Rachel Essner
Staff Writer
The Murray State volleyball team competed in a two-game series against Tennessee Tech University at Racer Arena on Sunday, March 21, and Monday, March 22. Both teams entered the series with a 5-7 record, but the Racers dropped both games 3-1 and 3-2, bringing their record to 5-9 overall.
Game One
Murray State opened the series, winning the first set 25-18 but falling the next three sets 29-27, 25-21 and 25-23 on Sunday, March 21.
Freshman opposite hitter Jayla Holcombe led the Racers with 16 kills, followed by freshman outside hitter Taylor Beasley with 11 kills and a .300 hitting percentage. Redshirt junior outside hitter Kolby McClelland finished with nine kills and 10 digs.
Junior libero Becca Fernandez led the defense with 29 digs and senior setter Callie Anderton tallied 41 assists.
The Racers started the game strong, scoring the first eight points of the game starting with a kill from Beasley and ending on a service ace from Anderton. The Golden Eagles made an effort to close the gap, bringing the score to 12-8. However, with 3-0 and 5-0 runs, the Racers closed the set 25-18, ending on a kill from McClelland.
Murray State took another early lead in set two at 7-3 with a kill from Holcombe and a service ace from sophomore back row player Emma Kailiponi. The Racers kept the lead, taking a 22-17 advantage but the Golden Eagles fought back to tie the game at 22. With the Racers at set point with 24-23, the Golden Eagles took the advantage and the set 29-27.
The teams tied the score at 16 in the third set, but Tennessee Tech used a 5-1 run to pull ahead to 20-17. The teams traded points until two back-to-back points led the Golden Eagles to a 25-21 win and a 2-1 set lead.
The Racers took a 7-5 lead in the fourth set, but a four-point run from the Golden Eagles took away the Racers’ lead and put Tennessee Tech ahead 9-7. The teams tied the score four times until the Racers took the lead at 20-17. Four straight points from the Golden Eagles and a Murray State point tied the game at 21, but the Golden Eagles scored four of the next six points to take the set at 25-23 and the game 3-1.
“We are still lacking the confidence since we are so young,” said Head Coach David Schwepker. “It takes a lot of experience to handle the pressure but I do think we are going to keep getting better.”
Game Two
Murray State dropped the second game of the series in a five-set thriller against Tennessee Tech on Monday, March 22, bringing their overall record to 5-9.
Holcombe led the Racers’ offense for the second night in a row with 16 kills. McClelland achieved her second double-double of the season with 10 kills and 11 digs.
Meanwhile, Beasley had a game of career-highs with 14 kills, a .384 hitting percentage, eight digs and three service aces.
“I thought Taylor did very well today,” Schwepker said. “She did a lot of good stuff for us and I was very impressed with how she played.”
On the defensive side, Fernandez led the Racers with 28 digs. Anderton tallied five kills and 42 assists in her final game in the Racer Arena.
The Racers rattled off a 5-1 run with a kill and service ace from Beasley to take a 5-4 lead in the first set. However, this was the only lead the Racers took in set one. An 8-2 run gave the Golden Eagles set point at 24-16. The Racers made an effort to come back but ultimately fell 25-20.
Tennessee Tech carried its momentum into the beginning of set two, taking an 8-3 lead but the Racers battled back to even the score at ten. The teams traded points until the Racers took the lead at 24-21. The Golden Eagles were able to tie the score at 24 but with two kills from Holcombe, the Racers took the set 26-24.
Kills from Beasley and Holcombe and a service ace from McClelland gave the Racers an 11-6 advantage in the third set. The Golden Eagles came back to tie the set at 20 but the Racers won the race to five points with kills from Holcombe and Anderton to take the set 25-22 and a 2-1 advantage.
The fourth set was a game of runs as Tennessee Tech opened the set with a 5-0 run to lead 5-1. Murray State quickly responded with a 9-2 run with back-to-back kills from both Beasley and Holcombe to take a 10-7 lead. A 7-1 run put the Golden Eagles back on top at 18-16. The teams tied the score six times from 18 to 22 until the Golden Eagles were able to pull ahead 25-23 to send the game into a fifth set.
The final set began with both teams scoring back-and-forth until they tied at seven. However, the Golden Eagles pulled ahead and closed out the set 15-11 to take the game 3-2 and the series 2-0.
“We were able to improve between Sunday and Monday,” Schwepker said. “We are just not mentally tough under pressure points.”
The Racers will hit the road to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to face Southeast Missouri State University and finish out their regular season on Sunday, March 28, and Monday, March 29, at 7 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.