Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
4-18,2-8MVC
SIU
9-13,3-7MVC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murray St. | 25 | 23 | 25 | 16 | 15 | 3 |
| Southern Ill. | 22 | 25 | 20 | 25 | 12 | 2 |
10/25/2026 12:33:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Murray State beat Southern Illinois in a down-to-the-wire five-set contest in Davies Gym Saturday night to complete its season sweep of the Salukis, the first since beating Evansville twice in 2024.
The Racers (4-18, 2-8 MVC) put together a complete team effort against a Southern Illinois (9-13, 3-7 MVC) team on a seven-game slide, with five different hitters recording 10 or more kills for the first time since Oct. 13, 2021, against Austin Peay. Anne Makowski led the way with 19, while Alexa Watts recorded her third consecutive double-digit kill game with 11, and Lily Evans, Mija Pristovnik and Maezi Snyder each contributed 10.
Murray State fell behind 9-4 in the opening set, but Watts served three straight points, including two aces, to pull the Racers within one. The teams traded points to a 10-10 tie before Murray State pulled ahead and built a 23-18 lead. SIU closed within one at 23-22, but Makowski put the set away with her sixth kill of the frame for a 25-22 Racer win.
The Racers jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the second set before the Salukis answered. SIU took a 22-19 lead late, and back-to-back Makowski kills cut it to 24-23, but Chloe Anderson ended the set with a kill to even the match at one set apiece. Murray State hit just .051 in the frame.
Murray State responded with its best offensive set of the night in the third, hitting .344 with 16 kills. Trailing 6-5, the Racers scored four straight points with Samantha Nelson at the service line, including an ace, and never trailed again. Makowski had a match-high eight kills on 11 swings in the set, and Watts finished it off with a kill for a 25-20 win.
SIU forced a fifth set by controlling the fourth from the start. The Salukis scored the first three points and pulled away for a 25-16 win as Murray State hit .025 in the set.
The deciding set featured five ties, the last at 11-11. Evans gave Murray State the lead with a kill, and Makowski followed with another to make it 13-11. After an SIU point, Evans put down her fourth kill of the set to bring up match point, then an attack error by Alexandria Arrington sealed the 15-12 win.
Three Racers posted double-doubles, the first time Murray State has done that since its 2025 season opener against Austin Peay on Aug. 29, 2025. Paige Brock set career highs with 54 assists and 16 digs, topping her previous bests of 48 assists (Oct. 3 vs. Indiana State) and 13 digs. Pristovnik had 10 kills and tied her career high with 15 digs. Watts added 11 kills and 11 digs. Snyder tied her career high in kills for the fourth time this season and matched her career best with two aces, adding four block assists.
Evans hit .364 for the match and was error-free in the fifth set, putting down four kills on seven swings. Nelson anchored the back row with 17 digs as Murray State finished with 60 kills and outserved the Salukis 8-6 in aces.
Murray State returns to Racer Arena next weekend to host UIC on Friday, Oct. 30, at 6 p.m. and Drake on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 5 p.m.
