FRIDAY'S SCORES
Morehead State 3, Rutgers 0 (25-19, 25-29, 25-20)
UALR 3
, Austin Peay 0 (19-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-17)
Coastal Carolina 3
, Jacksonville State 0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-20)
Morehead State 3, Cornell 1 (25-18, 25-16, 10-25, 25-19)
Austin Peay 3, LaSalle 0 (25-10, 25-20, 25-11)
Eastern Illinois 3, Illinois-Chicago 0 (25-23, 25-25, 25-21)
Yale 3
, Eastern Kentucky 1 (25-20, 26-28, 25-8, 25-19)
Southeast Missouri 3, Towson 1 (25-17, 24-25, 25-13, 27-25)
Middle Tennessee 3
, Southeast Missouri 0 (25-22, 25-12, 25-18)
Belmont 3, Mississippi State 0
Elon 3
Tennessee State 1 (18-25, 25-23, 27-25, 25-22)
DePaul 3,
SIUE 1 (25-20, 24-26, 25-16, 25-22)
@Butler 3,
UT Martin 0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-17)
Murray State 3, Davidson 2 (25-15, 21-25, 21-25, 26-24, 15-13)
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, TOWSON 1; MIDDLE TENNESSEE 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Southeast Missouri (7-5) volleyball team split a pair of matches at the first day of the Mizzou Classic Friday; defeating Towson (5-9), 3-1, and falling to Middle Tennessee (7-4), 3-0, in the nightcap.
Southeast Missour 3, Towson 1
Southeast took the first set 25-17 but fell in a close second set, 26-24. Coming out of the intermission, the Redhawks rolled to a 25-13 set victory and regained the lead in the match. The Redhawks and Tigers battled it out in a close fourth set as the Redhawks prevailed 27-25 to take the first match of the Mizzou Classic.
Colleen Yarber led the Redhawks in kills with 14 in the match. Emily Coon killed the ball seven times and tallied four blocks, contributing to a total 11 team blocks. Meredith Stranges posted a career-high five kills.
Towson tallied 37 attack errors in the match.
Middle Tennessee 3, Southeast Missouri 1
With a couple injuries in the match, the Redhawks were able to pull some bodies off the bench and try new things. Alexandra Rohlfing and Madalyn Werths saw their first playing time of the season against the Blue Raiders.
The Redhawks lost a close first set to fall behind early, 25-22. Southeast could not get in a system in the final two sets, dropping them both, 25-17, 25-18.
Andrea Baylin had a team-high nine kills but also posted six attack errors. Taylor Masterson had three blocks and seven kills. The Redhawks out-blocked MTSU 7-5.
The Redhawks will conclude 2013 tournament play Saturday against Samford at 10 a.m. followed by Missouri at 2 p.m.
UALR 3, AUSTIN PEAY 1; AUSTIN PEAY 3, LaSALLE 0
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team got off to a good start against UALR, but could not maintain the early momentum and fell in four sets (25-19, 18-25, 15-25, 17-25), Friday morning in the opening match of the Tiger Invitational at Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
A week of focus on defense paid off for Austin Peay (2-11) in the opening set as they recorded four blocks in the frame. That defensive effort helped stymie the UALR offense which posted as many kills (nine) as errors (nine). UALR would battle and tied the set, 16-16, but Austin Peay won nine of the next 12 points to secure a 25-19 victory.
Austin Peay carried that intensity over to the early portion of the second set and led by as many as four points, 10-6. UALR slowly turned the momentum and took control with a set-ending 9-2 run to claim a 25-18 win. The Lady Govs offense started to fade in the set-ending run, recording just one kill in the final 11 points.
UALR (6-4) pushed its advantage in the third set. After an ugly start that saw the teams struggle to a 6-6 tie, UALR used a 12-5 run to break the set open. The Austin Peay offense was stopped to the tune of eight kills against eight errors, four errors coming in the set’s final 14 points.
The fourth set was more of the same, with the teams tied at 13-13 before UALR closed the match with a 12-4 run. Austin Peay’s offense rallied for 14 kills against only six errors in the set. However, UALR’s offense went unchallenged with 16 kills posted with only one error.
After opening the match with five blocks in the opening set, Austin Peay’s defense faded with two blocks in the second frame and none in both the third and fourth sets.
Redshirt freshman Sammie Ebright led Austin Peay with 12 kills, including five in the fourth set. Junior middle blocker Liz Landon led the Lady Govs offense through three sets and finished with 11 kills.
UALR’s Edina Begic led all attackers with 17 kills while posting a .368 attack percentage. Sonja Milanovic chipped in 14 kills.
Austin Peay State University’s volleyball team ended a seven match losing streak with a decisive three-set sweep (25-10, 25-20, 25-11) of La Salle, Friday afternoon in the Tiger Invitational at Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
Senior Lauren Henderson dominated the opening set with her serve. Austin Peay (3-11) trailed 3-2 when she stepped behind the line and she promptly served up eight consecutive points, including a pair of aces, to give APSU a 10-4 lead it would not relinquish. Henderson made sure APSU secured the opening-set win as she served up a 5-0 run to end the set, including her third ace of the frame.
La Salle (1-14) pushed Austin Peay in the second set, leading 5-4 early on. It would take a 10-6 Lady Govs run to turn the tide in the frame, giving APSU a 15-11 lead. Austin Peay would push the lead to five points – its largest advantage in the second set – thanks to junior Hillary Plybon’s kill at 21-16. The Lady Govs would maintain that advantage en route to the 25-20 victory.
Henderson again proved pivotal in the third as opened up the set with a pair of service aces to give APSU a 6-1 lead and force an early timeout. Austin Peay would roll from there, allowing La Salle to score back-to-back points just twice in the set. Fittingly, the Lady Govs sealed the match win with senior Calyn Hull’s second service ace for the 25-12 win.
Henderson finished the match with seven service aces – one shy of tying the APSU single-match record. She also had five kills and a pair of blocks. Redshirt freshman Sammie Ebright led the Lady Govs offense with 11 kills. Austin Peay scored 38 kills with a .286 attack percentage.
Rachel Finkbeiner led La Salle with six kills. The Explorers had 22 kills but finished with 20 errors for a .022 attack percentage.
MOREHEAD STATE 3 RUTGERS 0; MOREHEAD STATE 3, CORNELL 1
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Sophomore outside hitter Courtney Smith led Morehead State with 15 kills and hit .364 as the Eagle volleyball team swept Rutgers 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-20) Friday afternoon at Fitzgerald Fieldhouse to open the Pittsburgh Panther Invitational.
MSU improved to 7-4 with its third consecutive victory. The Scarlet Knights, who are competing in the new American Athletic Conference, fell to 3-9.
Smith tied her season-high in kills and reached double digits for the sixth time this season. She made only three attack miscues on a team-high 33 attempts. She also totaled three aces and two blocks, including a pair of solo rejections.
Senior libero Leslie Schellhaas compiled a team-best 18 digs. The Eagles had a season-best five solo blocks and tallied six total blocks as a unit.
The Eagles held advantages in kills (37-30), aces (7-2) and digs (53-51) and limited the Knights to just a .120 hitting efficiency. MSU leads the Ohio Valley Conference in lowest opponent hitting percentage.
Rutgers got a team-high nine kills from Alex Lassa. It marked the second straight match an opponent failed to have a player in double digit kills and the third time this season.
The match featured just five lead changes.
Thirteen was the lucky number for the Morehead State volleyball team Friday afternoon as the Eagles defeated Cornell, 3-1 (25-18, 25-16, 10-25, 25-19), in their second match of the Pittsburgh Panther Invitational at Fitzgerald Fieldhouse.
Sophomore outside hitter Courtney Smith and junior right-side hitter Alex Fitzmorris each had a team-high 13 kills, while senior libero Leslie Schellhaas and senior defensive specialist Lindsey Roth had 13 digs apiece to help the Eagles win their fourth straight match. MSU improved to 8-4, while Cornell slipped to 3-5.
Fitzmorris recorded a team-best .357 hitting percentage, while Smith tallied a .333 efficiency. The duo committed only seven errors on a combined 55 swings.
Senior outside hitter Aryn Bohannon also collected 10 kills and moved her career total to 966. With 34 more kills, she'll join an elite group of MSU players with 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs. Junior setter Colbey Cameron directed MSU's offense to a .220 attack clip while tallying 40 assists and eight digs.
The Big Red got nine kills from Kelly Marble, marking MSU's third consecutive match with no opponent players in double digit kills.
The Eagle offense was efficient in the first two sets with 32 kills and just seven errors. MSU smacked down 15 winners with just two errors for a .500 hitting percentage in the second frame. The third set result wasn't the same, however. MSU committed 11 errors and landed only six kills.
Both teams struggled with serving accuracy. MSU totaled 15 service errors, while Cornell had 13.
COASTAL CAROLINA 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 0
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The Jacksonville State volleyball team opened the Tennessee Invitational with a loss to Coastal Carolina on Friday afternoon at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Sophomore Emily Rutherford posted 14 kills to lead the Gamecocks (6-7). Coastal Carolina improves to 6-5 on the season after taking the Gamecocks down in straight sets by scores of 25-17, 25-20, 25-21.
Senior Abbey Heredia posted a double-double for JSU with 34 assists and 12 digs. Sophomore Kaitlyn Zelhart posted a career-high with nine digs on a .615 attack percentage. Defensively, the Gamecocks were led by senior Kelly Cole with 15 digs.
Kindra Bailey and Eszter Nagy both finished with 11 kills to lead the Chanticleers. Nagy finished the day with a .556 attack percentage while Bailey finished with a .500 attack percentage. Lauren Alejo led the way with 32 assists.
Coastal Carolina posted a .400 hitting percentage and used five kills from Bailey to post a 25-17 first set victory. Freshman Liza Pflugradt led JSU with five kills in the set while Rutherford added four kills.
The Chanticleers opened the second set on a 5-1 run while building a 20-10 lead. Rutherford then recorded one of her six kills in the set to spark a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 20-16. Coastal Carolina then answered with back-to-back kills to extend the lead to 22-16.
Rutherford answered with two straight kills and Zelhart added another kill to cut the lead to 23-19. An attack error by the Chanticleers cut the deficit to 23-20 before Coastal Carolina put the set away with a kill from Nagy and an service ace from Alejo to secure the 25-20 victory.
The two teams kept the third set close, with neither team leading by more than two points early on. With the set tied 17-17, freshman Kacy Clinkenbeard recorded two of her five kills in the game to give the Gamecocks a 19-17 lead. Following a timeout by Coastal Carolina, the Chanticleers closed the match on an 8-2 run to close out the 25-21 match clinching victory.
The Gamecocks will return to action at the Tennessee Invitational on Saturday with matches against the Lady Vols at 9 a.m. and Georgia Tech at 3:30 p.m
TOLEDO 3, UT MARTIN 1; BUTLER 3, UT MARITN 0
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team began its participation in the Butler Classic with a 3-1 loss to Toledo (27-25, 23-25, 18-25, 26-28) on Friday afternoon followed by a 3-0 loss to host Butler (18-25, 15-25, 17-25) on Friday evening at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Against Toledo, Allie Whimpey’s 12 kills led UT Martin (6-8), while Emily Keaton was responsible for 10 kills. Amanda Crask piled up a double-double (47 assists, 13 digs) while Lynsey Hazelwood (nine kills, 10 digs) narrowly missed a double-double. Chelsea Bowles accounted for a match-high 20 digs while Whimpey, Shelby Hoskins and Julia Devinney each had four blocks at the net.
Crask tallied her second double-double of the day when she recorded team-highs of 24 assists and 10 digs against Butler. Hazelwood led the team with seven kills while Whimpey and Devinney added six kills apiece.
The Skyhawks started out well, taking the first set against Toledo. UT Martin jumped out to a 5-2 lead before Toledo took a 7-6 lead. The Skyhawks then reeled off four straight points to reclaim the advantage. A Hazelwood kill pushed UT Martin’s lead out to three (14-11) but Toledo would battle back to go on top by a 17-16 margin. A Bowles service ace tilted the score back in UT Martin’s favor at 20-18 and neither side could pull away until a Keaton kill and Toledo attack error provided the final 27-25 score.
Keaton and Hazelwood each had four kills to lead UT Martin while Crask handed out 11 assists in the first set.
The Skyhawks led for a large portion of the second set, racing out to a 4-1 lead. After Toledo scored back-to-back points, UT Martin went on a 5-0 run to lead 9-3. However, Toledo scored 10 unanswered points to go on top 13-9. UT Martin then answered back with a 6-0 run of its own to go ahead by a 15-13 margin. After the Skyhawks briefly fell behind, a kill by Keaton gave UT Martin a 20-19 lead. However, that would be the last lead the Skyhawks would have as Toledo would claim the 25-23 win.
Keaton (four kills), Crask (11 assists) and Bowles (nine digs) paced UT Martin in the second set.
Toledo pulled away for an 8-3 lead to start the third set but the Skyhawks clawed back to get within three at 13-10 thanks to a Hazelwood service ace. Toledo then scored three unanswered points to go ahead 16-10. UT Martin would get within five points late but that was as close as it would get the rest of the set.
Whimpey had four kills while Crask provided 11 assists in the third set.
The Skyhawks looked as if they would force a fifth set before a late Toledo rally concluded the match. UT Martin led 5-2 early but Toledo responded with three consecutive points to even the score. The Skyhawks did not concede the lead though, as back-to-back kills by Crask and Madison Wessling powered UT Martin to a 12-9 advantage. The Skyhawks would push their lead all the way out to 19-12 until Toledo mounted a comeback. A 7-3 Toledo run made the score 22-19 but UT Martin was in set point position at 24-22. Toledo then scored three straight points to put the Skyhawks’ backs to the wall but Whimpey answered with a kill to extend the set. However, Toledo then scored three of the next four points to end the match.
Whimpey and Wessling each had four kills while Crask was responsible for 14 assists in the fourth and final set.
Butler began its match on a 6-1 spurt until Crask slammed down a kill. Hazelwood then had two kills soon thereafter to slice UT Martin’s deficit to 7-5. After Butler took an 11-6 lead, the Skyhawks shaved their deficit to one at 11-10 courtesy of a Michelle McLaughlin service ace. Butler responded with a 4-0 run to take a 15-10 lead and although the Skyhawks would get within two points at 17-15, that was as close as UT Martin would get for the remainder of the set.
Devinney’s four kills led UT Martin in the first set, as the Skyhawks had 12 kills compared to Butler’s 11.
Butler once again got off to a quick start in the second set, claiming a 6-1 lead. A McLaughlin kill pulled UT Martin within four at 8-4 but Butler then scored four unanswered points to go ahead 12-4. Butler would later add a 7-2 run to lead 19-6 but the Skyhawks scored seven of the next 10 points to make the score 24-15. However, UT Martin couldn’t climb out of its early deficit as Butler took a 2-0 lead.
Hazelwood began the third set with a kill and moments later added another kill to make the score 5-4 in Butler’s favor. Another Hazelwood kill helped keep UT Martin within striking distance at 12-10 but Butler would soon account for four of the next five points to lead 16-11. The Skyhawks would battle back within four points on two more occasions but that would be as close as they would get.
Hazelwood had four kills in the third set while Crask’s 10 assists led the way for UT Martin.
The Skyhawks wrap up their involvement in the Butler Classic on Saturday with a 3 p.m. match against Wisconsin-Green Bay.
EASTERN KENTUCKY VS. YALE
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Eastern Kentucky began the Penn State Classic with a 3-1 loss to Yale on Friday. The Colonels will face No. 1 ranked Penn State on Saturday at 10 a.m.
Yale (5-2) won by scores of 25-20, 26-28, 25-8 and 25-19.
EKU (4-7) was led by Alexis Plagens with 11 kills. Freshman Johanna Boyer had eight kills and only one error for a .412 attack percentage. Jesse Ebner finished with a match-best 16 kills for Yale.
The Colonels took a 24-22 lead in the second set on a kill by Ashley Edmond. The Bulldogs scored four of the next five points to take a 26-25 lead. Plagens kept the set alive with a kill before back-to-back errors by Yale ended the set and tied the match 1-1.
The Bulldogs never trailed in the third set and fell behind by only one point twice early in the fourth set.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, ILLINOIS-CHICAGO 0
KENT, Ohio - Eastern Illinois volleyball opened Kent State Golden Flashes Classic action by quickly dispatching instate foe Illinois-Chicago in a three-set sweep (25-23, 25-20, 25-21), as the Panthers improve to 5-6 on the early season.
Senior Reynae Hutchinson led all Panthers with a 12 kill, 15 dig performance, as the local Mattoon native nabbed her 28th career double-double. She finished with a .333 attack, while adding an assisted block to register 12.5 total points.
Sophomore Abby Saalfrank also tallied double-digit kills off 10 put-downs, three assisted roofs and a .200 clip, while classmate Chelsea Lee chipped in nine kills of her own.
Sophomore setter Marah Bradbury dished out 34 assists and nailed a pair of kills off zero errors, while coming just two digs shy of her own duo-duo as she upped eight UIC attacks.
Junior Dakota Springer and sophomore Stephanie Wallace both fired off a pair of aces, as both teams registered five unreturnable serves and five service errors.
Fellow junior Kelsey Roggemann led the Panther net defense with four assisted stops, while also adding seven kills behind a .429 attack, as the Panthers and Flames each secured five total blocks apiece.
The match came down to the attack and backrow defense as the Panthers out-hit UIC (4-8), .269-to-.147, holding the windy city squad to a .125 and .100 attack in the first and final frames. EIU also held the advantage over UIC in total kills (45-to-33), assists (40-to-31), digs (47-to-36), and points (55.0-to-43.0).
The contest, which featured 19 ties and seven lead changes, marked the 32nd meeting between the two familiar rivals, as EIU has now pulled to within 15-17 of UIC in the all-time series history and avenged last year's three-set road loss to the Flames.
Molly McCoy's 12 kills and Justine Garcia's 11 digs and two aces ended up pacing the Flames.
EIU will now prepare for a pair of matchups in Saturday's action of the tourney, facing off against the host Golden Flashes at 11:30 a.m., before immediately batting Binghamton in the Panthers' weekend finale at 3:30 p.m.
ELON 3, TENNESSEE STATE 1
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - TSU grabbed the early 1-0 lead on Elon but were unable to hold on, falling to the Phoenix 3-1.
Defensively the Tigers had a strong showing in the match holding Elon to a .151 hitting percentage. Standout senior setter Erika Moss returned to the court with a bang recording 35 assists on the afternoon.
In the first set the Tigers got off to a fast start taking the early 10-7 lead. Tennessee State and Elon would battle back-and-fourth with TSU pulling away late to take the set, 25-18.
Tennessee State would continue their momentum into the second frame sprinting out to a 6-2 lead. Elon would bounce back with a run of its own and eventually take the 23-20 lead. TSU would score three straight points to knot the score before the Phoenix took the set 25-23.
The Tigers and the Phoenix would once again match each others rallies in the third set. After going down 16-12 TSU would storm back regaining the lead late in the set, 23-22. Elon would battle back to take the set 27-25
Elon opened with a strong start in the fourth, rushing out to a 12-7 lead. Tennessee State again would race back, going on 14-6 run taking the lead 21-18. The Phoenix bounced back closing the door on the Tigers rally winning the fourth and decisive set 25-22.
For the fifth match in a row junior outside hitter Naomi Wells led the team in kills with 13 on the day.
TSU continues play in the 49er Invitational tomorrow with two matches; first against host Charlotte at 11:30 a.m. and then a matchup with fellow HBCU South Carolina State at 3:30 p.m.
BELMONT 3, MISSISSIPPI STATE 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont volleyball (5-9) swept SEC foe Mississippi State Friday night in the Bruin Classic at the Curb Event Center.
Belmont came out dominate in the opening set. The Bruins jumped out to an early 7-3 lead and an ace from Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.) pushed Belmont ahead, 17-9. A kill from Gable won Belmont the set, 25-15.
The Bruins recorded two blocks in the first set, while holding Mississippi State to a -.095 hitting percentage.
In set two, Mississippi State took a short 5-4 lead but Gable responded with a kill, tying the set at 5-all before a block from Alex Martin (Ooltewah, Tenn.) and a Gable kill put BU ahead by two, 7-5.
Mississippi State wouldn't go quietly as the Bulldogs continued to string together short runs to cut Belmont's lead down. A kill from Allison McCoy (Huntington Beach, Calif.) put the Bruins on top, 24-21 and MSU responded with two straight points. Belmont won the set, 25-23 off a Bulldog service error and the Bruins took a 2-0 lead at the break.
After the break, Belmont maintained a small lead in another close set. The Bruins scored two straight to take a 14-12 lead over the Bulldogs. BU continued to extend its lead to 19-15, forcing Mississippi State to take a timeout.
A huge kill from Gable sparked a short run and put the Bruins within one point of completing the sweep, but the Bulldogs fought on and continued to keep the match alive as they scored two straight points. An attack error from MSU gave Belmont the 25-21 win.
Jen Myer (New Braunfels, Tex.) recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs, while Gable led Belmont with 13 kills. Jamie Lundstrom (La Grange, Ill.) recorded 12 digs and Hannah Miranda (Covington, La.) dished out 32 assists along with tallying three kills.
As a team, Belmont recorded seven blocks in the match.
DEPAUL 3, SIUE 1
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - The final point of the match may have summed it all up for the SIUE volleyball team.
It was a scrappy point with both teams making multiple spectacular plays on defense, but in the end DePaul would remain undefeated at 10-0 with a 25-20, 24-26, 25-16, 25-22 victory over the Cougars.
SIUE will look to continue the sense of urgency Saturday in the final day of the SIUE Cougar Invitational with a 1 p.m. match against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and a 7 p.m. meeting with Georgia State. Georgia State earlier defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff in three sets.
SIUE's defense, led by libero Chelsea Colclasure, recorded more digs than the Blue Demons. Colclasure finished with a match-high 20 while SIUE setter Mallory Mangun added 12. SIUE finished with 68 digs to DePaul's 65.
Hilary Trevino lifted the offense with 15 kills. Alicia Streetar came off the bench to finish with 11 and middle blocker Kelsey Augustine finished with 10.
After dropping a close first set, SIUE rebounded in set two. The Cougars outhit the Blue Demons .237-.235 in the set and closed out set point on a service ace by Kasey Schumacher.
DePaul made a switch at set three to place Tyler Graham in the libero spot in the lineup. The move helped Graham propel to a team-leading 17 digs.
The Blue Demons' serving also gave the Cougars troubles. DePaul finished with 11 service aces, including four from Graham, three from Vesela Zapryanova, and three from Natalie Rizzo.
SIUE, 2-9 overall, hit .180 as a team with Mangun leading the way with a .417 hitting percentage (5 kills on 12 attacks).
MURRAY STATE 2, DAVIDSON 2
HIGH POINT, N.C. - Trailing 2-1 and facing match point in the fourth set, a Racer victory didn't seem likely. That's when Murray State dug deep and refused to quit, pulling out a win to tie the match and then another win in set No. 5 for their eighth win of the season. All five sets were close (25-15, 21-25, 21-25, 26-24, 15-13), but in the end it was the Racers who came out on top to improve to 8-4 on the season.
The score may not indicate it, but for a while set No. 1 was just as tight as the rest and set the stage for the whole match. After MSU jumped out to a 6-2 lead, the Wildcats quickly closed the gap and tied the set at 8-all. With the score 13-12 in favor of the Racers, Murray State went on a 7-0 run en route to a 25-15 win. Kamille Jones connected for seven of her career-high 15 kills in the first set including three in a row down the stretch to seal the win.
It was the Wildcats however and not the Racers who came out hot in the second set. With the score tied at five, Davidson scored five in a row to take a 10-5 lead and kept Murray State at bay after that. The Racers were able to get close, at one point trimming the lead to a single point, 22-21, but that's as close as they came as Davidson evened up the match with a 25-21 victory.
Set No. 3 was a near replay of the second with the Wildcats leading from start to finish. Like the set before, the Racers kept it close, never trailing by more than five points and again coming within a point of the lead at 22-21. But Davidson again scored the final three points for their second consecutive 25-21 set win.
Having just lost two hard fought battles, the Racers pressed on the accelerator early, roaring out to a 10-2 lead. But as the game wore on Davidson slowly started to climb back, eventually taking a 16-15 lead. The two teams traded points until the Wildcats held a 24-23 lead. After Coach Schwepker called a timeout, it was MSU's turn end the game with three straight points, two off kills from Alyssa Lelm to tie the match at 2-apeice.
The final set was a wild affair with neither team yielding to the other. With Davidson clinging to a small 7-6 lead, MSU flipped the script and scored four straight points to take the biggest lead of the set, 10-7. The lead was still three, 14-11, when the Wildcats cut it to one which caused another MSU timeout. Out of the timeout, Alyssa Lelm knocked down her 23rd and final kill of the night to hand Murray State a well-deserved victory.
Following the match an elated Schwepker said, "I'm extremely proud of how the girls fought hard to stay in the match and come back strong in the fifth game to win it!"
Lelm's 23 kills were a career-high and the most by a Racer since 2011. Lelm was also remarkably efficient with a .512 attack percentage, the highest in a match with at least 20 kills since Abbi Gui landed 20 kills with a .562 attack percentage in 2002.
Scottie Ingram also had a career game, reaching the 20 kill plateau for the first time with 20 kills. She also collected 17 digs for her fourth double-double in her past six games.
Sam Bedard was at the center of all the action for MSU, handing out a career-high 65 assists. It was the most assists by a Racer in a single game since Jade Guo had 65 in 2010 and 2008. Cassie Chesney was the last Racer to eclipse 65 assists with 67 in 2007. Bedard also played a leading role on the defensive end, notching a game and career-high 25 digs.
Caroline Brown and Taylor Pisel led the Wildcats with 17 kills. Brown also finished with a team-high 24 digs.
The Racers have now won eight straight tournament games and will play two more tomorrow afternoon. MSU will clash with host school High Point at 12 and then take on North Carolina A&T at 4 p.m.