Murray State
Miami (OH)
Volleyball to Compete at Saluki Inivitational
8/29/2018 1:18:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Dates: Aug. 31 - Sept. 1, 2018
Match Times: 31st – 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., 1st – 3 p.m.
Opponents: Miami (OH), Alabama A&M, and Southern Illinois
Site (Venue): Carbondale, Ill. (SIU Arena)
Host (Tournament): Southern Illinois
Live Stats: All Games
Live Video ($): vs. SIU only (ESPN+)
MSU Record (Streak): 2-1 (W2)
MSU All-Time vs. The Field: 5-14
All-Time Series vs. Miami (OH) (Streak): First-ever meeting
All-Time Series vs. Alabama A&M (Streak): 2-0 (W2)
All-Time Series vs. Southern Illinois (Streak): 3-14 (W1)
MSU Next Matches: Sept. 7-Sept. 8 – UNIWYO Invite (Arizona State, Binghamton, Wyoming)
MSU Next Home Match: Sept. 29 vs. Eastern Kentucky
This Weekend
The Murray State volleyball team will play in its second early season tournament with three games at the Saluki Invitational in Carbondale, Illinois. The Racers open play Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. against Miami (OH) before playing again at 5 p.m. against Alabama A&M. They will close out the tournament, Saturday at 3 p.m. when they take on host Southern Illinois.
Last Weekend
In the opening weekend of the 2018 NCAA volleyball season, the Murray State Racers swept Omaha and New Orleans on Saturday after falling in three sets to Houston, Friday at the New Orleans Invitational. Rachel Giustino (43 kills) and Dacia Brown (32 kills were each named to the all-tournament team after leading MSU in kills. Callie Anderton set a new career-high with 42 assists in a three-set match. Giustino leads the OVC in kills per set (4.78) and Anderton leads with 11.29 assists per set through one weekend of play.
Experience
MSU enters the 2018 as one of the most experienced teams in the nation as they return 12 players, losing just Olivia Chatham to graduation. Rachel Giustino, Rachel Holthaus and Katirah Johnson are all on the All-OVC Preseason team after being named All-OVC a season ago. They also return Callie Anderton, who led the team with 639 assists, as well as Ashley McBee and Courtney Radle, who each had over 330 assists themselves. On defense, Becca Fernandez and Alex Kaufmann both return to the court after combining for over 900 digs. Dacia Brown and Liza Gober will provide the senior leadership on the team, especially Brown, who is a fifth-year senior and has been a part of three championship-winning squads.
New Faces
The Racers welcome two true freshmen to Murray this season, as Rachel Kinney and Emily Matson join the team as freshmen. Kinney comes from Indianapolis while Matson is a resident of Waukesha, Wisconsin. Both will play at the outside hitter position. In addition, Kolby McClelland will be making her first appearances on the court after redshirting last season.
Preseason Poll
The Racers were tabbed as favorites in the preseason OVC poll, slightly edging out defending champion Austin Peay. MSU collected 230 points, including 10 first-place votes, while Austin Peay had 227 points and 14 first-place votes. SIU Edwardsville and Eastern Kentucky round out the top four.
Scouting Miami (OH)
The defending MAC champions also had a 2-1 opening weekend. They swept Saint Louis in their opening match and defeated in-state rival Cincinnati in five sets to close out the Miami Best Western Sycamore Inn Invitational. Their lone loss was in five sets to UC Santa Barbara. Stela Kukoc and Margaret Payne were each named to the all-tournament team. Kukoc led the RedHawks with 35 kills and a spectacular .424 hitting percentage while also contributing a team-high nine blocks. Payned finished with 26 kills and 34 digs. Payne was also named Preseason All-MAC.
Scouting Alabama A&M
The Lady Bulldogs went 2-2 at the SWAC/MEAC Tournament last weekend, falling to North Carolina A&T and Gardner-Webb before bouncing back to sweep North Carolina Central and South Carolina State. Meredith is the reigning SWAC Rookie of the Year and picked up where she left off last week, tallying 22 assists in the team's first game of the season. Jaelin Gant and Terra Brooks each had 13 kills in the Bulldogs' win over NC Central.
Scouting Southern Illinois
SIU began the 2018 season, last weekend, going 2-1 at the Cardinal Classic in Louisville, Kentucky, defeating IUPUI and UT Martin while falling to host Louisville. Patience Brown and Maggie Nedoma were named to the All-Tournament team. Brown hit .403 with 32 kills in the three matches while Nedoma had 50 kills and 20 digs. Alayna Martin had over 40 assists in each of the wins and has 109 total early in the season.
