Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Eastern Michigan
Racers to Wrap Up Non-Conference Play at Stacey Clark Classic
9/19/2019 2:02:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Dates: Sept. 20-21, 2019
Match Times: 20th – 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., 21st – 9:30 a.m.
Opponents: Eastern Michigan, Purdue, and Texas A&M – Corpus Christi
Site (Venue): West Lafayette, Ind. (Holloway Gymnasium)
Host (Tournament): Purdue
Notes: Stacey Clark Classic
Live Stats: Eastern Michigan | Purdue | Texas A&M - CC
Live Video: Purdue
Live Audio: Purdue
MSU Record (Streak): 5-4 (W3)
MSU All-Time vs. The Field: 1-2
All-Time Series vs. Eastern Michigan (Streak): 1-0 (W1)
All-Time Series vs. Purdue (Streak): 0-1 (L1)
All-Time Series vs. Texas A&M – CC (Streak): 0-1 (L1)
MSU Next Matches: Sept. 27-28 – EIU and SIUE
MSU Next Home Match: Oct. 4 vs. UT Martin
This Weekend
The Murray State volleyball will look to carry momentum from last week's UIC Invitational title to this weekend's Stacey Clark Classic at Purdue. The Racers will take on Eastern Michigan and Purdue on Friday before wrapping up non-conference action against Texas A&M – Corpus Christi on Saturday morning. The match against Purdue will be available to stream on BTN+.
Last Weekend
The Racers won their first early-season tournament since 2017 last weekend as they swept through the UIC Invitational, defeating Sacramento State, UIC, and Bradley. Rachel Giustino was named MVP as she averaged 5.69 kills and 3.31 digs per set while hitting .279. Becca Fernandez anchored the defense, averaging 6.00 kills per set for a total of 78 in three matches.
Giustino Makes History
Senior Rachel Giustino became the first Racer in the rally-scoring era to have a 30-20 match as she recorded 31 kills and 22 digs in a win over Bradley at the UIC Invitational. This wrapped a weekend where she averaged 5.69 kills and 3.31 digs per set en route to winning OVC Offensive Player of the Week.
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 Eastern Michigan
The defending MAC Champions come into the weekend with a 4-5 record after defeating Purdue Fort Wayne on Tuesday evening. Franki Strefling leads the Eagles in kills, averaging 3.15 kills per set while All-MAC Preseason selection Cassie Haut averages 2.91 per set. Riley Taylor and Jayden Otto split time at setter as they each average over four assists per set while Camille Schomer leads the team on defense with 4.06 digs per set. As a team, EMU is tops in the MAC in blocks averaging 2.14 per set, led by Haut who notches 1.07 per set.
Scouting Purdue
The Boilermakers exacted some revenge, Wednesday evening, as they took down #16 Kentucky in five sets after the Wildcats beat Purdue in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament after UK defeated Murray State in the first round. Caitlyn Newton leads the team with 4.48 kills per set while Hayley Bush dishes out 10.48 assists per set. The Boilermakers are the fifth best blocking team in the country, averaging 3.18 per set, led by Big Ten Preseason Selection Blake Mohler who averages 1.65 per set.
Scouting Texas A&M – Corpus Christi
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi enters the weekend on a five-match winning streak after sweeping UTRGV on Tuesday evening. All-Southland preseason selection Madison Green leads the Islanders in both kills (2.38 per set) and assists (8.19 per set) and has also posted three triple-doubles this season, third most in the country. Carissa Barnes paces the team with 4.73 digs per set while also being third in the nation in service aces with 26.
