Rachel Essner
Staff Writer
ressner1@murraystate.edu
The Murray State volleyball team split a two-game series in Nashville, Tennessee against Belmont University on Friday, Oct. 29, and Saturday, Oct. 30, bringing their record to 13-10 overall and 7-6 in the OVC.
Game One
The Racers swept the Bruins in the first game of the series, winning three straight sets.
The Bruins took the lead early in the first set, scoring five straight points to make the score 10-7. The Racers fought back with a 6-0 run to take the lead at 16-13, with three straight kills from senior middle blocker Kolby McClelland, a kill from sophomore opposite hitter Jayla Holcombe and a block from McClelland and senior outside hitter Emily Matson. With kills from Holcombe and freshman outside hitter Brooke Lynn Watts advanced the Racers’ lead to 23-18 before ultimately closing out the set 25-20.
Murray State took the lead early in the second set at 6-2 before the Bruins came back and took control at 11-10. The Racers retaliated with a 11-4 run, taking a 21-15 advantage with two service aces from Matson, a block from Watts and McClelland and kills from McClelland, Watts, Holcombe and Matson. A kill from Watts sealed the set at 25-20.
With three kills from McClelland and two kills from Watts, the Racers took the lead at 9-2 in the third set. The Bruins, however, used a 6-1 run to come within one point of the Racers at 10-9, but were never able to pass Murray State as they advanced their lead to 17-12. The teams traded points until a back-to-back kill from Holcombe and a block from McClelland finished the set at 25-21, and gave the Racers the 3-0 win of the match.
Watts and Holcombe led the Racers’ offense with 14 and 13 respective kills, followed by McClelland with nine kills. In addition, McClelland added one solo block and three assisted blocks.
Senior libero Becca Fernandez and sophomore defensive specialist Dahlia Miller led the defense with nine and eight respective digs, while freshman setter Bailey DeMier counted six digs and Watts added five digs. DeMier tallied 34 assists.
Game Two
Belmont took the second game of the series, winning 3-1 over the Racers.
Murray State took the early lead at 8-7 in the first set. Belmont, however, took control, scoring seven straight points to make the score 14-8. The Racers slowly closed the gap, scoring four points in a row to come within one point of the Bruins at 23-22, but the Bruins ultimately closed the set 25-23.
Belmont never let Murray State take control in the second set as they stayed on top, only letting the Racers tie the score once at 18 after back-to-back kills from Holcombe and freshman outside hitter Alexa Harris. With three straight points, the Bruins finished the set 25-20.
The Racers took over in the third set, jumping to a quick 18-6 lead with kills from Harris, Watts, Holcombe, McClelland and sophomore middle blocker Darci Metzger. The Racers kept pushing until they sealed the set 25-12 with a back-to-back assisted block from Metzger and DeMier and a solo block from Watts.
The teams traded points in the beginning of the fourth set, tying the score at seven, followed by three straight points from the Bruins to give them the 10-7 advantage. The Racers were never able to catch up to the Bruins as they advanced their lead. With a 5-1 run, Belmont took the set 25-18.
Harris led the Racers’ offense with 12 kills, followed by Holcombe with 11 and Watts with 10 kills. Holcombe and Metzger each counted three block assists while Watts counted the Racers’ only solo block.
Fernandez collected 15 digs to lead the Racers’ defense, followed by DeMier with 14 digs and Watts with seven digs. DeMier added 40 assists.
The Racers return home to take on Southeast Missouri State University as they celebrate their senior night on Friday, Nov. 5, and Saturday, Nov. 6, at 6 p.m. both nights