Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
11-9, 5-3OVC
Belmont
2-18, 2-6OVC
Racers Win Streak Reaches Five with Win at Belmont
10/13/2018 6:54:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
The Murray State volleyball team capped its second straight 2-0 weekend, Saturday afternoon, downing Belmont in four sets, 25-14, 22-25, 25-20, 25-16, in Nashville.
The Racers have now won five straight matches and sit at 5-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference and 11-9 overall. Belmont falls to 2-18 and 2-6 in the OVC.
Senior Dacia Brown led Murray State with 20 kills while junior Rachel Giustino had 15 kills and a season-high 20 digs for her eighth straight double-double. Sophomore Katirah Johnson also contributed with eight kills while hitting .500 during the match.
Sophomore Ashley McBee dished out 48 assists and classmate Becca Fernandez accumulated 22 digs. Johnson paced the team with four of the Racers' nine blocks in the match.
Murray State came out hot in the first set, racing out to a 6-2 lead. After the Bruins cut their deficit to three, MSU went on a 5-0 run, which included three kills from Giustino, to extend their lead to 12-4. Belmont never got back closer than seven as the Racers won the first set, 25-14, on a kill by Giustino.
In the second set, the Racers won the first three points, but Belmont kept it close before going on a 7-0 run to take a 15-11 lead. Two straight blocks by Brown and junior Rachel Holthaus got the Racers to within one at 22-21, but the Bruins won three of the final four points to take the set and even the match.
After a series of mini-runs by both teams in the third set, the score was tied at 15 when the Racers won three straight points to take the lead. They used that momentum to expand their lead, eventually winning the set on a service error by the Bruins.
The Racers jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the fourth set, but Belmont answered right back to tie the score at five. With the score tied at nine, Murray State went on a 6-1 run to create the separation they needed. They continued to expand their lead before Johnson ended the match with a kill, allowing the Racers to leave Nashville with a win.
Murray State is back in action, Friday, when they return home to Racer Arena to battle Tennessee Tech at 7 p.m., before taking on Jacksonville State, Saturday at 2 p.m.
