Racers Drop Second in a Row to Eastern Illinois

Friday, October 25

Racer Arena

7 p.m.

Murray State

12-11 (2-7,OVC)

Eastern Illinois

12-10 (6-3,OVC)

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Eastern Illinois	25	25	25	3
Murray State	21	22	15	0

Alyssa Lelm landed 11 kills against Eastern Illinois

10/25/2013 10:49:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

| Photo Gallery

Squaring off against the Eastern Illinois Panthers for the second time in six days, Murray State's women's volleyball team didn't fare any better the second time around. The Racers (12-11, 2-7 OVC) couldn't pick up a set win, falling to EIU 3-0 (21-25, 22-25, 15-25).

The two squads traded points at the start of the opening set, with neither gaining more than a three-point advantage. A Taylor Olden kill brought the Racers to within two, 13-11, but EIU used a 7-2 spurt to put some distance between the Racers. Trailing 23-15, MSU fought valiantly to come back, scoring six of the next seven points to cut the lead to three, 24-21. Following an EIU timeout though, Amy Martin squashed the comeback bid with her fourth kill of the set to give the Panthers the win. EIU landed 22 kills in the set including seven from Stephanie Arnold.

The Racers again trailed early in set No. 2 and nearly came back on two separate occasions. Down three, 18-13, MSU took advantage of a pair of Eastern Illinois attack errors and a kill from Scottie Ingram to trim the lead to two, 18-16. The Panthers would quickly answer with a 4-1 stretch of their own to reclaim a five point lead, 22-17. On the strength of two Alyssa Lelm kills and a couple of Panther service errors, the Racers found themselves again down only two, 23-21. They couldn't take the lead though as an Arnold kill thwarted another MSU comeback attempt.

After finding themselves in a quick 5-1 hole, MSU stormed back with six straight points to take their first lead of the third set, 7-5. The lead was short lived though as the Panthers clawed back to take a 9-8 lead they would never relinquish. EIU closed out the third set on a 16-6 run to end the match with a 25-15 win.

Lelm was the only Racer to finish in double-digit kills with 11. She was also very effective, connecting at a .429 attack percentage. Olden and Ingram each finished with eight kills. Ingram extended her double-digit dig streak to 12 with 14 on the night. Sam Bedard collected her fifth straight double-double as she led the Racers with 27 assists and 15 digs.

The Panthers were led by Arnold who tallied 17 kills. Martin and Chelsea Lee also finished in double-figures with 12 and 11 kills respectively. The OVC leader in assists, Marah Bradbury, passed out 47 on the night. She also finished with a game-high 20 digs.

The Racers have a quick turnaround and will battle SIU-Edwardsville tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m.