Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Sacramento State
Racers Head to Windy City for UIC Invitational
9/12/2019 10:04:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Dates: Sept. 13-14, 2019
Match Times: 13th – 4 p.m., 14th – 12 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Opponents: Sacramento State, Illinois-Chicago, and Bradley
Site (Venue): Chicago, Illinois (Flames Athletic Center)
Host (Tournament): Illinois-Chicago
Notes: UIC Invitational
Live Stats: Sacramento State | UIC | Bradley
Live Video: UIC
MSU Record (Streak): 2-4 (L1)
MSU All-Time vs. The Field: 2-5
All-Time Series vs. Sacramento State (Streak): 0-2 (L2)
All-Time Series vs. UIC (Streak): 1-2 (L2)
All-Time Series vs. Bradley (Streak): 1-1 (L1)
MSU Next Matches: Sept. 13-14 – Stacey Clark Classic (Eastern Michigan, Purdue, Texas A&M-CC)
MSU Next Home Match: Oct. 4 vs. UT Martin
This Weekend
The Murray State volleyball will look to build on a 2-1 weekend at the Troy Invitational when they head to Chicago to compete in the UIC Invitational. The Racers will take on Sacramento State on Friday before going up the host Flames and Bradley on Saturday afternoon.
Last Weekend
The Racers picked up their first wins of the season last weekend at the Troy Invitational, defeating Chattanooga and Jacksonville, coming from behind in both matches after dropping the first set. Becca Fernandez and Rachel Holthaus were named to the All-Tournament team as Fernandez led the team with 4.67 digs per set while Holthaus hit .253 with 30 kills over three matches. Rachel Giustino also had a strong weekend as she averaged a team-high 4.58 kills per set while Ashley McBee dished out 10.91 assists per set, earning her OVC Setter of the Week honors.
McBee Claims OVC Honor
Junior setter Ashley McBee also had a strong weekend at the Troy Invitational, averaging 10.91 sets, earning her OVC Setter of the Week. She had her second 50-assist performance of the season in just four sets against Chattanooga and followed that up with 46 assists in a win over Jacksonville. She wrapped up the weekend with 35 assists in three sets against Troy.
Giustino Shines
Senior Rachel Giustino had a strong weekend at the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational as she was named to the All-Tournament Team and OVC Offensive Player of the Week after posting 61 kills and 39 digs in 12 sets played. She especially had strong performances against Valpo with 24 kills and 18 digs and IUPUI with 28 kills and 15 digs.
2018 Recap
The Racers came into the 2018 season as the preseason OVC favorites but struggled out of the gate. After going 6-6 in non-conference play, MSU opened OVC action with three straight losses. However, that would be the last defeat for the Racers until the NCAA Tournament, winning 16 straight to match a program record, culminating with a straight-set victory over Austin Peay in the OVC Tournament title match in Clarksville. The season and winning streak came to a close when the Racers fell to the #10 Kentucky in the first round of The Big Dance.
Experience
Murray State will depend on the upperclassmen this season as they have a combined ten juniors and seniors as well as a redshirt-sophomore. The Racers will be led by returning All-OVC players Rachel Giustino, Becca Fernandez, and Rachel Holthaus. Giustino led the OVC with 4.05 kills per set while also contributing 3.31 digs per set. With 136 more digs, she will become just the ninth Racer to be in the 1,000 kill/1,000 dig club and will also have a chance to become the all-time leader in kills. Fernandez was named 2018 OVC Defensive Player of the Year after tallying 5.89 digs per set during OVC play while Holthaus led the Racers with a .280 hitting percentage. MSU will also have experience at setter as both Ashley McBee and Callie Anderton have over 1,100 assists in their career.
New Faces
The Racers welcome three new additions to Murray this season, as Emma Kailiponi and Alysha Smith join the team as freshmen while Courtney Swafford transfers in from LaGrange College. Kailiponi and Swafford are both liberos from Anaheim, California and Ooletawah, Tennessee, respectively, while Smith is an outside hitter who hails from the Sin City.
Preseason Poll
The Racers were tabbed as favorites in the preseason OVC poll collecting 230 points and 12 first-place votes. Defending OVC regular-season champion Austin Peay was picked second with 212 points and six first-place votes. Morehead State collected five first-place votes while Jacksonville State picked up one as well to finish third and fourth in the poll.
Scouting Sacramento State
Sacramento State comes into the weekend with a 3-4 overall record after going 1-2 in Hawaii last week, defeating Army but falling to Denver and Hawaii. Returning this season for the Hornets is standout sophomore setter, Ashtin Olin. Olin was named All-Big Sky Conference Second Team as a freshman. The sophomore setter averaged 10.32 assists per set and 2.21 digs per set. She was also responsible for 180.5 points last year and totaled 90 blocks. Also returning for Sacramento State is the second leading scorer from a season ago in Sarah Davis. The OH averaged 3.1 points per set on 1,103 total attacks and 313 kills in 2018. Paige Swinney is currently eighth in the nation with 6.33 digs per set.
Scouting Illinois-Chicago
The Flames are off to a hot start this season, sweeping through the Idaho Volleyball Classic before going 2-1 at the Chippewa Invitational. UIC finished fourth in the regular season last year and return Freshman of the Year and All-League First Team selection Kiera James along with First Team member Paola Santiago, who currently leads the Flames with 82 kills. As a team, they are currently second in the nation with 385 kills.
Scouting Bradley
The Braves picked up their first two wins of the season at the CEFCU Invitational, defeating Belmont and Oakland. After ranking second on the team in both kills and digs last year, sophomore Hannah Thompson leads Bradley in both categories through six matches and owns a team-best four double-doubles. Thompson is one of 11 players (with MSU's Rachel Giustino) in the nation to lead their squad in both kills and digs through matches of Sept. 8. Bradley has improved its record in each of the last four seasons, culminating with the program's first 20-win season since 2001 along with the first postseason appearance in program history.
