Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
11-8,3-4OVC
Belmont
2-20,1-6OVC
Racers Bounce Back with Sweep of Belmont
10/18/2019 8:38:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
After suffering a tough loss in their last match, the Murray State volleyball team was firing on all cylinders, Friday night at Racer Arena as they swept Belmont by scores of 25-19, 25-19, and 25-9.
The Racers improve to 11-8 overall and 5-2 in the OVC while Belmont falls to 2-20 and 1-6 in conference play. With the win, combined with Morehead State and Jacksonville State losses tonight, the Racers are back in a tie for first in the OVC.
As a team, Murray State hit .371 and was led by Emily Matson, who hit .600 with 14 kills. Kolby McClelland also added 14 kills hitting .323 while Rachel Giustino hit .346 with 11 kills.
Ashley McBee dished out a team-high 39 assists and Becca Fernandez notched 22 digs. Rachel Holthaus led the team with five blocks as the Racers out-blocked the Bruins, 6-3, and held Belmont to a .134 hitting percentage.
After going back-and-forth early in the first set, the Racers used a 4-0 run to take a 12-6 lead. The Racer lead remained consistent the rest of the set as they eventually took the set, 25-19, on a kill by Matson.
McClelland opened the second set with two straight kills before a block by McBee and Holthaus and a service ace by Fernandez gave the Racers an early 4-1 lead. The Bruins responded quickly with their own 4-1 run to tie the set at five. Belmont kept it close for a while, but the Racers were able to pull away with a 4-0 run to take a 21-17 lead. After a point by Belmont, the Racers scored four of the last five points to take the set, 25-19.
The third set was all Racers as they jumped out to a 9-3 lead and never looked back, using a couple of big runs to pull away even further, including a 6-0 run to end the set, getting a kill by Matson, her third set-clinching point of the night, to clinch the match.
The Racers will be back in action tomorrow night when they host Tennessee State. First serve at Racer Arena is set for 6 p.m.
