Volleyball Heads Out for OVC Openers

The Murray State volleyball team will remain on the road for one more week, as they prepare for the first games of the Ohio Valley Conference portion of the season. The Racers will face SIU Edwardsville (Friday, Sep. 16), Eastern Illinois (Saturday, Sep. 17) and Southeast Missouri (Tuesday, Sep. 20) in the fist week of OVC play.

Match Notes

Scouting SIU Edwardsville
The Cougars will be facing MSU as their first official OVC opponent. SIUE is playing a full regular-season schedule in the OVC for the first time this season, but they are still not eligible for post-season play. The Cougars are 5-6 and have lost their last two matches.

SIUE uses five hitters, who all have over 200 attempts this year. Cori Harris leads the team with 270 attempts, with 82 kills, 19 service aces,103 digs and a .141 hitting percentage. Kelsey Augustine is the team's hitting leader, with a .257 (81k-28e-206ta)percentage. She also contributes 12 service aces and 16 (3-13) blocks. The team's setter, Sammi Minton, has tallied 13 service aces and added 13 (2-11) blocks.

The Cougars are hitting .195 (546k-246e-1538ta) on the year and allowing their opponents to hit .204 (519k-218e-1472ta). As a team they are tallying 1.8 service aces per set and allowing 1.0.

The Series
This will be just the fourth meeting between the Racers and SIUE, with MSU holding a 3-0 advantage in the all-time series. The match will also be just the second played in the Vadalabene Center.

Scouting Eastern Illinois
The Panthers are 2-8 after dropping their last six matches. Before they face the Racers, EIU will open OVC action against SEMO, Friday, Sep. 16.

The Panthers are hitting .130 as a team this year, with only three players hitting over .300 (with only 40-60 attempts each). EIU has two go-to hitters (over 250 attempts), with three more getting over 100 attempts. Katie Kirby is the main hitter for the team, with 302 attempts and 89 kills, but she has a .096 hitting percentage. Kirby also adds 11 service aces and 55 digs. Emily Franklin is the other key hitter, with a .108 (91k-62e-269ta) hitting percentage. Franklin also leads the team with 14 service aces and adds 74 digs and 11 (2-9) blocks. Chrissie Albers, the teams setter, leads the Panthers with 15 (2-13) blocks.

EIU trails its opponents in all statistical categories, with the biggest differences in hitting percentage (.130 to .254) and blocks (1.4 to 2.5).

The Series
While the Panthers own a 21-13 advantage in the all-time series, the Racers have been the victors in nine of the last 10 meetings. This will be the 18th meeting in Charleston, Ill., with EIU holding an 11-6 lead at Lantz Arena.

Scouting Southeast Missouri
The Redhawks are currently 2-9 and will face both SIUE and EIU this weekend before their match with the Racers. SEMO has two common opponents with MSU this season, with both teams losing to Memphis and Evansville.

The Redhawks spread out their hitting, with eight players seeing over 100 attempts, but two have attempting over 200 attacks. Brittney Kalinoski is the go-to hitter for SEMO, with 349 attempts and a .146 (107k-56e-349ta) hitting percentage. She also adds 11 service aces and 10 (1-9) blocks. Karlee Lursen is the other main hitter, with a .083 (58k-40e-218ta) attack percentage. Emily Coon is the most accurate hitter, with a.252 (67k-27e-159ta) hitting percentages and 26 (7-19) blocks.

The Redhawks trail their opponents in all areas of the box score, with the biggest disadvantages in hitting (.159 to .248) and kills (11.7 to 14.2).

The Series
The Redhawks own a 42-18 advantage in the all-time series, but MSU has been working hard to change the momentum in the series, winning eight of the last 10 and the last four matches. SEMO holds a 21-7 lead when playing in Houck Fieldhouse, but the Racers have earned the win in the last two meetings in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

All-Tournament Honors
Senior Teresa Krog earned her second-straight all-tournament honors at the Saluki Invitational. The Elgin, Ill., native tallied a .219 (32k-11e-96ta) hitting percentage and added seven digs and a service ace.

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 399-461-1 mark.

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 135 block assists, moving her into 10th on the career block assist charts at MSU. She needs 13 more to take over ninth (148-Ashley Nenninger).

Fellow senior Kayleah Sauer is already on the Racers career digs list, currently in third place (1,804) after the first weekend of play. Sauer is 190 from second held by Kim Koehler (1,994) and 321 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 90 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., native has recorded 652 digs and needs 348 to become the 14th member of the club.

Up Next
The Racers will return home for the first weekend of OVC action in Racer Arena when they host Tennessee Tech (Friday, Sep. 23) and Jacksonville State (Saturday, Sep. 24).

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