Nashville --- The Tennessee State University volleyball team
fell to Murray State in four sets Saturday afternoon in Kean Hall.
Tennessee State had won three consecutive matches before suffering the loss to Murray State. TSU moved to 3-7 (1-1 OVC) while MSU
improved to 4-8 (1-1 OVC). The set scores were 27-29, 27-25, 18-25 and 16-25.
Santia Sanders led TSU with 17 kills in addition to 13 digs
while Shaquita Williams added 15 kills. Vicmari Prospero tallied 12 kills and
hit .579. Kamille King finished with 19 digs while Calasia Williams chipped in
13.
Becca Lamb led the Racers with 12 kills while Sara Hayden
and Ashley Nenninger recorded 11 kills apiece. Kayleah Sauer registered a
match-high 25 digs while Jade Guo (13) and Lydia Orf (10) also had double-digit
digs.
Both teams were hot offensively in the opening set as TSU
hit .347 and Murray State hit .432. It was a battle from the beginning and it
took extra points to decide the winner. With the score tied, 27-27,
back-to-back kills from Becca Lamb pushed MSU to the win.
TSU evened the match, 1-1, in the second set. After trailing
10-6, the Tigers clawed back to knot the score 14-14. From there both teams
traded points as the set once again went into extra points. TSU captured the
win when a kill by Erika Moss and a service ace from Santia Sanders sealed the
victory, 27-25.
In the third frame, TSU seemed to lose steam as MSU jumped
out to a 16-8 lead. The Tigers never recovered in the, 25-18, loss. TSU only
hit .154 in the frame while MSU registered a .324 hitting percentage.
Murray State continued to carry the momentum in set four,
capturing a 10-5 lead following a Tiger attack error. A kill from Shaquita
Williams brought the Tigers within three (13-10) but that is close as they
would get as the Racers went on to win, 25-16.
Tennessee State hit .228 in the contest while Murray State
notched a .324 hitting percentage. Both teams totaled 61 kills. MSU held the
advantage in digs, 74-57.
Next Tennessee State will hit the road for contests at
Jacksonville State (Sept. 25) and Tennessee Tech (Sept. 26).
