Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Saint Louis
Players Mentioned
MSU Closes Non-Conference Play at Billiken Invite
9/14/2016 3:21:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Dates: Sept. 16 and 17, 2016
Match Times: Sept. 16 – 7 p.m./Sept. 17 – 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Opponents: Saint Louis, Illinois and Omaha
Site (Venue): St. Louis, Mo. (Chaifetz Pavilion)
Host (Tournament): Saint Louis (Billiken Invite)
Watch Live (SLU match only)
Live Stats: SLU | Illinois | Omaha
MSU Record (Streak): 4-5 (L1)
Saint Louis Record (Streak): 3-8 (W1)
Illinois Record (Streak): 4-4 (W2)
Omaha Record (Streak): 2-9 (L5)
MSU vs. The Field: 6-9
All-Time Series vs. Saint Louis: 6-7
All-Time Series vs. Illinois: 0-2
All-Time Series vs. Omaha: First-ever meeting
MSU Next Match: Sept. 23 vs. UT Martin
MSU Next Home Match: Sept. 23 vs. UT Martin
This Weekend
The Racers close their non-conference slate with three matches this weekend at the Billiken Invite in St. Louis. MSU opens the tournament against host Saint Louis at 7 p.m. Friday and will play Illinois (10 a.m.) and Omaha (4:30 p.m.) to close things Saturday. The Racers face the Billikens for the first time since 2004, while this will be the first meeting against the Illini that won't be in the NCAA Tournament. Illinois won the previous two meetings in MSU's only appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 2003 and 2014.
Last Weekend
MSU split a pair of matches at the Butler Classic in Indianapolis. The Racers recorded their first sweep of the season to open the classic with a win over Wright State. Rachel Giustino led the Racers with 15 kills and a .345 hitting percentage in the win while Courtney Radle had 41 assists. MSU lost to Butler to close the tournament, losing in four sets. Scottie Ingram led the team with 14 kills while Giustino added 13.
Newcomer of the Week
On Monday, Giustino was named the ADIDAS OVC Newcomer of the Week for the second time this season, as voted on by the league's SIDs. Giustino had double-digit kills in all three matches last week for MSU and also led the team with 39 digs and had two double-doubles.
Re-Writing the Record Books
Scottie Ingram currently sits in fourth place on the all-time career kills list in program history with 1,233 and is 44 kills from passing Jill Doty for third on the list. Ingram's career 3.51 kills per set ranks second all-time behind Stephanie Diebold's 3.59. Ingram is also tied for sixth all-time with 3,222 attacks in her career and sits in 13th on the all-time career digs list at MSU with 1,143. Ellie Lorenz also continues to climb the all-time digs list in program history as she sits in eighth with 1,387.
Scouting Saint Louis
The Billikens are led by First Team All-Atlantic 10 and All-Midwest Region performer Danielle Rygelski's 208 kills (5.32 per set). Rygelski also leads SLU with a .254 hitting percentage this season and has nearly half of the team's service aces with a team-best 16. The Billikens employ a two-setter system with Camilla Rivas leading the team with 208 assists while Ashley Gagen has tallied 167. Mackenzie Long leads the back row defensively averaging 3.41 digs per set. The Billikens have had a tough schedule to open 2016 with matches at Michigan and Kentucky and one at home against top-25 ranked Western Kentucky.
Scouting Illinois
The Illini have a well-balanced attack with four players tallying 58 kills or more this season. Jacqueline Quade leads Illinois with 91 kills while Michelle Strizak has 73, Katie Stadick has 67 and Naya Crittenden comes in with 58 kills. Stadick is second on the team with a .343 hitting percentage. Ali Bastianelli leads the Illini with a .420 attack percentage (minimum one kill per set) and Jordyn Poulter's 9.81 assists per set leads the team. Poulter is also hitting .453 in 2016 and has 29 kills on just 53 attacks. The Illini were ranked 21st in last week's AVCA top-25 poll and are receiving votes to be ranked in the latest poll.
Scouting Omaha
The Mavericks are led by Kayla Torson's 107 kills in 2016 while Mackenzie Horkey leads Omaha averaging 3.35 kills per set (played in six matches). Sydney O'Shaughnessy has a team-best 338 assists this year while in the back row, Ashley Smith's 4.41 digs per set leads the team. As a team, the Mavericks are hitting .132 and have recorded 36 aces and 60 total team blocks. The Mavs are led by longtime head coach Rose Shires who is in her 27th season with the program.
