Racers to Open OVC Tournament Against UT Martin

The #5 seed Murray State Racers (17-11, 11-7 OVC) are headed to the 2021 OVC Volleyball Tournament and will face #4 seed UT Martin Skyhawks (15-16, 11-7 OVC) in the quarterfinal round.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
Championship Information | 2021 Volleyball Bracket

MURRAY STATE VS UT MARTIN
Thursday, November 18 | 3 p.m. CT
Live Video | Live Stats

THIS WEEKEND
- The Racers begin their quest for another OVC Tournament title when they open up against UT Martin on Thursday. Murray State earned the #5 seed while the Skyhawks are seeded fourth. The Skyhawks took both regular season matchups.

-Thursday's game as well as all games in the 2021 OVC Volleyball Championship will be streamed on ESPN+

LAST TIME OUT
- The Racers closed out the 2021 regular season on a four-game winning streak, finishing out the last week with a midweek win over Austin Peay in four sets and two five-set wins over SIU-Edwardsville.
- Brooke Lynn Watts won her eighth Newcomer of the Week award after posting a trio of double-digit kill matches, hitting 3.93 kills per set on a .201 attacking clip. This is Watts' eleventh weekly award of the season.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING
- The Racers closed out the 2021 season on a four-game win streak, picking up wins over SEMO, Austin Peay and SIU-Edwardsville.
- Murray State is 9-2 over their last eleven games.
- Murray State's longest winning streak of the season was five games (Oct. 15 - Oct. 29), sweeping four of five games in that time.

NUMBER ELEVEN FOR #12
- Freshman Brooke Lynn Watts claimed her eighth Newcomer of the Week award after hitting 3.93 kills per set.
- Watts won the Newcomer award eight times in 12 weeks, the most by any player since the introduction of the honor in 2015.
- She has eleven OVC honors, eight Newcomer of the Weeks and three Offensive Player of the Week.

TWO FIVE-SET DUBS
- Murray State was 0-5 in games that went to five sets but finally pulled out not one but two five-set victories over the weekend.
- On Friday, tied 8-8 in the fifth set, the Racers scored seven of the final 10 points to win 15-11.
- On Saturday, the Racers jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the fifth set before SIUE tied it at 9. A kill by Jayla Holcombe and ace from Fernandez game Murray a slight 11-9 advantage. Two kills apiece from McClelland and Watts sealed the 15-13 win for the Racers.

RACERS' OVC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
- Murray State is 37-20 all-time in the OVC Tournament in 26 appearances.
- The Racers have won six OVC Tournament Championships: 1989, 1992, 2003, 2014, 2016, 2018

LAST TIME IN THE POSTSEASON...
- In the 2019 OVC Tournament, hosted by Jacksonville State, #3 seed Murray State swept #6 seed UT Martin in the quarterfinals, 25-22, 25-20, 25-19.
- The Racers dropped a five-set heartbreaker to Southeast Missouri in the semifinals, 20-25, 25-14, 22-25, 25-20, 21-19. The Redhawks went on to sweep #4 seed Morehead State.
- Murray State last won the OVC Tournament in 2018, sending them to the Kentucky regional. Fernandez and McClelland were sophomores while Matson was a freshman.

CAREER MILESTONES
- Senior libero Becca Fernandez has collected 583 digs so far this season, the most in season for her.
- Fernandez put up 501 in 2017, 581 in 2018, 521 in 2019 and 369 in shortened COVID-19 2020 season.
- Fernandez is second all-time in the OVC in career digs (2,555). UT Martin's Kasey Elswick (2009-12) holds the record with 2,606.
- Senior Kolby McClelland's .282 hitting % is the highest of her career and third in the OVC.
- Freshman setter Bailey DeMier surpassed 1,000 career assists (1,070) over the weekend. This is third most assists by a freshman in program history.
- Freshman outside hitter Brooke Lynn Watts has recorded double-digit kills in all but one match, for a total of 485 kills. This is the most by a freshman in program history.

SINGLE-SEASON RECORD WATCH
- Fernandez surpassed her 2018 dig total (581) and 2019 dig total (521), collecting 583 so far to put her in fourth in program history for single-season digs.
- The single-season dig record is 675 held by Heather Norris ('06).
- Watts is eighth in program history for single-season kills with 485 kills.
- DeMier is ninth in program history for single-season assists with 1,170 assists.

OVC WEEKLY HONORS
- The Racers have collected OVC honors in ten of the 12 weeks of the season, totaling 16 honors, the most of any team in the conference.

ON THE RISE: JAYLA HOLCOMBE
- The 2020 All-OVC First Teamer has found her game in 2021, recording at least nine kills in six of the last seven games
- Holcombe delivered a season-high 21 kills on .425 hitting clip on Friday (11/12) at SIUE.
- Holcombe owns a career-high .667 attack % at Belmont (10/29) on 13 kills.

McCLELLAND'S HEATING UP
- The redshirt senior has hit double-digit kills in her last three matches, including a season-high 14 kills twice.
- McClelland is third in the OVC with a .282 hitting %.

ALMA MATER
- Southeast Missouri is Murray State's head coach Dave Schwepker's alma mater.
- Schwepker graduated in 1987 with a degree in biology and minor in physical education
- He was an assistant coach at SEMO with the then Otahkians' program from 1992-94.

SERIES HISTORY
- Murray State leads the overall series 50-24 with the Racers holding a 3-1 advantage at a neutral site.
- UT Martin took both games from the Racers earlier in the season, winning in five and four sets.

SCOUTING UT MARTIN
- UT Martin concluded the regular season with a 15-16 overall record and 11-7 in conference play.
- Three teams, UTM, Murray St., and Tenn. Tech finished with an 11-7 OVC record but Skyhawks hold the tiebreaker, having beat the Racers twice and split with the Golden Eagles but won in three sets and lost in five.
- On Senior Weekend for the Skyhawks, they defeated Tenn. State in five sets 25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 20-25, 15-10 and swept the Tigers on Senior Night the following day, 25-16, 25-12, 25-22.
- In the Friday (10/8) game against the Skyhawks, the Racers outhit UTM .263- .208 and out dug 83-63 but UTM out blocked the Racers 17-5.
- Karen Scanlon made history, becoming the first UTM player in a decade to accumulate a triple-double, collecting a team-high 15 kills and 10 block assists and added 11 digs. She also served three aces and had two assists.
- In Saturday's (10/9) game, UTM got out to a fast start that the Racers couldn't match. The Skyhawks outhit Murray State.241-.158, holding the Racers to a -0.056 hitting percentage in the fourth set.
- Logan Wallick put down 18 kills and only two errors on 33 swings for a .485 attacking percentage.
- The Skyhawks are coached by head coach Jaclynn Wilson (7th season), assistant coach Julie Noe and director of operations Hannah Phillips

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Bailey DeMier

Becca Fernandez

Jayla Holcombe

Kolby McClelland

Brooke Lynn Watts

Murray State University