Game One

Murray State lost to Miami University in four close sets 25-23, 25-19, 25-16 and 25-23.

Racer sophomore middle-blocker Katirah got the match started with the first kill in the first set of the match, but the RedHawks responded to the kill with a 7-1 scoring run.

Murray State was able to close the gap 9-8 before changes were made. After cutting the lead to one, there were five ties. Sophomore setter Callie Anderton nabbed back-to-back kills and the Racers had their first lead 19-17.

Both teams played an evenly-matched first set. However, Miami Ohio Head Coach Carolyn Condit called a timeout to talk things over. The RedHawks came out of the timeout with renewed life and went in an 8-5 scoring run to win the first set 25-23.

Junior outside hitter Rachel Giustino opened the second set with her only service ace of the match. The second set, similar to the first, went back and forth with another close win for Miami Ohio, but the Racers could not overcome 10 attack errors in the second set.

Despite the errors, Murray State never trailed by more than six points. The Racers even took the lead at 10-9. With the score knotted at 10, Miami Ohio finished the set on a 15-10 scoring run to win the second set. The RedHawks took a 2-0 match lead into the half.

Murray State Head Coach Dave Schwepker said he knew the match would push his team to its limits.

“They were a really good team,” Schwepker said. “Well disciplined, just a really good team all around.”

After the halftime break, Miami Ohio sought a sweep of the Racers, but Murray State refused to go away and played their most competitive volleyball in the third set.

The Racers scored 18 kills in the third set. Giustino scored eight kills, while senior outside hitter Dacia Brown scored four kills in the third set. The Racers raised their attack percentage from -.023 in the previous set to .484 in the third.

Murray State out-hit Miami Ohio and held them to 10 kills in the third set. The Racers nearly played error-free with only three errors in the third set. Murray State stormed out of the locker room with new life, winning the third set 25-16.

The RedHawks countered the Racers resurgence with a 3-0 lead early into the fourth set. Brown stopped the scoring run with back-to-back kills. Murray State then rode its momentum deep into the fourth set. They took the lead at 10-9 in the fourth set before changes were made.

With the fourth set winding down, the Racers went on a 12-10 scoring run, and forced a timeout from the RedHawks. With Murray State leading 22-19 in the fourth set, an error from the Racers,  followed by a kill from Miami Ohio, brought the score to 22-21.

Before the RedHawks could seize total control, Schwepker wanted to talk things over with his team. Miami Ohio regained the advantage after utilizing their possessions. A few late errors by the Racers enabled the RedHawks to take the fourth set 25-23.

“It was pretty close, it was a lot of back and forth,”Schwepker said. “I thought we were going to get that fourth set to go into the fifth, but we didn’t. All-around it was good. We were just having some problems finishing off some balls and some unforced errors. Those are things hopefully we can change.”

Giustino notched her first double-double of the season with 22 kills and 16 digs. Murray State sophomore Ashley McBee had a team-high 23 assists. Brown finished second in kills for the Racers with 13, while sophomore libero Becca Fernandez finished with 21 digs and six assists.

Game Two

Murray State volleyball answered the loss in game one with a sweep of the Alabama A&M University Bulldogs 27-25, 25-16 and 25-20.

Brown started the first set with three quick kills for the Racers, and Brown followed scoring seven kills. Giustino added five kills, while freshman middle-blocker Kolby McClelland scored three kills and Johnson added two kills.

The advantage swayed back and forth, with neither team creating a large lead in the first set, with the largest lead in the set being three.

Late in the first set, the score was tied at 25, thanks in large part to back-to-back errors from the Bulldogs, allowing the Racers to earn the win in the first set. Sophomore setter Callie Anderton and sophomore setter Callie Anderton were key in the set for Murray State, each recording 12 assists.

Murray State was efficient in the second set, scoring 16 kills on 30 attempts and allowing the Racers to jump out to an early 5-1 lead. Brown nabbed the first three kills of the second set. While Murray State’s attack was clicking, its defense held the Alabama A&M to nine kills on 25 attempts.

The Racers seemed to perform more efficiently as the weekend winded down, and according to Schwepker, that’s just how the head coach intended.

“Our main theme is playing consistent and playing at the level we train at in the gym. As we get better our level will increase and we will play better and I think we did that all weekend.”

The Racers’ outside hitters were out-hitting the Bulldogs in the second set. Junior outside hitter Rachel Holthaus and Giustino added three kills a piece in the third set. The Racers pushed the lead all the way out to nine to make the score 21-12.

Murray State forced a few more errors from Alabama A&M and won the second set 25-16.

In the third set, Murray State led 5-3 after three Bulldog errors and a kill a piece from Holthaus and Brown. Alabama A&M was able to find some traction in the third set, tying the score 10-10.

Anderton scored a kill from Fernandez, and the Bulldogs had another error that gave the lead back to the Racers. Alabama A&M tied the score at 14, before Murray State won the match on a 11-6 scoring run.

Brown led the Racers with 17 kills and two blocks, and Giustino added 12  killsfor Murray State. Anderton passed out a match-high 40 assists, while Fernandez added 16 digs against the Bulldogs.

Game Three

Murray State volleyball earned its second sweep of the day after beating the Southern Illinois University Salukis 25-23, 25-14 and 25-18.

Johnson secured the first two kills in the first set for the Racers. Murray State opened up with a 9-3 lead, until the Salukis responded with a 7-1 run to tie it 10-10.

The Racers had more kills than Southern Illinois in the first set with 17 kills on .190 attack percentage, compared to the Salukis’ 11 kills and .093 attack percentage. Southern Illinois also had seven attack errors, a ball handling error and a service error that gave Murray State the win in the first set.

The Salukis struck first in the second set with a kill, but they were met with a counter strike from the Racers’ Johnson. Murray State then forced errors from Southern Illinois, and Racers’ Anderton nabbed three service aces in a row to push their lead to 10-3 in the set.

Similar to the first set, the Salukis found an answer to Murray State’s run. Southern Illinois closed the gap after a 7-2 run. The Racers responded to the Salukis’ run and finished the set on a 14-4 scoring run, giving Murray State the 25-14 win heading into the half.  

Murray State’s Giustino had four kills in the scoring run, while junior outside hitter Megan Lindsay and Johnson had two kills a piece. Southern Illinois hurt itself in the second set with seven kills, along with seven attack errors.

The Salukis skipped out to a 9-5 lead in the third set, but the Racers took the lead after scoring four kills and forcing three errors. With the score 12-11 in favor of Murray State, the Racers went on a 13-7 run to win the set 25-18.

It was a group effort, with six different Murray State players scoring during the run to win the match. Freshman outside hitter Emily Matson led the way and scored three kills in the scoring run. Schwepker commended Anderton’s performance on Saturday.

“Her setting is much more stable and she’s stayed back and played great defense which is what we’ve been wanting her to do,” Schwepker said. “She’s picked up her serving. She went on a big run which is great for us. She’s a very good and powerful server, just needs to work on being more consistent.”

Anderton dished out a game-high 39 assists and eight digs in the match, and Murray State junior libero Alex Kaufmann led the team with 13 digs in the match. Brown scored seven of her team-high 13 kills in the third set, while Giustino followed with 12 kills of her own.

The Racers followed up a loss with a sweep for the second time this season. Murray State will now travel to Wyoming to compete in the 2018 UNIWYO Invite. The Racers will face-off against the Arizona State Sun Devils at 11 a.m. on Sept. 7, in Laramie, Wyoming.