Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
20-9
UT Martin
14-17
Giustino Leads Racers to First Round Victory Over UT Martin
11/15/2018 3:20:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
The Murray State volleyball team entered the OVC Tournament, Thursday afternoon, on a 13-match winning streak and extended that to 14 after sweeping UT Martin in the first round, 25-20, 25-21, 25-19.
The Racers are now 20-9 on the season, reaching the 20-win plateau for the fifth straight season, while the Skyhawks finish their season, 14-17.
One night after being named to the All-OVC first team, junior Rachel Giustino and senior Dacia Brown led the way for the Racers with 19 and 13 kills, respectively. Giustino played her best match of the season as she committed just one error to hit a season-high .529, while also chipping in 11 digs and a service ace.
Sophomore Ashley McBee controlled the offense, as she dished out 37 assists, leading the Racers to hit .286 as a team. Fellow sophomore and OVC Defensive Player of the Year, Becca Fernandez, anchored the defense, racking up 14 digs.
The Racers jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the first set, forcing UT Martin to call an early timeout. After the break, MSU continued to hold onto their lead until the Skyhawks cut their deficit to 16-12. However, the Racers followed by winning four straight points, which included a kill each by Giustino and McClelland before the two teamed up for a block. Murray State eventually took the set, 25-20, on a UT Martin error.
In the second set, UT Martin raced out to a 9-3 lead and kept expanding their lead to 18-10 before the Racers started their comeback. Fernandez went back to the service line and began a 7-0 run for Murray State, getting three kills from Brown and two more from Megan Lindsay. The Skyhawks won the next point, but five straight points by the Racers, including three kills from Giustino, gave the Racers a lead they would not give up, as they claimed the set, 25-21.
The third set began with three straight Skyhawk errors as MSU took an early 3-0 lead. UT Martin got back to within one at 8-7, but a personal 3-0 run by Giustino pushed the Racer lead back up to four, forcing a Skyhawk timeout. UT Martin cut their deficit to one at 15-14, but back-to-back blocks by Brown and Giustino sparked a 4-1 run to give MSU a 19-15 lead. The Skyhawks won three of the next four points, but that was as close as they would get, as the Racers finished the set on a 5-1 run to take the set, 25-19, and the match.
Murray State returns to the court tomorrow at 2:30 when they take on third-seeded Morehead State in the semifinals. The Eagles defeated Southeast Missouri in three sets earlier in the day, Thursday.
