Senior middle blocker Ayssa Lelm jumps for the spike against SEMO on Friday night in Racer Arena.
Story by Alicia Steele, staff writer
Racer Volleyball continued their home match winning streak this weekend, defeating both UT Martin and Southeast Missouri State, adding the 17th and 18th consecutive win at Racer Arena to their record.
On Friday, the Racers took a win over UT Martin in four sets with 25-19 win in the first set, 22-25 loss in the second set, 25-19 win in the third set, and 25-16 win in the fourth set. The team ended the match with 69 kills, 5 aces, 4 blocks, 66 assists, 73 digs, and a .226 hitting average.
On Saturday, the Racers took a win over SEMO in a three set sweep, 25-18, 25-23, and 25-17 to finish it out. The team ended the match with 53 kills, 4 aces, 6 blocks, 50 assists, 49 digs, and a .215 hitting average.
Audrey Lewis, Senior from Columbus, Indiana, led the team with 12 kills, 1 error, 22 total attacks, and .500 hitting average.
“My other hitters actually set me up really well because I had a lot of holes,” said Lewis.
Lewis is a transfer from Tennessee Tech where she spent two years of her college volleyball career. Lewis said she was nervous for her first couple of sets but she is happy to be starting for a couple matches.
“I think today I was a little more relaxed and calm because I do know that if something were to go wrong I have an extremely talented group of teammates,” Lewis said. “They’re always going to come in and pick up my slack no matter what, so I kind of played with less worries today.”
Head Coach David Schwepker said Lewis earned her starting spot through hard work at practice.
“I never decide who plays,” said Schwepker. “It’s all them, they decide.”
The Racers take on Austin Peay State at 7 p.m. on Oct. 7 at Austin Peay.
Schwepker said the Racers always have a hard time when they go to Austin Peay because of the large gym and large crowd, but he says if they mentally focused the entire time before and during the match he believes they can pull out a win.
“I don’t know what to expect because it’s a huge game for us,” Schwepker said. “We need to get that last road trip game.”