Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
14-10,8-4OVC
Eastern Illinois
2-21,1-10OVC
Big Offensive Night Powers Racers to Victory over EIU
11/2/2019 8:24:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
The Murray State volleyball cruised to victory over Eastern Illinois, Saturday night in three sets, to earn their third straight win and improve to 15-9 overall and 9-3 in the OVC.
As a team the Racers had one of their best offensive performances of the season, hitting .349. Rachel Holthaus led the way with a .667 percentage and 11 kills while Rachel Giustino had a game-high 20 kills while hitting .514. Megan Lindsay also had a solid performance with nine kills while hitting .375.
Callie Anderton dished out 43 assists while Becca Fernandez anchored the back row with 17 digs, limiting EIU to just a .146 hitting percentage.
The first set was all Racers as they hit .316 compared to just .029 for the Panthers. Already out to a 6-3 lead, a 3-0 run double the MSU lead to 9-3, which proved to be more than enough cushion, as they Racers took the set, 25-16, clinching the set on back-to-back kills by Giustino.
The second set looked to be another easy win for the Racers as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but Eastern Illinois slowly climbed back into the set and eventually took an 18-17 lead after a 4-0 run. The two teams traded points until it was all square at 23 before a kill by Lindsay and an error by the Panthers gave the set to Murray State, 25-23.
The final set was similar to the first as the Racers jumped out to a lead and never gave it up. The set was still close at 14-12 until a 7-0 run by MSU put the game away. After trading a couple of points, Lindsay and Giustino recorded two straight kills to secure the victory in the set, 25-15, and the match.
The Racers now sit tied for second in the OVC, one match behind Southeast Missouri and Morehead State, but MSU will have a chance to get even with both teams as they face the Redhawks on Friday and the Eagles to close out the season on November 16. With a loss by Jacksonville State today, the Racers control their destiny for an OVC title if they win the final four matches of the season.
