The Racers were scheduled to play two games over the weekend, but a power outage on Friday, Nov.4 led to a no contest against UIC, leaving the Valparaiso University Beacons as the Racers’ only opponent for the weekend. 

Murray State won the matchup 3-2 and now sit at 10-14 on the season and 6-8 against conference opponents. This places them in seventh place in the MVC. 

The Racers’ final three games will all be on the road. Once the three game road trip is over, the MVC Tournament will start shortly after on Nov. 20.

The Racers had a 20-14 lead over the Beacons in the first set until Valparaiso went on a five-point run to narrow the gap. The Racers were able to finally score again, but the Beacons scored twice more to tie things up at 21 apiece. 

The Racers responded by going on a four-point rally initiated by a kill from senior outside hitter Alysha Smith. Three Valparaiso errors followed to give Murray State the first set 25-21.

Up 16-13 in the second set, the Racers freshman outside hitter Ella Vogel earned a kill. A Beacons attack error followed, and Vogel earned another kill to put the Racers up 19-13. 

Valparaiso was able to go on a run and get within a point before Vogel initiated another rally with a kill. Freshman outside hitter Federica Nuccio earned a kill as well, and the Beacons committed an attack error. 

The Racers went on to win the second set 25-22.

Murray State had control for the majority of the third set. The Racers had a 22-20 lead late into the third set until the Beacons went on a five-point rally to win the 25-22. 

The Beacons jumped ahead early on in the fourth set after a six-point rally that put them ahead 8-3. The Racers were able to respond, stringing together a few small rallies of their own. 

A rally initiated by Smith, followed by a kill from sophomore setter Bailey DeMier and a Valparaiso attack error, made the score 22-20 in favor of the Beacons. The Racers ultimately dropped the third set as Valparaiso won 25-22.

Tied at 8 apiece in the fifth and final set, Vogel earned a kill and an attack error followed, giving Murray State the lead. The Beacons retaliated with a kill, but the Racers were able to pull ahead even further after they forced three consecutive Valparaiso errors, making the score 13-9.

The Beacons scored once more, and the Racers finished the game off with kills by both Nuccio and Smith to give Murray State the last set and a 3-2 match win.

Nuccio led the team in kills with 21. She had 17 digs, two blocks and an ace in the win. DeMier finished with a total of 58 assists and two aces. Junior libero Dahlia Miller had 24 digs, six assists and two aces. Vogel totaled 20 kills, while Smith had 10.

The Racers travel to take on the Evansville Aces at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11 in Evansville, Indiana.

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