Racers Set to Open 2011 Campaign at Belmont Invitational

Friday, August 26

Nashville, Tenn.

6:30 PM

Murray State

Belmont

Racers Set to Open 2011 Campaign at Belmont Invitational

8/24/2011 2:16:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

The Murray State volleyball team will begin the 2011 campaign at the Belmont Invitational in Nashville, Tenn. The Racers will be joined in the tournament field by Sacramento State and Western Kentucky. MSU's first match is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Friday, Aug. 26 vs. the host Bruins at the Curb Event Center. The Racers also play Sacramento State and Western Kentucky, Saturday, Aug. 27 at 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., respectively.

Notes (pdf)
2011 Volleyball Media Guide

Scouting Belmont
The Bruins finished the 2010 campaign with a 14-15 overall record and a 7-3 mark in the Atlantic Sun. Belmont returns eight players, including four starters to the 2011 squad. The returners include the top two hitters and blockers from a season ago. The match will also have more significance for both teams as Belmont will be joining the Ohio Valley Conference for the 2012-13 season.

The Series
The Racers and the Bruins have meet on three previous occasions, with MSU earning the win in all three in Nashville. The last meetings was a 3-1 win for the Racers Sep. 5, 2008 at the Belmont Invitational. MSU is 4-3 against Atlantic Sun teams, having played against four.

Scouting Sacramento State
The Hornets were 15-17 in 2010, including an 8-8 Big Sky record. CSU returns 11 players from last year's roster, including their starters and libero.

The Series
This will be the first meeting between the Racers and the Hornets. It is also the first of four first meetings for MSU against opponents on the 2011 schedule. The Racers have played against three other teams from the Big Sky and have a 1-4 record against teams from the conference.

Scouting Western Kentucky
The Hilltoppers had a strong showing in 2010, advancing to the NCAA Tournament. WKU ended the year with a 27-9 record and a 14-2 mark in the Sun Belt. The Hilltoppers return 10 of their 12 players from a season ago, including five starters. The starting core returners all earned All-Sun Belt honors. The returning setter, Melanie Stutsman, earned Sun Belt Freshman of the Year honors as well as being an AVCA All-American pick.

The Series
This will be the 20th meeting between the Racers and the Hilltoppers, with WKU holding a 13-6 advantage in the all-time series. WKU has been the victor in the last three meetings, with the last MSU win coming Nov. 18, 1996. The Racers are 50-54 against nine teams in the Sun Belt heading into the 2011 campaign.

Six New Faces
MSU returns nine members of the 2010 squad and adds six new faces to the team. The top returners for the Racers are seniors Kayleah Sauer and Mary Cunningham and junior Lydia Orf. Sauer and Orf have been the key to the MSU defense for the past three seasons, accounting for 44 percent of the teams digs in 2010.

Of the six newcomers, the Racers added two junior-college setters, a freshman middle blocker, middle hitter, defensive specialist and outside hitter.

OVC Preseason Polls/Honors
In the annual OVC Preseason Poll the Racers were picked to finish the 2011 season in sixth after finishing 2010 in fourth. The poll also includes an All-OVC Preseason team, to which senior Kayleah Sauer was named. Sauer, the 2009 OVC Defensive Player of the Year, earned her preseason honors after finishing the 2010 campaign ranked No. 46 in the NCAA in digs per set (4.98) and No. 123 in service aces per set (0.32). Those numbers were also enough to rank her fourth in the OVC in digs and sixth in service aces.

Reaching for Milestones
When the MSU volleyball team steps onto the court this season they will be going for several milestones for both the team and for head coach David Schwepker. The teams first win will mark the 400th for the volleyball program in its 29 year history. The Racers currently have a 399-458-1 mark in the first 28 seasons of play.

MSU will also be aiming to reach three difference milestones for their head coach. Schwepker needs just one OVC win to reach his 125th, seven overall wins for his 200th career coaching win and 20 wins to reach his 200th win while at the helm of the Racers.

Moving Up in the Career Charts
Three of the MSU players are currently on or just shy of making career lists in at least one category this season. Senior Mary Cunningham currently has 129 block assists, with the top-10 list starting at 133 and going up to 337. Cunningham has averaged 43 block assists in her first three seasons.

Fellow senior Kayleah Sauer is already on the Racers career digs list, currently in fourth place (1,668). Sauer is 31 digs from taking over third from Allison Mugler (1,699), 326 from second held by Kim Koehler (1,994) and 457 from the top spot that belongs to Heather Norris (2,125). The Louisville, Ky., native has averaged 550 digs per season in her first three years. Sauer is also close to making a second top-10 list, service aces. She ended her last campaign with 84 career service aces and the top-10 list starts at 99 and goes up to 257.

Junior Lydia Orf is also making a push to join Sauer in the 1,000 Dig Club. The St. Charles, Mo., recorded 567 digs in her first two seasons and needs 433 to become the 14th member of the club.

Racers In the Season Openers
The match versus Belmont marks the start of the 29th season of Racers Volleyball. Since the 1983 campaign, MSU has gone 6-21-1 in season openers. The Racers have not won their first match of the season since Sep. 1, 2006, a streak of four seasons.

Up Next
The next tournament in the preseason for the Racers is in Valparaiso, Ind., at the Marriott Volley Brawl, Sep. 2-3. MSU will battle with host Valparaiso, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Evansville and Ball State.