Cardiac Racers Rally From Two Sets Down
For the third consecutive Friday, the Murray State volleyball team fell behind two sets to none and for the second time in the past three weeks, the Racers were able to rally to win in five thrilling sets as MSU defeated Southeast Missouri Friday night at Racer Arena, 22-25, 18-25, 25-23, 25-21 and 15-6.
The Racers (17-8, 9-4 OVC) were just three points from being swept in the match as they trailed 22-15 late in the third set. However, an 8-0 by MSU pushed it in front 23-22 and from there on out, the Racers controlled the rest of the match.
Rachel Giustino led MSU with a double-double on the night as she tallied a team-best 16 kills and was one of three Racers with 20-plus digs on the night as she notched 20. Giustino also added a career-high five assists and had three aces.
Courtney Radle had a career night offensively as she had a career-high 13 kills and hit a match-high .444. Meanwhile, Katirah Johnson and Rachel Holthaus nabbed 11 kills each and hit .417 and .333, respectively. Johnson led MSU with three total blocks in the win while Holthaus had a career-best 23 digs.
For the match, MSU hit .227 as a team while the Redhawks (10-17, 5-8 OVC) hit .184. MSU tallied a better hitting percentage in four of the five sets Friday. Ashley McBee led the Racers with 36 assists as she appeared in the final four sets while Callie Anderton had 15 assists. Defensively, Becca Fernandez led the way with 26 digs from her libero position and Alex Kaufmann chipped in with 10.
The Racers return to action Saturday at 2 p.m., as UT Martin comes to Racer Arena. Saturday will be Senior Day as MSU’s lone senior, Olivia Chatman, will be honored prior to the match. With Friday’s victory, Chatman becomes the all-time winningest player in program history with 93 career wins.
by Kevin DeVries
