Rachel Essner
Contributing Writer
After four losses on the road, the Racers returned home to take on the UT Martin Skyhawks on Sunday, Feb. 28, and Monday, March 1, where the Racers added two wins to their record.
Game One
The Racers took the Skyhawks to five sets in the first game, winning 25-16, 28-26, 20-25, 22-25 and 15-5, the Racers’ first win since Feb. 8, when they played Tennessee State University. Murray State is now 4-4 overall.
Freshman outside/opposite hitter Jayla Holcombe led the Racers with 17 kills and a .267 hitting percentage, adding three blocks to her name. Freshman middle blocker Darci Metzger added 14 kills on a .478 hitting percentage.
Senior setter Callie Anderton tallied 45 assists while junior libero Becca Fernandez led the defense with 24 digs. Freshman outside hitter Morgan Price added six blocks for the Racers.
The Racers and Skyhawks tied the first set at 13, but during a 12-3 run the Racers took the set with four straight points and a kill from Metzger to win the set 25-16.
The teams went back-and-forth constantly and tied the game in the second set, which led to extra points. The Racers, however, were able to pull out a 28-26 win.
In the third set, the Skyhawks got out to an early 14-8 lead, but the Racers were able to pull themselves out of their hole with a 5-0 run, making the score 14-13. The Skyhawks retaliated with a 4-1 run which led them to a 25-20 win.
Murray State began the fourth set leading 11-8, but eight straight points from UT Martin left the Racers trailing. Points went back-and-forth with the Racers coming within two, but the Skyhawks took the set at 25-22.
Murray State dominated the fifth set, leading off with a 6-0 run and building the score to 10-2. Metzger put down a kill to finish the set 15-2, giving the Racers their third win of the season.
“After losing the last four matches in a row, this is the turnaround we needed,” said Head Coach David Schwepker. “This game was tough to win because we’re so young and [we] get in tense situations, but we were still able to pull it out.”
Game Two
Murray State dominated the second game of the series with a 3-0 sweep against UT Martin. The Racers won 32-30, 25-11, 25-23 to improve to a 4-4 record.
Holcombe tallied a career-high 26 kills and added three blocks and five digs. Metzger and junior outside hitter Emily Matson tallied 10 and nine kills, respectively. Anderton added 48 assists and Fernandez tallied 23 digs against the Skyhawks.
“All we worked on this week was offense,” Schwepker said. “We have some girls who can really hit the ball.”
The Skyhawks pulled ahead using a 4-0 run to take the lead at 22-17, but the Racers put together a 5-0 run to tie the game at 22. The teams traded points, going into extra points. Murray State was able to pull out two points to win 33-31 with a kill and a service ace from Holcombe.
Murray State dominated the second set and kept control of the game. The teams traded points to tie at 2-2, but the Racers pulled ahead to 17-10. An 8-1 run led the Racers to a 25-11 victory with kills from Holcombe and Anderton and a service ace from sophomore defensive specialist Emma Kailiponi.
Holcombe opened the third set with back-to-back kills, but the Racers fell 9-5. A 6-0 run with a service ace from redshirt junior middle blocker Kolby McClelland, two kills from Metzger and a kill from Matson turned it around, putting the Racers on top at 11-9 and forcing the Skyhawks to call a timeout. UT Martin came back and took an 18-17 lead but the teams traded points with two kills from Matson to tie the game at 20. A kill from Holcombe and a block from Holcombe and Price gave the Racers the momentum to pull ahead 22-20 and led to a Skyhawks timeout. Fernandez scored a service ace out of the timeout and two kills from Holcombe led the Racers to a 25-23 win.
“This was a huge win for those young girls,” Schwepker said. “When they can win in that kind of pressure situation is a big deal.”
The Racers will travel to Clarksville, Tennessee to take on Austin Peay State University on Sunday, March 7, and Monday, March 8, at 4 p.m. both days.