Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
SIU Edwardsville
Racers Travel to Illinois to Take on SIUE, EIU
10/17/2013 10:37:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Match Notes | Live Stats vs. SIUE | Live Stats vs. EIU
Live Video vs. SIUE |Â Live Video vs. EIU
Murray State volleyball is back in action this weekend with a pair of road matchups against SIU Edwardsville and Eastern Illinois. The Racers, coming off a split last weekend are 12-8 overall and 2-4 in the OVC.
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Last weekend the Racers split a pair of matches, defeating UT Martin 3-1 Friday before falling to Southeast Missouri 0-3 Saturday. Murray State came out of the weekend with a 12-8 overall record and 2-4 in the OVC.
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The Racer's offense received a boost with the return of sophomore outside hitter, Emily Schmahl. Schmahl last played Sept. 17 and missed nearly a month with an injury. Schmahl's season-high 14 kills helped propel MSU over the Skyhawks.
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Schmahl and Alyssa Lelm tied for the team-lead with 14 kills against UTM. Lelm also connected at a .423 attack percentage. Sam Bedard and Taylor Olden produced double-doubles in the win. Bedard passed out 44 assists and tallied 13 digs while Olden landed 13 kills and dug out 11 attacks.
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The following afternoon was not as kind to the Racers. MSU lost by a combined five points in the first two sets against SEMO before losing big in the third and getting swept by the Redhawks.
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Murray State gave up a late three point lead (21-18) in the second set with a chance to knot the match at one. SEMO scored the final six points of the set to come from behind and take a 2-0 lead and eventually won the match 3-0.
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The Racers committed 38 attack errors and finished with a season-low .000 attack percentage. The Redhawks also outblocked MSU 17-1.
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Sam Bedard finished with another double-double with 27 assists and 13 digs. Lelm led the Racers with 10 kills and finished with a .368 attack percentage.
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One of the newer members of the OVC, SIU Edwardsville and Murray State have met seven times previously with the Racers coming out on top in six. Murray State won the first six contests with the Cougars picking up their first win against the Racers in their most recent match, almost a year to the day, Oct. 20, 2012.
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At 3-3, SIUE is tied with Southeast Missouri and Eastern Illinois for second place in the West Division of the OVC. The Cougars have won two of their past three matches defeating last year's OVC Champions, Belmont and Eastern Kentucky and falling to conference leader, Morehead State.
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Like the Racers, SIUE is in the top 10 in the NCAA in digs. The Cougars rank seventh in the nation with 17.53 digs per set. What separates the Cougars has been libero Chelsea Colclasure, who sits at No. 10 in the NCAA and tops in the OVC with 5.49 digs per set. Colclasure is one of two players in the OVC with over 400 digs and more than five digs per set this season. SIUE is also near the top of the OVC in opponent hitting percentage. The Cougars come in at No. 2 in the conference, holding opponents to a .179 attack percentage.
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Offensively, Cori Harris leads a Cougar attack with 209 kills. She has also been hot lately, landing at least 17 kills in four of her last five matches, including a 20-kill match in a win over Eastern Kentucky. Harris' 95 kills in conference play, are the most in the OVC and she'd second in points at 102.5.
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Eastern Illinois holds a 25-13 lead all-time against the Racers. They have also won two in a row and are 11-7 against MSU in Charleston.
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After starting 3-1 in the OVC, the Panthers have lost their last two matches against Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky. EIU is the only OVC team to take Morehead State to five sets this season.
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The Panthers lead the OVC in kills per set with 14.42 and total kills with 346 in conference play. EIU is also ranked nationally in the category at 57th with 13.63 in 19 matches this season. The Panthers have two players ranked in the top 200 in the nation in kills per set, Chelsea Lee (3.32, 152nd) and Reynae Hutchinson (3.27, 166th).
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In addition to kills, the Panthers also lead the OVC in a pair of other offensive categories. EIU is tops in the OVC in hitting percentage (.224%) and assists (12.59 per set) in conference games. Only Stephanie Arnold ranks ahead of Alyssa Lelm in the OVC in hitting percentage at .361%. Marah Bradbury is the only setter in the OVC averaging over 12 assists per set in conference matches and also leads the OVC overall with 10.82 assists per set, which puts her 42nd in the NCAA.
