Story by Keenan Hall
Staff Writer
Murray State volleyball dropped its first match of the New Orleans Invitational in three sets to the Houston Cougars 25-13, 25-18 and 25-19.
The Cougars led early in the first set 5-0 before senior outside hitter Dacia Brown stopped the run by scoring the first point of the match for the Racers. Nevertheless, the Cougars turned the heat back up and led the rest of the first set.
Brown and junior outside hitter Rachel Giustino initiated the attack in the second set, scoring the first two kills. However, a bad set led to the Cougars to their first point. The score was close early on in the set, and the score was 11-11 before changes were made.Then, the Cougars nabbed back-to-back kills, and an attack error by the Racers forced a timeout by head coach David Schwepker.
After the timeout, Brown and Giustino both scored a kill assisted by sophomore setter Ashley McBee. With the set score 14-13, the Cougars went on a 11-6 run to win the second set, foiling the Racers chance to tie the match 1-1 before halftime.
In the third set the Cougars carried the momentum from the end of the previous set, grabbing a 4-2 lead. Brown scored four kills in the third set, but it was not enough to overcome 11 errors by the Racers.
The Racers continued to fight and chopped the deficit t three points, 17-14. But the Cougars put the match away after having 10 kills and six errors in the set and ending on a 8-5 run.
Brown finished the match with a game-high 10 kills and two blocks. Giustino came in second for the Racers with eight kills and two blocks. Freshman middle-blocker Kolby McClelland ended third on the Racers with six kills. McBee dished out a team-high 18 assists.
The Cougars outhit the Racers in the match, winning the kill battle 39-27. Additionally, the Cougars forced more errors, scoring six aces in the match. Sophomore middle-blocker Katirah Johnson ended the match tied with a game-high three blocks. Sophomore libero Becca Fernandez followed that with a game-high 11 digs.
The Racers will now move on for their second and third match of the tournament tomorrow. They will play the Omaha Mavericks at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 25 in New Orleans. Following that game, they’ll meet tournament-host New Orleans at 5 p.m. that evening.