Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Chattanooga
Racers Hit the Road for Troy Invitational
9/5/2019 10:03:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Dates: Sept. 6-7, 2019
Match Times: 6th – 12 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., 7th – 11 a.m.
Opponents: Chattanooga, Jacksonville, and Troy
Site (Venue): Troy, Alabama (Trojan Arena)
Host (Tournament): Troy
Notes: Troy Invitational
Live Stats: Chattanooga | Jacksonville | Troy
Live Video: Troy
MSU Record (Streak): 0-3 (L3)
MSU All-Time vs. The Field: 6-0
All-Time Series vs. Chattanooga (Streak): 3-0 (W3)
All-Time Series vs. Jacksonville (Streak): First-ever meeting
All-Time Series vs. Troy (Streak): 3-0 (W3)
MSU Next Matches: Sept. 13-14 – UIC Invitational (Sacramento State, UIC, and Bradley)
MSU Next Home Match: Oct. 4 vs. UT Martin
This Weekend
The Murray State volleyball team looks for their first win of the season as they travel to the Troy Invitational where they will take on Chattanooga, Jacksonville, and Troy. The Racers will play the Mocs and Dolphins on Friday before wrapping up the weekend against the Trojans on Saturday morning.
Last Weekend
The Racers competed at the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational last weekend, but came up empty handed as they dropped matches to Valparaiso, IUPUI, and South Dakota.
Giustino Shines
Senior Rachel Giustino had a strong weekend 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 Chattanooga
Chattanooga (2-2) looks to bounce back after suffering a 3-1(25-16, 24-26, 25-21, 25-18) loss at Tennessee State on Tuesday night in Nashville. UTC took two of its first three matches last weekend at the StarkVegas Classic, downing the likes of Western Illinois and Mississippi Valley State in straight sets while dropping a four-set decision to host Mississippi State.
Scouting Jacksonville
The Dolphins are also looking for their first win of the season after dropping all three matches to DePaul, Missouri State, and SEMO at the Missouri State Invitational. Jacksonville is in its second season under Head Coach Evan Muys and add 10 newcomers to the roster this year, including three transfers. Mallory Mattingly is the top returner for Muys, leading the team in kills last season with 286 and currently leads the team 34 kills this season
Scouting Troy
The Trojans are coming off a 2-1 weekend at the Jax State Invitational, defeating Southeastern Louisiana and Jacksonville State before falling to East Tennessee State. Cheyenne Hayes put up a big weekend for the Trojans, earning All-Tournament Team honors and was named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week Hayes posted three double-digit kill performances, hitting .307 and averaging 5.18 kills per set. Amara Anderson also had an impressive opening weekend, averaging 11.64 assists per set in the Trojans' first three matches. Anderson put up double-doubles in her first two matches – 39 assists and 11 digs against Southeastern Louisiana and 52 assists and 10 digs against Jacksonville State. She was named to the Jax State Invitational All-Tournament Team for her efforts.
