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UTM to face Racers in round two


The UTM Skyhawk Volleyball Team will face the Murray State Racers tonight at 7 p.m. The Racers, seeded fourth in the tournament, moved on to face the Skyhawks after beating Eastern Kentucky.

Call it the “China Connection,” Murray State’s biggest threat comes in the form of an exchange student from the land of Confucious, Kung-Fu, and Communism.

The Skyhawks biggest challenge will be defending against Abbi Gui, Murray State’s best outside hitter. Not only great at spiking the ball, Gui is also a driving force on the Racer defense.

The Skyhawks will be lead by outside hitter Racheal Ahlers and Natalie Klevan. Both lead the Skyhawks in kills this season and will be the main offensive force.

The defensive effort will be lead by Staefanie Dubach and Klevan, who have lead UTM in digs.

The Skyhawks won easily over the Racers in their first meeting of the season, taking the match in three sraight games. In their second meeting, it took the Skyhawks a full five games before finally dispatching the upstart Racer crew.

This match is shaping up to be one of the best of the OVC Tournament.

The Skyhawks enjoyed a bye in the first round due to them being the OVC Regular Season Champions. Though repeating as regular season champs, the Skyhawks are hungry for a tournament victory after falling to Eastern Illinois in the championship game of the tournament that they hosted last year.

Coach Chris Rushing will be facing an all to familiar friend and foe in Murray State’s coach, David Schwepker. It will be a meeting of two of the youngest and most accolated coaches in the OVC.

Rushing hopes to live up to his billing as the OVC Volleyball Coach of the year, and his team hopes to keep the title of OVC Champions.