SUNDAY'S SCORES
@West Virginia 3,
Murray State 2 (26-28, 25-23, 25-22, 26-28, 15-8)
WEST VIRGINIA 3, MURRAY STATE 2
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - After trailing 2-1, the Murray State volleyball team forced a fifth set, only to fall 15-8 in the decisive frame and drop a 3-2 decision to West Virginia on Saturday at the Gold and Blue Classic in Morgantown.
The two teams were almost mirror images of each other at times in the match, with every point being hotly contested. This was evident in the first set, when neither team gained more than four-point advantage.
At one point in the opening frame, the Racers (2-7) held a 16-12 lead, but the Mountaineers battled back, even taking a 24-23 lead late in the set. However, the Racers were able to force the frame to extra points and used two kills from freshman Emily Schmahl (Edgewood, Ky.) to pick-up the 28-26 win.
In the second set, West Virginia (8-6) overcame a 16-11 deficit to even the match at one with a
25-23 victory. The Mountaineers took the match lead with a 25-22 third set win by putting the Racers in an early 8-2 hole, from which they were never really able to recover.
However, in the fourth set MSU dug down deep and went point-for-point with West Virginia. With the set tied at 26, the Racer used a kill from freshman Taylor Olden (Lincoln, Ill.) and a WVU attack error to secure the 28-26 win and force a fifth set.
In the fifth set, the Mountaineers built and early 8-2 lead, eventually cruising to 15-8 set win and the 3-2 match victory.
Olden finished the day with a career-high 20 kills to lead the Racers for the fifth consecutive outing. Following the match, Olden was named to the all-tournament team for her performance.
Senior Lia Havli (Haltom City, Texas) notched her second double-double of the season by recording 54 assists and 13 digs, while freshman Jodie Klein (Louisville, Ky.) led the MSU defense with 16 digs.
Freshman Emily Schmahl (Edgewood, Ky.) also had an outstanding day for Murray State, finishing with 18 kills for a team-high attack percentage of .302.
Freshman Nikki Attea (East Amherst, N.Y.) turned in a well-rounded performance for West Virginia with a team-high 15 kills, seven block assists and six digs.
The Racers will now turn their attention to the OVC portion of their schedule, beginning with Tennessee Tech on Friday evening at 7 p.m., at Racer Arena. On Saturday, Murray State will continue OVC play by hosting Jacksonville State. First serve for that match is set for 2 p.m.