Murray State University Athletics
Friday, December 5
Champaign, Ill.
7 p.m.
Murray State
at
Illinois
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's Volleyball
RS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
Photo by: Sam Sheffer
Racers Take On #9 Illinois in NCAA Tournament
12/4/2014 2:34:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
The Murray State volleyball team will face #9 Illinois Friday Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. for the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This is the first time in 11 years MSU has made its way back into the NCAA tournament. It also marks the second time the Racers and Fighting Illini will face each other in the NCAA Tournament, as Illinois hosted Murray State back in 2003.
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The Racers finished their season with a 26-5 mark after taking both the regular season and conference tournament title. Murray State swept all three teams during the OVC Tournament to be named Champions. They faced Southeast Missouri in the first round, Tennessee Tech in the second round, and finally Belmont in the championship. MSU is hitting an impressive .256 while allowing opponents to hit only .153. Murray State is averaging 14.37 kills per set, which is ranked ninth in the NCAA, along with 17.29 digs per set, which is ranked 18th in the NCAA. During the OVC Championship match, Taylor Olden finished with 11 kills, while Kristen Besselsen had 10. Scottie Ingram and Ellie Lorenz each had 14 digs while Sam Bedard tallied 10 digs to go along with 31 assists. Following the tournament, Alyssa Lelm and Besselsen were named to the All-Tournament team, as was Bedard who was also named Most Valuable Player.
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The Fighting Illini finished third in the Big Ten with a 16-4 record, behind Wisconsin and Penn State. Illinois ended the regular season 24-7 and earned the ninth seed in the NCAA tournament. The Fighting Illini are 12-1 at home in the 2014-15 season, which they hope to carry into the NCAA tournament. Out of Illinois 24 wins, 12 of those were sweeps. They played 10 top 25 during this season with wins coming against #20 North Carolina (3-0), #18 Minnesota (3-0), #5 Penn State (3-1), #13 Nebraska (3-1), #13 Purdue (3-1), #17 Ohio State (3-2), #10 Nebraska (3-2). Two of the top 25 matches they lost were against #6 and #2 Wisconsin where they fell 1-3 in both matches, their other loss came to #2 Stanford (2-3). Illinois has been ranked in the top 25 this season, and finished the season with the #9 seed for the NCAA Tournament.
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The Racers finished their season with a 26-5 mark after taking both the regular season and conference tournament title. Murray State swept all three teams during the OVC Tournament to be named Champions. They faced Southeast Missouri in the first round, Tennessee Tech in the second round, and finally Belmont in the championship. MSU is hitting an impressive .256 while allowing opponents to hit only .153. Murray State is averaging 14.37 kills per set, which is ranked ninth in the NCAA, along with 17.29 digs per set, which is ranked 18th in the NCAA. During the OVC Championship match, Taylor Olden finished with 11 kills, while Kristen Besselsen had 10. Scottie Ingram and Ellie Lorenz each had 14 digs while Sam Bedard tallied 10 digs to go along with 31 assists. Following the tournament, Alyssa Lelm and Besselsen were named to the All-Tournament team, as was Bedard who was also named Most Valuable Player.
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The Fighting Illini finished third in the Big Ten with a 16-4 record, behind Wisconsin and Penn State. Illinois ended the regular season 24-7 and earned the ninth seed in the NCAA tournament. The Fighting Illini are 12-1 at home in the 2014-15 season, which they hope to carry into the NCAA tournament. Out of Illinois 24 wins, 12 of those were sweeps. They played 10 top 25 during this season with wins coming against #20 North Carolina (3-0), #18 Minnesota (3-0), #5 Penn State (3-1), #13 Nebraska (3-1), #13 Purdue (3-1), #17 Ohio State (3-2), #10 Nebraska (3-2). Two of the top 25 matches they lost were against #6 and #2 Wisconsin where they fell 1-3 in both matches, their other loss came to #2 Stanford (2-3). Illinois has been ranked in the top 25 this season, and finished the season with the #9 seed for the NCAA Tournament.
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