Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Belmont
10/21/2026 3:16:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Racers Head to Belmont, SIU for Weekend Rematches
Murray State will hit the road for a pair of rematches from last weekend, against Belmont on Thursday and Southern Illinois on Saturday.
The Racers (3-17, 1-7 MVC) are fresh off their first conference win of the season, a 3-2 win over Southern Illinois (9-11, 3-5 MVC), and are looking to pick up their first road conference win of the season. The trip completes a home-and-home stretch that opened at Racer Arena last week.
MATCH PREVIEW: AT BELMONT
Thursday, Oct. 22 | 6 p.m. CT | Curb Event Center, Nashville, Tenn. | ESPN+
Series history: Thursday will be the 12th all-time meeting between the programs. Belmont leads the series 8-3 and has won the last four, including a 3-0 sweep at Racer Arena last Thursday.
Last meeting: The Bruins swept the Racers 25-16, 25-19, 25-21 on Oct. 15, where Belmont hit a season-best .370 and outblocked Murray State seven to one. Sophomore Anne Makowski led Murray State with 12 kills. Sophomore libero Sam Nelson stepped up in the absence of libero Ada Tamturk, adding 16 digs, while senior setter Paige Brock served three aces. For Belmont, Erin McMullen hit .583 with four blocks, and Lucy Kay had five kills without an error and three solo blocks.
Scouting the Bruins: Belmont (10-9, 7-1 MVC) has won two straight since the trip to Murray, most recently a 3-1 win at Evansville on Saturday with a season-high 12 aces. The Bruins went 3-8 against a non-conference slate that included Duke, NC State and Vanderbilt. Belmont has swept five of its seven MVC wins and is 21-5 in conference play; its only league loss came at Bradley on Oct. 10.
- Senior Brenna Kauffeld leads the team with 208 kills, 2.81 per set. In MVC play she averages 3.04 kills per set and hits .352.
- Sophomore middle blocker McMullen is hitting .400 on the season and .439 in league play. She also leads the team with 55 blocks.
- Sydnee Nelson has started every conference match, with 68 kills (2.62 per set) and 52 digs in MVC play.
- Libero Mya Bolton leads the team with 294 digs and averages 4.85 per set in conference play.
- Belmont runs two setters, Jordan Czajkowski (415 assists) and Alivia Keegan (341).
- Junior DS Lauren Evans leads the team with 21 aces. The Bruins average 2.00 aces per set in league play.
MATCH PREVIEW: AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Saturday, Oct. 24 | 5 p.m. CT | Davies Gym, Carbondale, Ill. | ESPN+
Series history: Saturday will be the 30th all-time meeting between Murray State and Southern Illinois, with the Salukis leading 22-7. Last Friday's five-set win was the Racers' first in the series since 2024, when they also won in Carbondale in five sets.
Last meeting: Murray State came back to beat SIU 27-25, 10-25, 15-25, 25-19, 15-6 on Oct. 16. SIU had more kills (56-44), aces (10-5), and blocks (13-10), and outhit the Racers .187 to .095. However, the Racers held strong defensively, outdigging SIU 56-54 and benefiting from 27 Saluki attack errors and 13 service errors.
Scouting the Salukis: Southern Illinois opened league play 3-0 but has lost five straight since, including a 3-1 home loss to Bradley the day after the Murray State match. The Salukis' offense has stalled during the skid, hitting .061, .121, .187, and .084 in their last four matches and .159 in conference play overall. SIU has also dropped three straight at home and is 3-4 in Carbondale this season.
- Senior libero Jillian Shaneyfelt has 363 digs, 4.54 per set, and averages 4.71 per set against MVC opponents. She has twice been named MVC Libero of the Week.
- McKenzie Moeller leads the team with 210 kills. Swansiger is right behind her with 207 kills on a team-best .250 hitting.
- Piaia leads at the net with 78 blocks and averages 1.15 per set in conference play. Chloe Anderson adds 57 blocks.
- SIU splits setting duties between Ella McFarland (417 assists, team-high 27 aces) and Lillian Dempkey (289 assists). As a team, the Salukis average 1.66 aces per set.
RACER LEADERS
- Kills: Anne Makowski, 230 (3.24 per set, seventh in the MVC)
- Assists: Paige Brock, 348 (6.96 per set, fifth in MVC). Katie Titus adds 264 (7.14 per set).
- Digs: Ada Tamturk, 232 (3.63 per set, first among MVC freshmen)
- Blocks: Lily Evans, 51 (0.80 per set, ninth in the MVC)
- Hitting percentage: Maezi Snyder, .255 (second among MVC freshmen)
- Service aces: Lily Evans & Paige Brock 16
RACER NOTES
- Breakthrough win: The win over SIU was Murray State's first MVC win, its first home win of 2026 and the first home win for first-year head coach Tristyn Krzos. It was also the Racers' first five-set win of the season, after losses in five sets to Northern Colorado and Indiana State.
- All hands on deck: The Racers have dealt with a string of injuries this season, including to freshman libero Ada Tamturk, who has missed the last two matches. In response, The Racers depth has stepped up, with all 11 active players getting time against Belmont and SIU.
- Nelson steps in: Sophomore libero Sam Nelson filled in for Tamturk with 31 digs over the two matches, including a career-high 16 against Belmont.
- Defense against SIU: The Racers outdug the Salukis 56-54 and posted 10 or more blocks for just the second time this season. Three Racers reached double-digit digs, also only the second time that has happened this year.
- Freshmen in the rotation: Freshmen Teodora Cickovic, Melis Aydin and Ceren Durak combined for 14 sets last weekend. Cickovic added three blocks against SIU for a team that ranks last in the MVC in blocking.
- Watts breaks out: Senior outside hitter Alexa Watts set a career high with 13 kills in the win over SIU.
- Mashin' Makowski: Makowski has led or shared the team lead in kills in 15 of the Racers' 20 matches. She became the first Racer to reach 200 kills this season during an 18-kill night at Valparaiso, and she set a career high with 24 kills against Indiana State.
- New kids on the block: Through 20 matches, the five-player freshman class has accounted for 35.1% of the Racers' digs and 26.9% of their points. As a group, the freshmen are hitting .221, above the team's .180 average.
- Road search: Murray State is 0-4 in MVC road matches. Its only road win this season came at Northern Illinois on Sept. 4, which was also Krzos' first career win.
