TSU Volleyball Finishes the Racers, 3-0

NASHVILLE, Tennessee  --  The Tennessee State volleyball team (14-10, 8-3 OVC) stopped the Racers in straight sets (25-15, 28-26, 26-24) on the first night of "Pink Out".

Junior setter Erika Moss recorded 41 assists in the match and played a big part in the Tiger's .287 hitting percentage.

Sophomore Naomi Wells led the Tigers with 16 kills, but Rachel Ambroch, Sherryce Butler and Lindsay Hornsby each had at least seven kills in the match.

Wells also led the team in digs with 15 and senior libero Britani Hathorn added 12 to fuel the team's 44 digs during the match.

Butler started off the match with a kill to put the Tigers in the driver's seat early, and TSU quickly made the score 4-0 with kills from Wells and Hornsby. The Tigers retained their advantage at 7-3 before Murray State (4-18, 2-10 OVC) called its first timeout of the match. The stoppage didn't stop the Tigers as Moss extended her team's lead to six later in the match with a rare kill. Hathorn then recorded her first service ace of the match a few points later to make the score 14-8 in favor of TSU. Butler slammed home a kill off of a Moss assist that fooled the defense into guessing the wrong side, and the route was on. TSU went on a 9-4 run to end the set with Butler recording the set-winning point.

Seven different attackers recorded kills for the Tigers during the first frame and TSU hit .429 compared to Murray State's .143.

The teams played to a 3-3 tie to start the second period, but the Racers took the lead from there with a pair of attacks. The Tigers immediately grasped the lead with a 4-0 run that featured ...... However, the Racers fought back to take a one-point lead at 10-9 when an attack from Wells was sent right back with a Murray State block. The Racers added to their lead later in the set with another block off of an Ambroch attack. Not to be outdone, Hornsby recorded a block of her own and Ambroch racked up an ace to tie the frame at 14. With the set still tied, TSU got back-to-back points from Butler to take a narrow lead. The Racers came back yet again and the score was eventually 22-21 in their favor. Murray State called time in hopes of holding off the Tigers, but Wells tied the score for the 12th time with a finesse kill that fell between the Murray State defense. Freshman Emilie Sandve Aase had her fourth kill of the match, but the Racers wouldn't go down easily. Three more ties occurred down the stretch, but the Tigers finally won the set when Murray State recorded its sixth error of the frame.

The Racers out-hit the Tigers .273 to .245 in the period, but TSU had five more attacks.

Wells opened the third set with a kill and Ambroch had two aces as the Tigers roared to an early 9-1 lead. Murray State countered with a 6-2 run, but the Racers' momentum has halted with a service error. Butler added a solo block later in the frame, but TSU attacks kept falling wide, keeping Murray State within striking distance at 14-12. The Tigers were up by just one later in the set, but freshman Jordan Piper hit an un-returnable attack to make the score 19-17 in favor of TSU. The teams traded blows for the next few points, but an error by Piper tied the score at 24. Freshman Jaime Cooper finally ended the match with an ace that ricocheted off of two Murray State players.

Ambroch finished the match with three service aces.

TSU's next match is tomorrow at 12 p.m. against Austin Peay in Kean Hall. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the match in support of breast cancer awareness.

 

 

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION