Murray State volleyball hosted the Iowa schools this past weekend, facing UNI on Nov. 1 and Drake on Senior Night on Nov. 2.
Nov. 1 vs UNI
The Racers were unable to gain momentum against the number one team in the conference on Friday, losing 3-0 to the UNI Panthers.
A weaker performance from the Panthers, who gave up 15 points through errors, kept the Racers in reach during the first set. Attack errors from a couple Panthers tied the set 24-24, but the Racers could not rally to win the set, losing 27-25. Striking first in the second set, the team kept the score close all throughout the first half of play, but could not combat with the hard hitting Panthers. UNI took the second set 25-19. The team struggled to get themselves on the board in the third set, with the Panthers going up by five before the Racers could score themselves a point. The rest of the set was dominated by the Panthers who did not let the Racers get within three points of the lead. The Panthers ended the match by winning the third set 25-18, marking Head Coach Bobbi Peterson’s 600th coaching career win.
The Racers put up some of their lowest season statistics, bottoming out on kills (29), aces (0), points (35.0), assists (24) and total attempts (121). Junior outside hitter Ella Vogel and senior setter Bailey DeMier both had rough games, hitting season lows. Vogel only totaled eight kills, while DeMier had 18 assists. The game also marked the lowest number of attack and serve errors on the season for the Racers, with only 12 attack errors and zero service errors. Ultimately, this loss marks only the third time this season that the Racers were swept 3-0.
Nov. 2 vs Drake
Murray State competed well early against Drake, but dropped three straight sets to lose the match 3-1 to the Bulldogs.
A highly competitive first set saw the Racers win 27-25, thanks to 19 kills and .286 hitting percentage. Set two was a war of attrition between the teams with both totaling over 20 kills, however it was the Bulldogs that finished the set, winning 31-29. Drake controlled the entirety of the third set, only allowing the Racers to get within seven points. The Racers fought hard in the fourth, but Drake’s attack was too good. The Bulldogs won the fourth set 25-19 to seal the match 3-1.
Murray State had four players with double-digit kills, highlighted by Lily Burnett, Haidi Miliou and Ella Vogel who all had 14 kills while Federica Nuccio had 12. Bailey DeMier had another 50 assist match, putting her career total to 4,385 as she looks to become the all-time assist record holder for Murray State. The record stands at 4,580 which was set by Kristi Hoffman in 1997. Dahlia Miller led the Racers with 26 digs.
Murray State will hit the road for their last two away matchups of the season when they travel to Evansville on Nov. 8 and Indiana State on Nov. 9.
