Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Kentucky
Racers Head to UK to Open NCAA Tournament
11/28/2018 9:52:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Dates:Â Nov. 30, 2018
Match Time:Â 6:30 p.m.
Opponent:Â Kentucky
Site (Venue):Â Lexington, Ky. (Memorial Coliseum)
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Live Stats
Murray State Record (Streak):Â 22-9 (W16)
Kentucky Record (Streak):Â 24-4 (W21)
All-Time Series vs. Kentucky (Streak):Â 0-1 (L1)
Friday
The Racers return to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in five season and fourth overall when they take on in-state rival #10 Kentucky. The two teams have met once before, a Kentucky three-set win in 2009 in Bloomington, Indiana. The winner of this match will play the winner of the Purdue-East Tennessee State match, Saturday.
Previous Match
For the sixth time in program history and the third time in the past five seasons, the Murray State volleyball team won the Ohio Valley Conference tournament. The Racers took down Austin Peay in three sets to earn a spot in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.Â
Junior Rachel Giustino was named tournament MVP after hitting .349 with a team-high 45 kills. Classmate Rachel Holthaus and senior Dacia Brown joined Giustino on the all-tournament team. Holthaus hit .359 with 25 kills and 27 digs while Brown had 41 kills and seven blocks, including four solo blocks.
In the championship match, Giustino led the Racers with 14 kills while hitting .444. Brown added 13 kills and Holthaus chipped in with 10 of her own. Sophomore Ashley McBee had a double-double with 40 assists and 12 digs while fellow sophomore Becca Fernandez tallied a game-high 15 digs. Holthaus and Brown also led the front line with three blocks each.
OVC's Best
Becca Fernandez was named OVC Defensive Player of the Year after leading the conference with 5.89 digs per set. She is the fourth player in school history to earn the award. Rachel Giustino and Dacia Brown joined Fernandez on the All-OVC first team, while Rachel Holthaus earned second team honors.
Going Streaking
Murray State is riding a 16-match winning streak, having not lost since September 25 at Austin Peay. Since then, the Racers have defeated every team in the OVC, including Austin Peay twice. 16 in a row also matches a program-record set in 2015.
NCAA Tournament
Murray State is still looking for their first win in the NCAA Tournament. The Racers fell in the opening round to Illinois in both 2003 and 2014 and UCLA in 2016.
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Scouting Kentucky
The tenth-ranked Wildcats enter the NCAA Tournament on a 21-match winning streak, including a perfect 18-0 SEC record en route to the conference title. It is their second straight SEC title, but first outright title since 1988.
Kentucky also swept the SEC awards as Leah Edmond was named Player of the Year, Gabby Curry was Libero of the Year, Alli Stumler was Freshman of the Year, and Craig Skinner earned Coach of the Year. Brooke Morgan and Madison Lilley also earned spots on the All-SEC team.
As a team, the Wildcats are third in the nation in hitting percentage at .305 and tenth in kills per set at 14.37.
