2008 Woodie Awards
Racers advance to semi-final round
Volleyball beats UT Martin in straight sets
Tim MacAllister
Issue date: 11/21/08 Section: Sports
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The Skyhawks led by three 8-5 but the Racers used a 4-0 run to take the lead 9-8.
The Skyhawks took a 20-14 advantage after some miscues from the Racers but after a timeout by Racer coach David Schwepker his team rallied and scored three straight points. The two teams traded points and the lead was just two 21-19
Racer freshman Logan Su got a kill and a block which tied the game at 23 and Alison Mugler's two late kills sealed the set for the Racers 25-23.
"I knew we were nervous, we wanted it to bad we made some mistakes," Schwepker said, "but in the second and third sets we didn't make those mistakes."
In the second set the Racers rode on the wings of their underclassmen. In the early going the Skyhawks took an early advantage but the Racers battled back with kills from sophomores Ashley Nenninger and Sara Hayden.
Fantastic freshman duo Logan Su and Jade Guo had a combined nine kills and one serving ace in the second set.
The set stayed close until the Racers made a run in the middle of the contest. With the score 12-11 the team got five kills in seven attempts and two blocks fueled a 7-1 run. The Racers went on to win the match 25-15.
The final set was highly contested with the Racers making a run midway through to clinch the match. With the score 15-14 the Racers went on a 5-0 run with four different players recording kills.
Yet another underclassmen stepped up for the Racers with sophomore Becca Lamb putting the game away late with two crucial kills to win 25-18.
Hayden led the Racers in kills with 13 while Guo had the best attack percentage with .583. Mugler led the team with 13 digs.
"I think it was more a psychological thing," Schwepker said. "The first thing they (Mugler and Norris) said after, they said coach thats the first time we got out of the first round. ... I think it was a big thing for them."
Tim MacAllister can be reached at timothy.macallister@murraystate.edu.
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