Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Austin Peay
Players Mentioned
Racers Close Road Swing With Pivotal Match at APSU
11/1/2016 2:15:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Date: Nov. 2, 2016
Match Time: 6 p.m.
Opponent: Austin Peay
Site: Clarksville, Tenn.
Watch Live
Live Stats
MSU Record (Streak): 16-8, 11-1 OVC (W8)
APSU Record (Streak): 21-8, 10-2 OVC (W4)
All-Time Series vs. APSU: APSU leads the all-time series 37-35
MSU Next Match: Nov. 5 vs. Eastern Kentucky (Racer Arena)
Wednesday
The Murray State volleyball team closes its five-match road trip with a pivotal match Wednesday at Austin Peay. Wednesday's match will be the final road contest of the regular season for the Racers as they look to extend their eight-match winning streak. Currently, MSU sits a game ahead of both APSU and SIU Edwardsville on top of the league standings at 11-1. Both the Govs and the Cougars are 10-2 in conference play.
The Racers won the first meeting earlier this season with the Governors in straight sets back on Sept. 27 at Racer Arena. MSU hit .321 in the win and held APSU to just a .037 clip as a team. Audrey Lewis led the way in the win with 13 kills and hit .308 while Scottie Ingram added 11 kills and hit .385. Olivia Chatman chipped in with seven kills and hit a match-high .545 in the match.
Last Weekend
The Racers recorded a pair of road sweeps over the weekend, winning at Southeast Missouri and UT Martin. Kristen Besselsen led the way offensively for MSU as she averaged 4.67 kills per set and hit .286 in the two victories. Ingram was second on the team in the two matches as she averaged 4.17 kills and three digs per set. Setter Hannah Stultz averaged 12 assists per set and led an offense that hit .273 for the weekend.
Lorenz Earns Weekly Honor
For the third time this season, libero Ellie Lorenz received conference player of the week honors as she was named the ADIDAS OVC Co-Defensive Player of the Week for her performances in the Racers' two sweeps over the weekend. Lorenz was once against spectacular in the back row defensively in the Racers' wins over SEMO and UTM as she averaged 6.83 digs per set for the weekend. Lorenz began the weekend with a match-high 19 digs in the win over the Redhawks and then followed that up with a 22-dig performance against the Skyhawks.
Scouting Austin Peay
The Govs are led offensively by one of the top weapons in the OVC in Ashley Slay who is averaging 3.24 kills per set and is second in the league in hitting percentage in conference play at .341. Slay is also hitting .305 overall for the season and leads the team with 91 total blocks. Setter Kristen Stucker is averaging 10.30 assists per set in 2016 and in conference play, is second overall with 10.84 per set. Libero Ginny Gerig leads the team with 3.55 digs per set. As a team, Austin Peay is hitting .223, which leads the league and has 186 total blocks.
Battle of the Border
The athletics departments of Murray State and Austin Peay announced they'll begin a special competition that will enhance what is already one of the best rivalries not only in the Ohio Valley Conference, but also in NCAA Division I.
Heritage Bank is the proud sponsor of the Battle of the Border which will see the Racers and Governors compete throughout the school year in every sport. A point system will determine who has bragging rights at the end of the school year and the two schools will be volunteering to help make their communities better. A total of 67 points are available in the series, representing the 67 miles that separate the two campuses.
Six points total will be awarded for volleyball with three points going to the winner of each match played.
