Story by Keenan Hall
Staff writer
khall16@murraystate.edu
Murray State volleyball swept the Eastern Kentucky University Colonels to clinch its first win in the OVC this season 25-21, 26-24 and 25-21.
Both teams traded points throughout the first set until Murray State posted a 4-0 scoring run with the score knotted at 21. The Racers won the set 25-21, thanks in part to Murray State outside hitters Rachel Giustino and Dacia Brown leading the way. They posted five kills apiece in the first set.
Giustino earned her fourth straight double-double with a game-high 15 kills and 11 digs, while Brown added 15 kills in the match.
The Colonels broke out to a 5-1 scoring run to start the second set, but the Racers were not backing down at home. Murray State closed the gap and even tied the score with a service ace from sophomore libero Becca Fernandez. Fernandez finished the match with a game-high 20 digs.
Eastern Kentucky responded by going up 21-16 after a few errors from Murray State. However, the Racers returned the favor after scoring five straight to tie the set score at 21. Brown scored three-straight kills during the run, while Giustino added one kill.
Brown and junior outside hitter Megan Lindsay added clutch kills late in the second set, giving Murray State the final push it needed to win the second set 26-24. The Racers scored a game-high 18 kills during the comeback win and entered the third set with a 2-0 set lead.
Similar to the first, neither squad could take control early. Momentum swayed back and forth until Murray State stretched its lead to 22-17 in the latter half of the match. Eastern Kentucky continued to fight and closed its deficit to 23-21, but the Colonels eventually ran out of gas and lost the match 25-22 in the third set.
The Racers broke a four-game losing streak after the sweep against Eastern Kentucky. Giustino expressed how hard she and her teammates worked during the week to be prepared for the home opener.
“It feels so good to be home,” Giustino said. “You know that feeling when you come home from a trip and get to jump into your bed. Maybe EKU thought they were going to have an easy game since we lost our first three, but, we’re home, we’re comfortable, we know how to be intense here.”
The Racers knew they had to open the match with some energy after losing three in a row on the road in the OVC. The losing streak made for some eye-opening practices leading up to the home opener.
“After these last few losses, we had to really look at our team,” Giustino said. “What we’re doing right and what we are doing wrong, and this week in practice we wanted to focus on fixing our problems and working as a team.”
With the absence of Murray State junior right-side hitter Rachel Holthaus, the Racers slid into a mid-season slump. The Racers were 0-4 since Holthaus had sat with an injury.
“Naturally with this system, it can create some individualism, because we do compete with each other in practice,” Giustino said. “We’ve just had to learn to put that aside and come together as one team, and it showed this weekend.”
Murray State (7-9) (1-3) will host the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Cougars at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 5, in Racer Arena.