Volleyball Travels To Nashville For Pair of Matches With East Division Foes

Thursday, October 25

Nashville, Tenn.

7:00 p.m.

Murray State

Belmont

Photo by: Murray State Sports Information

Volleyball Travels To Nashville For Pair of Matches With East Division Foes

10/24/2012 4:29:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

The Murray State volleyball team will head to Music City, U.S.A., Nashville, Tenn., for a pair of league matches against OVC eastern division opponents. On Thursday, the Racers will take on Belmont at 7 p.m., and will then travel just 5.3 short miles to Tennessee State for a Friday showdown, also at 7 p.m.

The Racers are coming off of two tough straight-set losses last weekend at Eastern Illinois and SIU Edwardsville. The losses dealt a blow to MSU's OVC tournament hopes, but did not completely eliminate them. Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Illinois, SIU Edwardsville and UT Martin are currently tied for the last two playoff spots at 4-6, but the Racers are only two games behind at 2-8. Two wins this weekend could put Murray State right back in the hunt for one of eight spots in the OVC tournament.

Senior Wendi Zickfield currently leads the Racers in attack percentage on the year at .224, while freshman Taylor Olden has the most kills at 205. Defensively, junior Katlyn Hudson has the most digs with 229, while Alyssa Lelm has the most blocks with 17 solo, 59 assists for 76 total.

Scouting The Opponents:

Belmont (11-14, 7-4 OVC): The Bruins' inaugural OVC campaign is off to a great start as they currently sit fourth in the OVC standings. Belmont won both matches last week at Tennessee Tech and Jacksonville State and picked up a win at home on Tuesday against Austin Peay. Setter Hannah Miranda is currently second in the league in assists with 831 total and 10.13 per set, just .05 behind the leader, Cami Fields of Austin Peay. Defensively, Jamie Lundstrom leads the Bruins with 442 total digs and 4.92 per set.

The Series: Thursday will mark the first meeting between the two teams since Belmont has joined the league. In four previous meetings with the Bruins, the Racers are 3-1, with all contests being held at the Curb Event Center. Murray State won the first three meetings, while Belmont won the last meeting, 3-0, on Aug. 26 of last season.

Tennessee State (13-10, 7-3 OVC): The Tigers are currently third in the OVC standings, having picked up two wins at Jacksonville State and Tennessee Tech. Naomi Wells is currently pacing the TSU offense and is third in the OVC in kills per set at 3.61 and 307 total. The Tigers' defense is currently being led by Brittani Hathorn with 331 total digs and 3.89 per set.

The Series: Murray State is currently 41-8 all-time versus Tennessee State and 20-4 at Kean Hall. However, the Tigers won both matches last season to sweep the season series for the first time in series history.

Block It Like It's Hot: Freshman Alyssa Lelm is making a name for herself when it comes to blocking this season. She currently ranks third in the OVC in league matches with 1.29 blocks per set and is fourth in all matches with 1.07. She is also just 7 total blocks from breaking into the Racers' single-season Top 10 in that category with 76. She is also just 8 block assists from breaking into that categories' Top 10 with 59.

Adding To The Trophy Case: Several Racers have racked up honors this season for their performances in early season tournaments. Taylor Olden received All-Tournament honors for her performance at both the LaQuinta Inn & Suites Highlander Invitational and West Virginia's Gold & Blue Classic, while Emily Schmahl was named to the Hyatt Place Fort Wayne/IPFW Invitational All-Tournament Squad. After capturing the LaQuinta Inn & Suites Highlander Invitational tournament championship as a team, Lia Havili was named as the event's most valuable player.

Not Making The Trip To Nashvegas?: There are two ways to follow Murray State volleyball road matches this year. Both live stats and live video, courtesy of the OVC digital network, will be available for most away matches this season and both options are free to all fans. Please note that only Thursday's match at Belmont will be carried on the OVC Digital Network. Live Stats vs. Belmont Live Stats vs. Tennessee State OVC Digital Network

What's Next: The Racers will return to the friendly confines of Racer Arena next weekend to host Southeast Missouri on Friday and UT Martin on Saturday. The match on Friday is scheduled for 7 p.m., while Saturday's match is scheduled for 6 p.m.