Home Stand Concludes with Senior Night Saturday

Match Notes | Live Stats vs. TSU | Live Stats vs. Belmont
Video vs. TSU | Video vs. Belmont

Murray State will wrap up a season long four-match home stand Nov. 1-2 against Tennessee State and reigning OVC Tournament Champions, Belmont. The team will also honor its lone senior, Katlyn Hudson, on Saturday with a pregame ceremony.

The Racers have started out this home stand 1-1 with a win last weekend over SIU Edwardsville and a loss to Eastern Illinois. In the win against the Cougars, MSU used a balanced attack and combined for a .212 attack percentage, their highest in their last 11 matches. Scottie Ingram led the Racers will 11 kills while Emily Schmahl and Taylor Olden each finished with eight and Kamille Jones followed them with seven.

In the absence of senior libero Katlyn Hudson, freshman Ellie Lorenz has stepped into the starting libero role. In the four matches without Hudson, Lorenz has recorded double-digit digs three times (and nine in the fourth) including 19 in the win over SIUE.

In the loss against EIU, sophomore Alyssa Lelm continued her fine season around the net, landing 11 kills with a .429 attack percentage. She has a .342 attack percentage this season, which puts her second in the OVC.

History has been on the side of the Racers against Tennessee State, as they've won 41 of the first 50 meetings between these two schools. The Tigers have gotten the better of MSU lately, winning the last three, including one at Racer Arena, one of only three losses the Racers have suffered at home to the hands of the Tigers all-time.

After winning four of five, the Tigers lost their last match at Austin Peay. At 4-6, TSU is currently in fourth place in the Eastern Division of the OVC.

Tennessee State is led by red-shirt junior Naomi Wells. Wells is tops on the team with 285 kills (3.75 per set) and ranks 64^th in the NCAA in points per set with 4.27. Before her game against APSU, Wells had double-digit kills in seven straight matches. She punctuated that stretch with a season-best 19 kills and 19 digs in a win over the University of Memphis.

Playing well in conference matches has been freshman Arijana Anderson. Anderson is ninth in OVC conference matches with a .267 attack percentage. Anderson has the second most kills of anyone in the top-10 in the category with 116, trailing only MSU's Alyssa Lelm (123).

Centering the offense has been senior setter Erika Moss. Moss is one of three setters in the OVC to average over 10 assists per set. At 10.14 she sits third in the conference and has been even better in conference matches, upping her average to 10.47 assists per set.

Of all the OVC teams, Belmont is the least familiar to the Racers. The two squads have faced off only five times in their history and twice since the Bruins joined the OVC in 2011. Since joining the conference, Belmont is 2-0 against MSU, with a pair of 3-0 wins in 2011 and 2012.

The Bruins are winners of six straight, having not lost since Oct. 5 at SIUE. Last season's OVC champions are 7-3 in the conference, behind only Morehead State in the OVC East division. During their six match winning streak, no matches have gone to have sets, and four have ended in three.

Belmont's offense is led by a fierce threesome with over 200 kills each. Scarlet Gable leads the way with 266 while Jessica Vestal and Allison McCoy follow her with 235 and 224 respectively. McCoy is also second in the OVC in attack percentage (.355) and first in the category in conference only matches (.393).

As a team, the Bruins are adept at winning points off of the serve. The Bruins are tied for second with 138 service aces and their 1.41 aces per set are 71^st in the NCAA.

Hannah Miranda is the first setter to accumulate over 1,000 assists this season. With 1,010, Miranda leads the OVC and is second in digs per set with 10.31

Murray State University Athletics

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