Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Austin Peay
Racers to Play for OVC Title Against Austin Peay
11/16/2018 10:45:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Dates:Â Nov. 17, 2018
Match Time:Â 12:00 p.m.
Opponents:Â Austin Peay
Site (Venue):Â Clarksville, Tenn. (Winfield Dunn Center)
Watch Live ($)
Live Stats
Tournament Homepage
Murray State Record (Streak):Â 21-9, 13-3 OVC (W14)
Austin Peay Record (Streak):Â 27-4, 14-2 OVC (W5)
All-Time Series vs. Austin Peay (Streak):Â 38-40 (W1)
Saturday
The Racers will get a chance at revenge against top-seeded Austin Peay after falling to the Governors in five sets in last season's title match. First serve at the Winfield Dunn Center is scheduled for 12 p.m. and is available to stream on ESPN+.
Previous Match
For the fifth straight season, the Murray State volleyball team will play in the OVC championship match, after defeating Morehead State in a thrilling four-set semifinal match, Friday afternoon in Clarksville, Tennessee.
The Racers cruised to a 25-17 first-set win but found themselves in a battle the rest of the way as the Eagles won the second set, 27-25, before Murray State came back to take the third set, 25-23, and the fourth set, 26-24. The Racers have now won 15 straight matches.
Senior Dacia Brown led the Racers with 15 kills while juniors Rachel Giustino and Rachel Holthaus each racked up 12 kills. Holthaus faced a tough challenge in the middle going up against the top blocking team in the OVC but managed to hit a team-high .407. Holthaus also tallied 14 digs, matching her with sophomore Becca Fernandez for the team lead, to pick up her first double-double of the season, while Giustino had 13 digs of her own for her 19th double-double. Sophomore Ashley McBee paced the offense with 46 assists.
OVC's Best
Becca Fernandez was named OVC Defensive Player of the Year at the annual awards banquet, Wednesday night. She is the fourth player in school history to earn the award. Rachel Giustino and Dacia Brown joined Fernandez on the All-OVC first team, while Rachel Holthaus earned second team honors.
OVC Weekly Recognition
For the third time this season, Becca Fernandez earned OVC Defensive Player of the Week. In two wins, she had 54 digs for an average of 7.71 per set. In the win over Eastern Illinois, Fernandez racked up 38 digs in just three sets, setting a new school record in the rally-scoring era (since 2001) for most digs in a three-set match.
Leading the Pack
After the strong weekend, Fernandez also climbed to the top of the OVC leaderboard with 5.89 digs per set during conference play. Overall, she is averaging 5.06 digs per set.
1,000 for McBee
In yesterday's match, sophomore Ashley McBee recorded her 1000th career assist. She is the second Racer to reach the milestone this season after Callie Anderton did so as well earlier in the year. In addition to McBee and Anderton, Rachel Giustino and Becca Fernandez also reached the 1,000 mark this season in kills and digs, respectively.
OVC Tournament
Murray State is looking for its sixth OVC Tournament championship in program history, having previously won in 2016, 2014, 2003, 1992, and 1989.
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Scouting Austin Peay
The Governors earned a spot in the OVC title match for the second straight year by defeating Jacksonville State in four sets, Friday evening. Cecily Gable had 14 kills and 14 digs in the match to lead the team to victory. Kristen Stucker was named the OVC Setter of the Year and made the All-OVC first team along with Gable and Logan Carger. As a team, the Governors were the most efficient team in the OVC, hitting .228. The two teams split the season series, with both teams winning in four sets at home.
