Racers Look to Bounce Back at NIU Invitational

Friday, September 4

DeKalb, Ill.

11 a.m.

Murray State

Northern Illinois

9/3/2026 12:08:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

By: Jack Diwik

Murray State will hit the road and travel to DeKalb, Ill., this weekend to participate in the NIU Invitational at the Convocation Center.

The Racers (0-3) will open the tournament at 11 a.m. Friday with a rematch against host Northern Illinois (1-2), which swept the Navy and Gold on Aug. 28 at the USI Invitational. Murray State will then turn to a Saturday slate that features Lindenwood (2-1) at 11 a.m. and Portland State (1-1) at 2:30 p.m., two opponents the Racers have never faced.

Murray State will look to bounce back after dropping three matches during opening weekend. The Racers showed flashes throughout the USI Invitational, including a second-set victory against Southern Indiana in which they recorded 15 kills and hit .387. Murray State also battled Northern Illinois through two close sets, holding a 15-12 lead in the opener before falling 25-21 and hitting .283 with 15 kills in a 25-22 second-set loss.

Sophomore Anne Makowski led the Racers offensively on opening day, totaling 30 kills across the first two matches. She opened the season with 18 kills on a .304 hitting percentage against Southern Indiana before adding 12 kills against Northern Illinois. Freshman Maezi Snyder also made an immediate impact, finishing her first collegiate weekend with 15 kills, including seven on a .600 hitting percentage in the season opener.

Snyder was not the only freshman to flash over the weekend, as libero Ada Tamturk recorded 27 digs in two starts, second to Paige Brock's 29. Fellow freshman Ceren Durak also made noise in her collegiate debut, recording 15 digs and seven kills in two starts.

The senior setter Brock, one of Murray State's key returning contributors, enters the weekend after recording 33 assists, 29 digs and seven service aces over the weekend, all team-highs. Brock entered the season after recording 398 assists and averaging 5.53 assists per set in 2025.

With just 16 total years of collegiate experience and a first-year head coach in Tristyn Krzos, the young Racers will look to build on the successes they found on opening weekend and secure Krzos' first career win at the helm.