Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Ohio
Players Mentioned
Racers Open 2017 at Samford Invite
8/23/2017 2:36:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Dates: Aug. 25-26, 2017
Match Times: 25th – 10 a.m., and 4:30 p.m., 26th – 3:30 p.m.
Opponents: Ohio, Southeastern Louisiana and Samford
Site (Venue): Birmingham, Ala. (Pete Hanna Center)
Host (Tournament): Samford (Courtyard by Marriott Invitational)
Live Stats: Ohio | SELA | Samford
Watch Live (Samford match only)
MSU Record (Streak): 0-0 (--)
MSU All-Time vs. The Field: 3-6
All-Time Series vs. Ohio (Streak): 0-2 (L2)
All-Time Series vs. SELA (Streak): First-ever meeting
All-Time Series vs. Samford (Streak): 3-4 (L3)
MSU Next Matches: Sept. 1-2 – Chattanooga Classic (UL-Monroe, Sam Houston State and Chattanooga)
MSU Next Home Match: Sept. 5 vs. Southern Illinois
This Weekend
The Murray State volleyball team opens its 2017 season with three games at the Courtyard by Marriott Samford Invitational in Birmingham, Ala. The Racers open play Friday morning at 10 against Ohio and close the day with a 4:30 match against Southeastern Louisiana, before closing the tournament Saturday against host-Samford at 3:30 p.m.
2016 Recap
The Racers won their third consecutive OVC regular season title in 2016, becoming just the sixth team in conference history to win three straight league crowns. MSU also won its second OVC Tournament in the past three seasons and faced UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last December. The Racers became the first team in program history to win a set at the NCAAs, winning the opening set against the Bruins, 25-21, before eventually losing the match in four sets. MSU finished the season 23-9 overall and also went 15-1 in league play for the second consecutive season.
Time to Reload
MSU looks to replace the most-decorated class in program history in 2017 as three-time OVC Player of the Year and all-time career kills leader Scottie Ingram, 2016 OVC Defensive Player of the Year Ellie Lorenz, two-time First Team All-OVC honoree Kristen Besselsen and 2016 First Team All-OVC selection Hannah Stultz are all gone due to graduation. Two other seniors, Kamille Jones and Audrey Lewis also graduated this past spring.
New Faces
Seven newcomers join the 2017 squad as five freshmen, Callie Anderton, Becca Fernandez, Katirah Johnson, Ashley McBee and Kolby McClelland begin their careers with the Racers, as well as a pair of transfers in Liza Gober (Kentucky Wesleyan) and Rachel Holthaus (Missouri State-West Plains).
Dacia Brown, Olivia Chatman, Rachel Giustino, Alex Kaufmann, Megan Lindsay and Courtney Radle all return from 2016's championship squad. Both Brown and Chatman have been a part of the Racers' three-year run from 2014-16, winning 76 matches.
Preseason Poll
The Racers were picked to finish fourth in the preseason OVC poll, as voted on by the league's coaches and SIDs. MSU received a total of 188 points and six first-place votes. Belmont was picked as the preseason favorite in the poll with 10 first-place votes while Austin Peay and SIU Edwardsville were selected second and third, respectively.
Scouting Ohio
The Bobcats are coming off a 16-14 season overall in 2016 and an 11-5 mark in conference play. Ohio's season ended in the semifinals of the MAC Tournament, losing in three sets to Northern Illinois. The Bobcats must replace First Team All-MAC performer Mallory Salis, who led the team in kills in 2016 with 363. Ohio does return 2016 first team honoree Ali Lake and honorable mention selection Jaime Kosiorek. The duo was third and second on the team, respectively in kills last season. The Bobcats also return their setter, Stephanie Olman, who led the team with 1,065 assists in 2016.
Scouting SE Louisiana
The Lions went 7-23 and 6-10 in league play in 2016 and return their top offensive threat from last season in Chloee Holden, who led the team with 248 kills. SELA employed a two-setter system last season and return both from 2016 in Haley Baker (656 assists) and Elyssa Purcell (413). Last season, Southeastern hit .145 as a team and allowed opponents to record a .204 hitting percentage. The Lions are led by fifth-year head coach Jim Smoot.
Scouting Samford
The 2016 Southern Conference Tournament champion Bulldogs had their season come to a close in 2016 in the NCAA Tournament at fifth-seeded Kansas. Samford will look to repleace First Team SoCon honoree Erin Bognar, who led the Bulldogs with 553 kills last season. Samford does return All-Fresman Team honoree Kelsi Hobbs, who finished fourth on the team last season with 139 kills. The Bulldogs also return defensive ace Grace Tiesman, who led the squad with 487 digs a season ago.
