Rachel Essner
Contributing Writer
ressner1@murraystate.edu
The Murray State volleyball team traveled to Edwardsville, Illinois, to take on SIUE on Saturday, Feb. 20, and Sunday, Feb. 21. The Racers were not able to come up with a win after the two-game series against the Cougars.
Game One
The teams competed in a five-set thriller, with the Racers taking the tough loss with two set wins and three losses.
Murray State used a 6-1 run to pull ahead to 13-11 in the first set. The Racers stayed steady throughout the rest of the set, scoring four straight points to win 25-18.
The Cougars opened the second set with a 6-0 run and led 9-2, which paved their way to a 25-9 victory over the Racers.
The teams kept the score close in the third set until the Racers used a 5-1 run to make the score 19-13. SIUE was able to come within two points before the Racers took the set 25-22.
The Racers and the Cougars went back and forth in the fourth set, tying the score at 19. The Cougars scored three straight points to win 25-23.
The Racers took the lead in the fifth set with a score of 3-1 but the Cougars fought back and tied the score at 10. SIUE scored four points in a row to take the lead and win the set 15-13, taking the game.
Junior libero Becca Fernandez totaled 49 digs, averaging almost 10 digs per set.
“Becca was phenomenal this weekend,” said Head Coach David Schwepker. “She was digging up crazy stuff and played amazing.”
Fernandez now has the fifth most digs overall in Murray State history with 1,736, surpassing Assistant Coach Alison Hrusvosky, who played from 2005-08.
Redshirt junior Kolby McClelland led the Racers with 21 kills while freshman Jayla Holcombe followed closely behind with 19 and two blocks. Senior setter Callie Anderton tallied 45 assists in the first game.
Game Two
The Racers took on the Cougars again on Sunday, Feb. 21, where the Cougars swept the Racers in three sets (13-25, 20-25, 26-28), causing Murray State to fall to 2-4 in the OVC.
Holcombe led the Racers with nine kills, while junior opposite hitter Emily Matson counted eight and McClelland had six.
Fernandez led the defense with 21 digs, while Anderton tallied 13 digs and added 19 assists.
The Racers dug a hole for themselves early in the first set, allowing the Cougars to come out on top at 25-13.
SIUE carried that momentum into the second set, going on an 8-2 run to take the lead at 8-3. The Cougars continued to score and used a 6-2 run to take a 17-12 lead. The Racers were able to fight back to make the score 22-19 but never caught the Cougars, who came out on top at 25-20.
After trailing the Cougars 15-8 in the third set, the Racers were able to use a 5-0 run to close the gap and bring the score to 15-13. The teams went back and forth before Murray State went on a 3-0 run to tie the score at 22. The Racers took their first lead of the game at 25-24, but eventually fell 28-26 to the Cougars.
“They were a very good team but we made too many mistakes,” Schwepker said. “The first two sets were not very good after coming off of yesterday’s tough loss and we couldn’t get ourselves together. The third set they started playing better, but it was too late to make it all work.”
The Racers will return to the Racer Arena to take on UT Martin on Sunday, Feb. 28, at 6 p.m. and Monday, March 1, at 4 p.m.