The Murray State volleyball team split the pair of games over the weekend and are now 4-9-3 on the season and 3-3-2 against MVC opponents.

The Racers traveled to Springfield, Missouri, to compete against the Missouri State Bears on Friday, Oct. 14. The Racers stayed on the road after the game, traveling to play the Southern Illinois University Salukis on Saturday, Oct. 15.

Murray State had a strong comeback at Missouri State. At one point, they were down two sets to none, yet the Racers were still able to win three straight sets, giving themselves a well earned 3-2 victory.

The Racers’ luck ran out the following day, however, as they fell to the Salukis 3-0.

@ Missouri State

After the Racers got out to a 2-0 lead in the first set, the Bears jumped out to a 9-2 lead, thanks to a huge nine-point rally. Four of those 9 points came from a Murray State error.

Murray State was able to gain the lead  after a four-point rally put the team ahead 20-18. This lead was short lived, though, as Missouri State would score 7 of the last 9 points in the set. The Bears won the first set 25-22.

The second set was back and forth for most of its duration. The Racers had a 18-16 lead before the Bears would go on a four-point rally to regain the lead. The Racers tied things back up at 20 apiece, as junior outside hitter Jayla Holcombe and freshman outside hitter Federica Nuccio each earned a kill. 

The Bears then went on another four-point run, helping them take the second set 25-21.

Murray State jumped ahead in the third set thanks to a kill by Holcombe followed by a Missouri State error. Graduate middle blocker Elisa Dozio then earned herself a kill, as did Nuccio right after. This four-point rally gave the Racers a 7-5 lead.

The Racers then went on another rally shortly after Nuccio’s kill. Freshman outside hitter Ella Vogel started the rally off with a kill, and the Bears then committed a pair of errors. Dozio earned a service ace; Vogel earned another kill, and another pair of Missouri State attack errors put the Racers ahead 17-7.

The Bears began to mount a comeback as they scored 8 of the last 10 points of the third set, but it still was not enough. The Racers won the third set 25-20.

Down 14-10 in the fourth set, the Racers needed to put points on the board. Murray State regained the lead after a kill by junior outside hitter Morgan Price that was followed by four Missouri State errors and two service aces by freshman outside hitter Julia Fullop. The score was 17-14 after the rally. 

Missouri State would then go on a run themselves and even had the Racers on the brink of defeat, as the score was 26-25. A kill from Holcombe tied the game up; a Missouri State attack error gave the Racers the lead, and a kill by Dozio gave the Racers a 28-26 win in the fourth set. This forced the match to go to a fifth and final set.

The Racers got an early 4-0 lead on the Bears as Holcombe started things off with a kill. Senior outside hitter Alysha Smith then earned a kill; Missouri State committed an attack error, and Smith earned another kill, completing the four-point rally.

The Bears were able to close the gap and eventually took a 15-14 lead. On the brink of defeat for the second time, the Racers put together a three-point rally that was initiated by a kill from Holcombe, tying the game. A pair of Missouri State attack errors followed after Holcombe’s kill, and the Racers won the fifth set 17-15.

Holcombe led the Racers in kills with 18. She also had two blocks and an assist. Fullop ended the matchup with three service aces and 14 digs. Dozio finished with 15 kills and four blocks. Junior libero Dahlia Miller had 31 digs and five assists, while sophomore setter Bailey DeMier had 54 assists, two aces and 12 digs.

@ SIU

Down 12-10 in the first set, the Racers were able to string together a three-point rally taking the lead, thanks to a pair of Holcombe kills and a service ace by Miller. This lead did not last long, as SIU went on a four-point run  to retake the lead 16-13. 

The Racers fought to get back into the set but fell short as the Salukis took the first set 25-20.

Murray State was trailing 13-10 before SIU unloaded a flurry of points and went on a nine-point rally giving the team a 22-10 lead. The Racers were able to retaliate and closed the gap a bit, but they eventually lost the second set 25-19.

Murray State had one lead in the third set 2-1. From then on, it was the Salukis’ show. SIU did not let Murray State take the lead back for the rest of the match, and the Salukis won the third and final set 25-21.

Holcombe had the most kills for the Racers again in this matchup with 14. DeMier finished with three aces, a block, 30 assists and 10 digs. Miller totaled eight digs, two assists and two aces, while Price had nine kills and two blocks. 

Holcombe finished with a team-high 32 kills over the span of the two games. DeMier had 22 digs and 84 assists over the two-game span. Miller finished the weekend with 39 digs, while Price finished with a total of five blocks.

The Racers’ volleyball team will host conference opponent, the Bradley University Braves at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21 in Racer Arena. 

[email protected]