118 assists, a team-best .293 (24k-7e-58ta) hitting percentage, team-high eight blocks (2-6) and 29 digs over the course of the four-match tournament.

Picking Up Where They Left Off
The Murray State volleyball team finished the 2009 season in the semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conference Championship and ended the regular season in fourth place. To start the 2010 season, the league's coaches and sports information directors have chosen the Racers to finish third in the conference.

MSU also had three members on the 2009 All-OVC Second Team - Jade Guo, Becca Lamb and Kayleah Sauer. Sauer also earned the distinction as the 2009 OVC Defensive Player of the Year. All three have again been recognized by their peers as members of the 2010 Preseason All-OVC Team.

Same Home New Look
Racer Arena has been the home for Racer volleyball since 1954 and has been a volleyball only facility since the basketball teams moved into the Regional Special Events Center in 1998. Over the past two years the athletic department has made it a priority to give Racer Arena an upgrade. In 2009 the old scoreboard in the center of the gym was removed and replaced with new scoreboards on each end of the gym. Banners representing all OVC teams were also hung from the rafters and the press box area was repainted. This season fans will see even more improvements as the Sport Court has been replaced with a new wooden floor.

“We are very excited about the new look for Racer Arena,” Schwepker said. “You can really tell that it is Murray State's volleyball facility and I think that it is going to add excitement to our home matches.”

“Now the goal is to keep it an undefeated floor for as long as possible,” added Schwepker.

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