The Murray State volleyball team went 2-1 over the weekend when they traveled to Huntington, West Virginia to compete in the Marshall Invite.

This is a turnaround from the Liberty Tournament, where the team went 0-3 on the weekend. Racers’ Head Coach David Schwepker commented on the improvement in play.

“Each week, we’ll always pick something that we just need to work on,” said Schwepker. “What we were really working on is our offense. We’re giving up way too many unforced errors, so that’s kind of what we worked on all week.” 

Racers vs Buccaneers

In their first match of the weekend, the Racers took on Charleston Southern University on Friday, Sept. 9

Murray State was down 7-4 early in the first set before a flurry of points came its way. A rally was started by back-to-back kills from junior middle blocker Darci Metzger, followed by an attack error from Charleston Southern followed  and a kill by freshman outside hitter Federica Nuccio came soon after, putting the Racers up 9-7.

The Racers were down 26-25 and close to losing the first set, but they weren’t quite done yet. Back-to-back kills by Metzger gave Murray State a one-point lead and a bad set from the Buccaneers put the Racers up 1-0 in the match.

It was late in the second set and Murray State was down 23-15. The Racers then began to rally thanks to a kill by junior outside hitter Morgan Price. Nuccio followed her with three straight kills. An attack error rounded out the rally, leaving the score 23-20. Despite the late rally, the Buccaneers took the set 25-22.

Murray State was able to get an early lead, starting the third set off with three straight points. Nuccio killed the ball twice and sophomore setter Bailey DeMier earned a service ace in the sequence. 

Charleston Southern retaliated by going on a seven-point rally to go up 7-3. After a back-and-forth set, the Racers were up 21-20. Murray State was able to go on a late run, scoring three times in a row thanks to two Buccaneer attack errors and a kill from Nuccio. The Racers took the set 25-22 and went up 2-1 in the match.

The Racers were able to handle things in four sets as they got an early 7-3 lead before the Buccaneers rallied to get ahead 8-7. The Racers were able to respond quickly, however, as they began to run away with the fourth set going up 20-14. The Racers were able to close the fourth and final set thanks to a Buccaneer attack error, giving Murray State the win 25-19. 

Racers vs The Herd

After losing game two 3-1 against Kent State, the Racers took on Marshall University on Saturday, Sept. 10.

Murray State had a 22-16 lead in the first set before The Herd went on a tear, tying things up 23 apiece. As both teams were tied with 26 points each, junior outside hitter Jayla Holcombe earned back-to-back kills, giving Murray State took the first set winning 28-26.

Nuccio helped the Racers win the second set with six kills. Holcombe was a big contributor with five kills. The pair led the Racers to a 25-18 win in the second set to put the Racers up 2-0. 

Murray State trailed 22-17, but a rally started with a kill from graduate middle blocker Elisa Dozio helped narrow the gap. A Herd attack error followed, and Holcombe concluded the rally with a pair of kills to lessen Marshall’s lead 22-21. 

The Racers weren’t able to complete the comeback and dropped the third set 25-23. 

Murray State was down 4-2 early on in the fourth set until a huge rally catapulted the team ahead. Price started the rally off with a kill and a Herd attack error soon followed. Price then earned another kill and two more Herd attack errors followed. 

Junior libero Dahlia Miller earned herself a service ace to continue the rally and Price concluded it with another kill. The Racers led 9-4 once the rally was over. 

The score was 19-15 as the Racers led and another rally helped them win the fourth and final set. 

Metzger and Price contributed with a kill each. The Herd was able to put a stop to the rally after a kill of their own but committed a service error, giving the Racers a 25-16 win in the fourth and final set. The Racers won their final match of the invite 3-1. 

Metzger totaled 36 kills and 15 blocks over the three game stretch. Miller ended up with 64 digs and 16 assists. 

Nuccio finished the weekend with 55 total kills, the highest among Racers over the course of the Marshall Invite. DeMier totaled a whopping 150 assists over the weekend, leading her team by a wide margin. 

Schwepker commented on the performances from Nuccio and DeMier. They have both been very active on the court, and their coach has noticed.

“Federica [Nuccio] has been doing a lot of stuff for us,” Schwepker said. “We’ve given her a big role, and she’s doing a lot for us. Bailey [DeMier] has been really good and consistent, so I really appreciate that.” 

Price also has impressed her coach. She finished 21 kills and five blocks over the weekend. 

“Morgan [Price] has been playing a lot of different roles for us already this year,” Schwepker said.  “She’s kind of been thrown all over the place, and she just keeps going in and responding really well. It’s very nice to have somebody who is very willing and capable of doing that.” 

This win puts Murray State at 4-4 on the season. The Racers will travel to Birmingham, Alabama, to compete in the Samford Invite this weekend. Murray State will face off against Clemson University in their first match of the invitational on Saturday, Sept. 17, at 2 p.m. 

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