Senior Night Caps Final Homestand for Racers - Murray State University Athletics

Friday, November 13

Murray, Ky.

2 p.m.

Murray State

Illinois State

11/12/2026 6:15:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Murray State closes its 2026 season at Racer Arena this weekend, hosting Illinois State on Friday and Bradley on Saturday for Senior Night.

The Racers (6-20, 4-10 MVC) face two teams tied for third in the MVC at 9-5. Murray State has gone 4-3 since a 2-17 start, and all four of its conference wins have come in that stretch, already doubling its 2025 league total. Seniors Paige Brock, Lily Evans, Alexa Watts and Bailey Keusch will be honored before Saturday's match.

Match Preview vs Illinois State
Friday, Nov. 13 | 2 p.m. CT | Racer Arena | ESPN+

Series History: Illinois State leads the all-time series 6-3, and Friday marks the only meeting between the two this season. Last season's series ended in a split, as Murray State took the first two sets at Racer Arena on Oct. 11 and held on 15-11 in the fifth to snap a 10-match losing streak before Illinois State answered with a sweep in Normal on Oct. 31, holding the Racers to 17 or fewer points in every set despite eight kills from Evans. The Racers are 2-2 all-time against the Redbirds at home.

Scouting the Redbirds: Picked sixth in the preseason poll, Illinois State has outpaced that projection at 18-7 overall and 9-5 in the MVC, going 9-2 in true road matches, though the Redbirds have split their last four. Ruth Ziegler (207 kills, 2.65 per set) and Jillian Ferrill (202 kills, 2.73 per set) lead an attack that also gets 174 kills from Jillian Gregory and .299 hitting from middle Abby Reck, who has added 60 blocks. Ella Craggs runs the offense at 5.37 assists per set alongside Ella Kohnen and Audrey Clark, who each have more than 180 assists, while libero Samantha Bunch anchors the back row at 4.04 digs per set for a team that hits .237 and holds opponents to .195.

Match Preview vs Bradley
Saturday, Nov. 14 | 5 p.m. CT | Racer Arena | ESPN+ | Senior Night

Series History: The all-time series is tied 5-5, but Bradley has taken the last four meetings, including a 3-1 win at Racer Arena on Oct. 24, 2025, and a sweep in Peoria on Nov. 1, 2025, in which Murray State hit just .040. The Racers have not beaten the Braves since a 3-2 win in Peoria on Oct. 13, 2023, which came two weeks after their last home win in the series, a sweep on Sept. 30, 2023.

Scouting the Braves: Bradley (14-12, 9-5 MVC) has won three of its last four, climbing into a tie for third with four-set wins over Illinois State and UIC last week, a big jump for a program that went 7-9 in league play and missed the MVC Tournament in 2025. The Braves have been perfect in four-set matches at 5-0, but they are just 3-6 in true road matches and 4-6 in five-setters.

Gracie Furlong leads Bradley with 378 kills (3.67 per set) while also anchoring serve receive, passing .954 on 832 attempts, and Chloe Parker adds 221 kills on .271 hitting along with 70 blocks. Setter Maria Drapp, who posted two double-doubles last week, averages 9.93 assists per set, and Eirini Bitsaktsi, named MVC Libero of the Week on Monday, covers the back row at 4.01 digs per set. Up front, Adeline Goedheer (95 blocks, 1.22 per set) leads a block that averages 2.12 per set, well ahead of the Racers' 1.47.

Racer Notes

Makowski reaches 300: The sophomore leads Murray State with 309 kills (3.25 per set) and 330 points. She passed 300 kills with 12 at Evansville, her fifth straight double-digit match.
Senior class: Brock has run the offense with 593 assists (8.01 per set, 8.69 in MVC play) and leads the team with 22 aces. Evans, a Murray native out of Christian Fellowship, has played all 96 sets and leads the Racers in hitting (.265, .293 in MVC play) and blocks (69). Watts ranks third with 169 kills and has added 108 digs and 49 blocks. Keusch has appeared in 21 sets as a defensive specialist, passing .899.
Season best, again: Murray State hit .347 in its 3-1 win at Evansville last Friday, topping the .339 it posted against UIC a week earlier. Five Racers reached double-digit kills for the second time this season: Watts (13, .367), Makowski (12), Evans (11), Maezi Snyder (10, .471) and Pristovnik (10). Brock added 46 assists and four aces, and Ada Tamturk dug 21 balls.
Evans stays hot: The senior totaled 24 kills last weekend, including a match-high 13 in the loss at Indiana State. That came after Halloween weekend, when she set career highs in kills on back-to-back nights with 14 against UIC and 20 against Drake, totaling 34 kills on .452 hitting.

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