Racers Set to Host Tennessee Tech For Final Home Weekend of 2021 Season

Dates: Mar. 21^st and 22^nd
Match Times: 6 p.m. // 4 p.m. Central Time
Opponent: Tennessee Tech
Site: Murray, Ky.
Venue: Racer Arena
Mar. 21 : Live Stats ; Live Video
Mar. 22: Live Stats ; Live Video
MSU Record (Streak): 5-76 (L1)
All-Time Series vs. Tennessee Tech (Streak): MUR leads 29-24 (W9)
MUR Next Match: Mar. 21 and Mar. 22 vs Tennessee Tech

This Weekend
The Racers take on the Golden Eagles in a two-game series concluding the final home games of the regular season at Racer Arena. Tennessee Tech is tied with Murray State for sixth place in OVC standings, both holding 5-7 records.

The Golden Eagles split the weekend with the two-win Tennessee State Tigers, dropping the first match in five sets after falling down 2-0 before losing 15-13 in the fifth set. In Monday's match, Tennessee Tech wasted no time, winning 3-0 to split the series.

First serve is set for 6 p.m. CT on Sunday (Mar. 21) and 4 p.m. CT on Monday (Mar. 22).

Last Match
The Racers hosted Eastern Illinois on Senior Weekend, winning in four on Sunday, 25-20, 25-23, 23-25, 25- 12 and falling in four sets on Monday, 25-16, 23-25, 19-25, 23-25 to the Panthers.

Darci Metzger picked up her first OVC honors, winning Newcomer of the Week, with 24 kills on a .294 hitting percentage.

The freshman trio of Jayla Holcombe, Darci Metzger and Taylor Beasley combined for 37 of the team's 55 kills on Sunday night. Metzger hit a team-high .348 percentage and Beasley set new career-highs with nine kills and four blocks.

Senior Katirah Johnson was subbed in in the final set with the Racers up 24-12 and served the final point of senior night. The crowd went wild as she has been out all season with an injury.

On Monday, Beasley was a wall at the net, with a season-high ten total blocks, four solo blocks and six block assists. Kolby McClelland and Darci Metzger topped the Racers with 12 kills apiece, McClelland just missing out on her second double-double of the season with nine digs.

Becca Fernandez led the Racers with 43 digs in split vs Eastern Illinois, averaging 5.38 digs per set. She leads the OVC in digs per set with 6.18. Callie Anderton led the Racers offense with 88 assists, averaging 11.00 assists per set.

Metzger Claims First OVC Honors
Freshman Darci Metzger picked up the first honors of her young career. She totaled 24 kills on a hitting efficiency of .294 on 51 attempts against Eastern Illinois. In the Sunday night win, Metzger put down 12 kills in, hitting .348 over 23 attempts with only four errors. She added another 12 kills in Monday's match on five errors, hitting .250. Metzger finished the weekend with her first two career service aces, three blocks and five digs.

She's a Brick Wall
Taylor Beasley was all over the net, blocking Eastern Illinois left and right. She set a new career-high with 10 total blocks, four block solos and six block assists. On the season, Beasley has been the team's best blocker, with a team-high 22 total blocks. She is the only Racer in double-digits for solo blocks with 11 and has 11 block assists. Morgan Price is second on the team, with 17 total blocks, eight solo and nine block assists and holds the team's highest block per set ratio at 0.81. Jayla Holcombe and Darci Metzger are tied for third, both with 15 total blocks. Holcombe has two block solos and 13 block assists while Metzger has three solos and 12 block assists.

Home Court Advantage
Murray is 5-1 this season in Racer Arena and 8-2 dating back to last season, only falling to Southeast Missouri, 3-0 in the second home match of the 2019 season and Eastern Illinois, 3-1, last weekend. The Panthers snapped the Racers six-game home winning streak.

Fernandez Climbing the All-Time Digs List
Fernandez finished the 2019 season seventh overall on the All-Time Digs List. She sat at 1,603 career digs and claimed sixth place after the opening weekend versus Tennessee State picking up 39 digs. Fernandez surpassed fifth place Murray State Notes 2021 Murray State Women's Volleyball Match Notes while on the road at SIUE and surpassed fourth over the weekend at home. She is now only trailing third place by 113 digs with 1881 career digs.

Leading the OVC
Becca Fernandez is leading the OVC with 6.18 digs per set. Last season, Fernandez finished atop the OVC with 5.10 digs per set.

Last Five
Murray State has won all five of their last five matchups against Tennessee Tech, and are on a nine-game win streak over the Panthers. The Racers last loss came on Oct. 22, 2011 in Cookeville, Tenn. Last year, the Racers won in match in four sets, 25-21, 22-25, 25-20, 25-21,

Scouting Tennessee Tech
The Golden Eagles snapped a five-game losing streak, splitting the weekend with the 2-10 Tennessee State Tigers. TTU dropped a heart-breaker in the opening match in five sets (16-25, 19-25, 25-17, 25-16, 13-15) and swept the Tigers the following day (25-19, 25- 22, 25-15). Tennessee Tech behind two sets to none on Sunday and bid for a late comeback but fell just short. On Monday, the Golden Eagles dominated the Tigers offensivley and won in quick fashion.

Taylor Dorsey had a huge week on offense for the Golden Eagles, totaling 25 kills in a pair of matches while hitting a robust .392 with four blocks. In Tech's first match at TSU, the middle blocker turned in a season-high 15 kills on a .379 hitting percentage. She followed it up with 10 more kills in the second match, as well as her first service ace of the year. In the tilt, she hit .409, making just a single attack error and racking up four block assists.

Tennesse Tech hit .253 over the weekend, led junior setter Ashley Hand, contributing 84 assists in eight sets of action, averaging _ per set on the year. She captured her fifth double-double of the season in the opening game with 11 digs. Senior Ali Verzani produced other double-double for the Golden Eagles, totaling 13 kills and a team-high 12 digs.

On the defensive side of the ball, freshman McKenna Young has totaled 153 digs over the twelve matches, averaging 3.57 per set. She posted 18 digs for the weekend

Racers Set to Host Tennessee Tech For Final Home Weekend of 2021 Season

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Players Mentioned

Callie Anderton

Taylor Beasley

Becca Fernandez

Jayla Holcombe

Katirah Johnson

Kolby McClelland

Darci Metzger

Morgan Price

Murray State University Athletics