Murray State volleyball went on a two-game road trip to Iowa where they faced off against the last two undefeated teams in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Drake Bulldogs in Des Moines, Iowa, and the Northern Iowa Panthers in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Oct. 11 at Drake
Despite forcing a fifth set against the undefeated Drake Bulldogs, Murray State volleyball couldn’t win the match, losing 3-2 on Oct. 11.
The Racers entered the weekend with a lot of momentum, winning four of their last five matches, including a reverse sweep win against Belmont on Oct. 8.
The first set was very close, with Drake winning 25-23, aided by two key kills from Ashlynn Kuhn. Murray State bounced back in the second set, taking it 25-19. The Racers also took the third set, coming out on top with 27-25, led by seven kills in the third set alone. The Bulldogs came out on top in the fourth 25-17 to move it to the final fifth set where they won 15-6, ending a spirited Racer comeback.
Bailey DeMier continued her excellent run of setting up her teammates, adding another 40 assist game to bring her to nine on the season. Ella Vogel led the Racers with 14 kills and three blocks. Darci Metzger had 12 kills and a team-high five blocks. Dahlia Miller provided eight assists to go along with her 33 digs.
This win for Drake sent them to 5-0 in MVC play this season. Murray State fell to 4-2, halting their winning streak at three.
Oct. 12 at UNI
The Racers lost to Northern Iowa on Oct. 11 at the McLean Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa, after a strong first set.
Murray State started the game going point for point with the Panthers, winning the first set 25-22. They then transitioned into an offense-focused second set, Ella Vogel taking six kills and Federica Nuccio with three. Despite the apparent effort, the Racers were unable to close out the set and took a 25-22 loss. The Panthers scored 20 kills to Murray State’s eight in the third set, bringing the Racers to a 25-13 loss. The Racers were unable to gain momentum in the fourth set, tallying ten total errors. They closed the set with ten to Northern Iowa’s 25, leaving the Racers with a 3-1 loss.
Ella Vogel led the team in kills with 14 with Haidi Miliou close behind with eight kills. Dahlia Miller had 20 digs, accounting for one-third of the team’s total digs. Bailey DeMier set 31 assists, while also snagging eight digs.
Murray State dropped to 4-3 in MVC play and 9-7 overall. UNI recorded their sixth straight win, taking them to an 11-7 overall record.
The Racers return to Racer Arena this weekend for a homecoming matchup against Valparaiso on Friday, Oct. 18 at 6 p.m. and UIC on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 6 p.m.
