THURSDAY'S SCORES
Murray State 3, @UT Martin 0 (25-20, 25-17, 27-25

MURRAY STATE 3, UT MARTIN 0
MARTIN, Tenn. - Murray State picked up a 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 27-25) win at UT Martin on Thursday night.

The loss drops UT Martin's record to 7-19 on the year and 2-14 in Ohio Valley Conference play. Murray State improved to 9-16 on the year and 9-6 in league play.

Murray State's Logan Su led the team with 17 kills followed by Ashley Nenninger with 11. Kayleah Sauer paced the Racer defense with 20 digs.

In the opening set UT Martin gained an early two point edge on a service ace from Jenna Miller, then pushed it to three on a kill by Ashley Doherty. Murray State was able to battle back and eventually draw the set even at 7-7, which would be the first of six total ties in the first frame. The Racers used a Skyhawk error to take their first lead at 9-8, before pushing it out to four at 14-10 and forcing a UT Martin timeout.

Coming out of the break the Skyhawks were able to go on a run and again draw the set all square at 15 apiece on a kill from Katie Redman. Despite moving ahead by one briefly, UT Martin was unable to hold its lead to close out the set. Murray State then moved back ahead, for good this time, at 19-18 after a Skyhawk service error. The Racers later went on to close out the set 25-20.

In the first UT Martin hit .172 as a team, but hurt itself by allowing Murray State to hit .591 as a team. For the Skyhawks Doherty and Britany Wilburn both landed five kills each in the first, while Redman added a pair.

In the second UT Martin again moved out to an early advantage, taking its biggest lead at 9-7, before falling victim to its own errors. The Skyhawk miscues allowed Murray State to mount a 6-0 run, that also gave the Racers a two point lead of their own at 12-10. Lauren Montague ended the run with a kill down the line, but it only slowed the Racers momentum for a moment. Murray State was then able to mount an 8-0 run to move ahead by double-digits at 21-11. UT Martin pulled back within eight on two occasions, but it wasn't enough at Murray State went on to take the second set 25-17.

In the second Montauge led the Skyhawks with five kills, while five others spread out the scoring with one kill each. UT Martin was also able to curtail the Racers' offensive attack and limit them to only .375 hitting.

In the third UT Martin once again was able to take the lead early on. The Skyhawks went on a run, highlighted by a pair of aces from Christen Clements, to move in front 10-5 and force a timeout by the Racers. Coming out of the break, Montague immediately connected on another kill but then Murray State battled back to cut the lead to one at 12-11. A Murray State service error sparked the Skyhawks back on a run of their own. UT Martin pushed its lead back out to seven at 20-13 on a solo block by Wilburn, forcing the Racers to take their second timeout.

A Doherty put away after the break helped the Skyhawks push their lead to nine, but the Racers mounted a final charge to pull the set even once again at 23-all. Coming out of a timeout, UT Martin turned to Montague who set up set point at 24-23 on a kill down the middle. Consecutive errors though game Murray State a match point chance at 25-24. Clements fought off the match point with a kill that found the back end line, but again the Racers earned a match point opportunity and this time they were able to capitalize on it and close out the set 27-25.

On the night Doherty, Montague and Wilburn each finished with eight kills, while Redman added six and Jenna Kragt, who returned after missing two matches because of injury chipped in two. The Skyhawks hit .130 as a team, but allowed the Racers to gain their edge by hitting .396.