Racers enter conference tournament as No. 4 seed

    After a season of injuries, adjustments and difficult matches, the Racer volleyball team  progressed to the OVC tournament as the No. 4 seed in hopes of bringing home a title.
    “The one thing I want, other than a win, is that they just go and leave it on the floor,” Head Coach David Schwepker said. “All the crying afterwards, and all that other stuff, that means they had too much energy left over. They need to leave it out there, so that win or lose they can say, ‘Coach I don’t have an ounce of energy in me. I couldn’t do any more than what I just did.’ That’s all I want.”
    Murray State kicked off tournament play with a Thursday matchup against No. 5 seed Tennessee Tech University.
    Last year in tournament play, the Golden Eagles defeated the Racers in the final round, stripping them of conference Championship.
    This year, the Racers are seeking sweet revenge.
    “What I like about it is that we split with them in the regular season, and I like that our girls actually want to play them, and they’re the ones who took us out of the tournament last year,” Schwepker said. “So our girls get a chance to hopefully take them out of the tournament this year, but it’s going to be a great matchup. I expect it to be a dog fight.”
    The winner of Thursday’s contest will face off against host Jacksonville State University today.
    In their most recent matchup, the Racers fell to the Gamecocks in five games, nearly defeating the team currently ranked No. 1 in the conference.
    Last week the Racers lost to Austin Peay  State University, halting a six-match winning streak for the Racers, and proving to Murray State they are not, in fact, invincible.
    “I think it was a good thing for them,” Schwepker said. “We’re not just going to step onto the court and win. I think that’s what happened on Saturday. We’ve played some really tough matches, and they just thought they could step on the court and win even if they’re down. We talked about that, about having the championship attitude, and they have to bring it.”
    The Racers, who entered regular season boasting a No. 1 preseason ranking, are led by several veteran players who suffered the tournament loss to TTU last year.
    Sophomore Jade Guo was named the OVC Setter of the Week for the second consecutive week. This is the seventh time Guo has received the award and the third time this season. She was also added to the All-OVC Second Team.
    Sophomore libero Kayleah Sauer took a spot in the 1,000 digs club, last week, tallying 21 digs in the game against Southeast Missouri State and finishing the regular season with a career total of 1,036.
    This season, Sauer posted 512 digs on her way to being named OVC Defensive Player of the Year.
    Sauer, along with junior outside hitter Becca Lamb joined Guo on the All-OVC Second Team.
    The championship match is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
    *The results of Thursday’s game were unavailable at the time The Murray State News went to press. See thenews.org for updates.
    Contact Ledbetter at kyra.ledbetter@murraystate.edu.