Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
UT Martin
Players Mentioned
Racers Face First OVC Road Tests This Weekend
9/28/2017 1:37:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Dates: Sept. 29-30, 2017
Match Times: 7 and 1 p.m.
Opponents: UT Martin and Southeast Missouri
Sites: Martin, Tenn., and Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Watch Live (UTM match only)
Live Stats: UTM | SEMO
MSU Record (Streak): 10-4, 2-0 OVC (W3)
UTM Record (Streak): 8-7, 2-0 OVC (W2)
SEMO Record (Streak): 6-10, 1-1 OVC (W1)
All-Time Series vs. UTM: MSU leads the all-time series 44-19
All-Time Series vs. SEMO: SEMO leads the all-time series 46-28
MSU Next Match: Oct. 3 vs. Austin Peay (Racer Arena)
This Weekend
Murray State will play its first OVC road matches of the season Friday and Saturday at UT Martin and Southeast Missouri, respectively. The Racers have won each of the last four times they've played at each site and have also won nine consecutive against both the Skyhawks and Redhawks.
Last Weekend
The Racers opened the 2017 conference season extending their program record regular season home winning streak to 27 matches after defeating Eastern Illinois in four sets and SIU Edwardsville in a five-set thriller. Rachel Giustino led the way offensively for MSU in the two matches averaging 4.56 kills per set while Dacia Brown averaged 2.56 per set. Alex Kaufmann averaged 5.44 digs per set in the two victories.
Player of the Week
Kaufmann received her first career OVC Defensive Player of the Week honor Monday for her efforts over the weekend against EIU and SIUE. Kaufmann's 5.44 digs per set were an OVC-high in the conference-opening weekend. Kaufmann tallied 19 digs in the win over the Panthers Friday and followed that up with a career-high 30-dig performance against the Cougars. Kaufmann also had five aces in the two matches, including a career-best four against SIUE.
Among the National Leaders
Rachel Giustino has had an impressive start offensively this season for the Racers as she ranks 10th in the nation in both kills per set (4.74) and points per set (5.37). Her 237 total kills so far in 2017 ranks 20th in the country.
Scouting UT Martin
UT Martin enters the weekend winning its first two matches of conference play, with both victories coming at home. The Skyhawks are led by Megan Fair's 162 kills (2.95 per set) this season while Jemima Idemudia, who was a First Team AllOVC performer last season, is second on the team with 158 kills and a team-best .308 hitting percentage. Kenzie Hinshaw leads UTM with 361 assists this year and has led the team to a .183 hitting percentage. Libero Brooke Gyori leads the team with a 4.54 digs per set average in 2017.
Scouting Southeast Missouri
The Redhawks are led by Krissa Gearring's 168 kills and 130 digs in 2017. Two-time all-OVC performer Nzingha Clarke is hitting a team-best and is second in the league with a .370 hitting percentage and also leads the team with 1.13 blocks per set. As a team, SEMO is hitting .208 overall and employs a two-setter offense. Keegan Fornoff leads the way with 341 assists while Allie Henkelman has 265 assists.
