Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Southeast Missouri
Players Mentioned
Racers Host Final Home Weekend of 2017
11/2/2017 12:01:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Dates: Nov. 3 and 4, 2017
Match Times: 7 and 2 p.m.
Opponents: Southeast Missouri and UT Martin
Site: Racer Arena
Watch Live: SEMO | UTM
Live Stats: SEMO | UTM
MSU Record (Streak): 16-8, 8-4 OVC (W1)
SEMO Record (Streak): 10-16, 5-7 OVC (W2)
UTM Record (Streak): 11-14, 5-7 OVC (L2)
All-Time Series vs. SEMO: SEMO leads the all-time series 46-29
All-Time Series vs. UTM: MSU leads the all-time series 44-20
This Weekend
Murray State will play its final two home matches of the season this weekend as the Racers welcome Southeast Missouri and UT Martin to Racer Arena Friday and Saturday, respectively. MSU is looking to close out its home slate with an impressive 8-1 record in 2017. The Racers have won the last 10 straight against the Redhawks, including a 3-1 victory earlier this season in Cape Girardeau. UTM defeated MSU in four sets earlier this year. The Racers have won 14 consecutive home matches against the Skyhawks.
Last Weekend
MSU's comeback bid at SIU Edwardsville fell short in a five-set defeat to the Cougars last Friday, but the Racers responded with a four-set victory Saturday at EIU. Rachel Giustino and Rachel Holthaus each led the Racers with 30 kills over the weekend with Holthaus hitting a team-best .338. For her efforts, Holthaus was named the ADIDAS OVC Co-Newcomer of the Week. Becca Fernandez averaged 6.11 digs per set over the weekend, setting a new career-high in digs against SIUE, but somehow did not earn OVC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
OVC Newcomer of the Week
Holthaus averaged 3.33 kills per set last weekend to lead the Racers to take home OVC Newcomer of the Week honors. She began the weekend with a career-best and match-high 21 kills in the loss at SIUE and hit .396 in the match and tallied her second double-double of the year as she added 10 digs. In the four-set victory against EIU, Holthaus added nine kills and a career-best 14 digs while also adding an ace.
Saturday Senior Day
Saturday will be Senior Day at Racer Arena as MSU's lone senior, Olivia Chatman, will be honored prior to the match against UT Martin. The Racers need just one more victory this season to make Chatman the winningest Racer in program history.
Scouting Southeast Missouri
Krissa Gearring has a team-high 276 kills on the year to lead the Redhawks while Nzingha Clarke is second on the team with 212 kills and is hitting an OVC-leading .386. Clarke is also tied for the league lead with 1.27 blocks per set. SEMO is balanced with its two-setter system as Keegan Fornoff leads the team with 474 assists and Allie Henkelman is second with 454. As a team, the Redhawks are hitting .197 overall and lead the conference with a 2.33 blocks per set average.
Scouting UT Martin
Jemima Idemudia leads UT Martin with 283 kills and a .296 hitting percentage this season while also tying for the OVC lead with 1.27 blocks per set. Megan Fair is second on the squad with 258 kills and is second with 222 digs. Brooke Gyori leads the Skyhawks with a 4.59 digs per set average while at setter, Kenzie Hinshaw leads the way with 590 assists (6.34 per set). UTM is second in the OVC with a 2.26 blocks per set average.
