Volleyball Kicks Off Season at NCCU Invitational

Match Notes

Murray State begins its 2013 campaign this weekend at the North Carolina Central Invitational. The three match tournament gets underway Friday at 3:30 with the Racers taking on Evansville. MSU concludes the weekend on Saturday with a pair of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opponents in Hampton at 2:30 and host North Carolina Central at 4:30.

The Racers capped their 2012 season with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Eastern Kentucky. After dropping a close first set, MSU displayed their power with back-to-back double-digit set wins, 25-13 and 25-15 to take a 2-1 lead. EKU rebounded to tie the contest at 2-2, closing out a tightly contested match with a 6-2 run. The final set was another nail biter and with the score tied at 14-all, an Alyssa Lelm kill followed by an EKU error propelled the racers to the match win.

Wendi Zickfield notched her fourth double-double of the season to lead the Racers with 17 kills and 13 digs. Emily Schmahl and Lelm followed Zickfield with 15 and 13 kills, respectively, while junior Katlyn Hudson led the defense with 29 digs. The Racers ended their 2012-13 campaign at 6-20 overall and 4-12 in the conference.

Friday will mark the 28^th meeting between Murray State and Evansville. Murray State is looking to end a six game losing streak to the Purple Aces dating back to September, 2000. Evansville owns a lifetime 16-11 record against Murray State.

These two teams played in an early-season non-conference match last September, with the Purple Racers taking an easy 3-0 victory. Evansville held a distinct advantage in hitting percentage, .309 - .099 and Ashley Ring's double-double led the team.

The first and only time these two squared off on a neutral court, the Purple Aces pulled out a 3-1 victory in 2011.

In addition to snapping their six-game losing streak, Coach David Schwepker is looking for his first ever victory over Evansville.

The Purple Aces will also be kicking off their season at the North Carolina Central Tournament. 2012 saw the Purple Aces go 9-22, their fewest wins since the 2003 season. The Purple Aces struggled down the stretch, finishing the season 2-10 in their final 12 games.

Evansville returns top hitter, junior Ashley Ring. Ring led the team in 2012 with 379 kills and 32 service aces, while also tallying 247 digs and 77 blocks. The Purple Aces will also bring back four seniors who played in at least 95 sets a season ago in Katie Klages, Jenn Murphy, Lauren Seyller and Rachel TenHoor. Murphy (846) and Klages (591) led the team in assists and digs respectively.

Saturday will be the first ever between Murray State and both Hampton and North Carolina Central.

Hampton enjoyed a 19-14 record in 2012, their first winning season since 2005 and tied for the most wins in program history at the Division-I level. For the second consecutive year, the Pirates advanced to the MEAC Semi-Final round before being bumped by Maryland Eastern-Shore.

In the MEAC preseason poll, the Pirates were selected to finish atop the MEAC Northern Division, receiving 14 of 26 first place votes. The MEAC also selected outside hitter Krista Kraskura and setter Bibiany Fonseca to their Preseason Team.

In 2012, Kraskura was selected to the All-MEAC first team after totaling 390 kills and 340 digs to lead the squad. Her 3.77 points per set were seventh in the MEAC. Fonseca was selected All-MEAC second team in 2012 finishing with 954. She also totaled 151 digs and 82 kills, making her a weapon on both ends of the court.

Also returning is junior outside hitter Vendula Strakova. Strakova's name was sprinkled in a number of NCAA offensive categories in 2012, finishing in the top ten in points per set (5.51/third), service aces per set (0.52/fifth) and kills per set (4.75/sixth). Strakova led the team with 408 kills and had a team-best .283 hitting percentage.

Following their match with Hampton, the Racers will battle tournament host North Carolina Central. NCCU will seek its first winning season since 2007. The Eagles played to an 8-22 overall record, but finished 6-4 in the MEAC and advanced to the MEAC tournament, before falling in the opening round to Norfolk State.

NCCU returns two of their top three point scorers from 2012 – MEAC Rookie of the Year and First Team All-MEAC Christine Anthony and senior Kalin Russell. Both players were also selected to the MEAC Preseason Team.

Anthony led the Eagles with 375 kills and 247 digs. She also tallied 33 service aces and 37 blocks. Russell added 152 kills and the led the team with 36 service aces and 92 total blocks. The Eagles were voted to finish in second place in the MEAC Southern Division in the Preseason Poll.

Murray State University Athletics

Related News

Related Videos