Racers at Home against UTM and SEMO

Friday, October 11

Racer Arena

7 p.m.

Murray State

UT Martin

10/10/2013 10:02:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Match Notes | Live Stats vs. UTM | Live Stats vs. SEMO | Live Video vs. SEMO

Murray State finishes up its three-game homestand with back-to-back matches against UT Martin (8-12, 2-2 OVC) Friday and Southeast Missouri (9-9, 2-2 OVC) Saturday. The Racers have dropped a season-worst three straight games and are 1-3 in OVC play.

The Racers dropped their third consecutive OVC battle last Saturday to Morehead State. The loss marks the eighth straight defeat at the hands of the Eagles. Murray State kept each match close, and held a late lead in the first set, but couldn't hang on against OVC East leading Morehead State.

Midway through the first set, senior libero Katlyn Hudson notched her 1,000^th career dig. Hudson becomes the 15^th player in Racer history and second in as many years to accomplish the feat after Lydia Orf did so last season. Hudson leads the Racers with a career-best 288 digs and 4.06 digs per set.

Alyssa Lelm and Scottie Ingram both saw streaks of their own come to a close. For Lelm, it was the end of a nine-game double-digit kill streak and Ingram fell a kill shy of recording her seventh straight double-double. Ingram did keep alive her double-digit dig streak, which now stands at seven matches. She's also reach double-digits in 11 of the past 12 matches.

For the first time in 2013, Murray State did not have a single student-athlete reach double-digit kills. Their .048 hitting percentage was also a season low.

Murray State and UT Martin have met each year since 1991. The Racers hold a distinct 36-19 advantage in the series, including a 21-5 record in Murray. MSU has also gotten the better of the Skyhawks lately, winning 16 of the last 21 matches, dating back to 2003 and have not lost in Racer Arena since 2002.

UT Martin enters Racer Arena 8-12 despite losing their last eight nonconference matchups. The Skyhawks opened up OVC play 2-2 with wins over SIU Edwardsville and Southeast Missouri. This will be the Skyhawk's first OVC contest to take place on the road as they opened the conference scheduled with a four-game homestand.

The Skyhawks lead the OVC with 1,007 kills and are fourth with a 12.75 kill per set average. UT Martin's racked up over 400 kills from Emily Keaton (220) and Allie Whimpey (203). The Skyhaws also have four other student-athletes with over 100 kills.

Lynsey Hazelwood has been responsible for key points off the serve in 2013 with 0.39 per set. She leads the OVC and is ranked 64^th in the NCAA in the category.

The Redhawks come in on a two-game winning streak against the Racers and hold a 45-19 lead in the all-time series. Before last year, the Racers had won the last six meetings in Murray with their last home loss to SEMO coming in 2005. Since 2005, MSU has won 10 of the last 15 matches.

Southeast Missouri enters the match 2-2 in conference play with impressive wins over Jacksonville State and Eastern Illinois. The Redhawks handed the Gamecocks and the Panthers their only conferece loss to this point.

The Redbirds boast an impressive lineup with four athletes totaling more than 100 kills. Colleen Yarber leads the team with 214 while Emily Coon is right behind her at 198. Yarber's 3.34 kills per set is third in the OVC while Coon ranks fourth with a .310 hitting percentage. The defense is made stronger by reigning OVC Defensive Player of the Week, Andrea Baylin and Berkley Idel. Idel ranks 109^th in the NCAA and fifth in the OVC in digs per set.

Southeast Missouri is also at the top of the OVC in blocks, landing 161 total blocks and 2.27 per set. Coon and Taylor Masterson share the team lead with 66 each while Kelsey Keeve is next up at 44.