Murray State Preview

Belmont (8-14, 6-6 OVC) vs. Murray State (12-9, 6-5 OVC)

Friday, Oct. 29 | 6pm

Live Stats | Match Notes

Belmont (8-14, 6-6 OVC) vs. Murray State (12-9, 6-5 OVC)

Saturday, Oct. 30 | 2pm

ESPN+ | Live Stats

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Belmont University volleyball returns home this weekend to host Murray State in a pair of important OVC clashes on Friday and Saturday inside the Curb Event Center. 

First serve on Friday, Oct. 29, is scheduled for 6 p.m., while first serve on Saturday, Oct. 30, is scheduled for 2 p.m. 

Friday's match will not be streamed live, but live stats will be available on both BelmontBruins.com and on the official app of the Belmont Bruins. Saturday's match will be streamed live on ESPN+, with Noah Syverson and Ellie Ivancich on the call. Live stats will also be available. 

What's Bruin 

• Belmont is coming off a pair of losses on the road at the hands of OVC front-runner Austin Peay. The Governors took down the Bruins, 3-0 and 3-0, to push Belmont to 6-6 in conference play 

• Belmont has been one of the best teams in the conference at home this year, winning six of their eight matches inside the Curb Event Center 

• The 6-2 mark is the second-best record among teams who have played at least eight matches at home 

• The last time Belmont played at home, they won both matches against Eastern Illinois on Oct. 15 and Oct. 16

• With six OVC wins, Belmont has their most conference victories since 2017, when they went 9-7 and finished fifth 

• Preseason All-OVC selection Taylor Floyd remains in the top ten in the conference in kills (3.02 per set) 

• Peyton Kelley has been lights out from the service line since entering conference play. The senior from Normal, Illinois, is currently third in the OVC in service aces per set during conference matches (0.38 per set) 

• The Bruins currently rank seventh in the conference in blocks (1.93 per set) 

• Mary Catherine Ball led the team in kills in Saturday's loss, tallying seven on just 11 swings 

• Playing in Belmont's 6-2 system, sophomore Izzy Schauer still ranks fifth in the OVC in assists (7.15 per set) 

• Sophomore libero Rachel McBride currently ranks seventh in the conference in digs (3.91 per set) 

About the Racers 

• Murray State comes into this weekend on a four-match win streak, sweeping both Tennessee Tech and Tennessee State each of the past two weekends 

• After a 2-5 start to OVC play, Murray State is now in fifth place with a 6-5 conference record 

• Freshman outside hitter Brooke Lynn Watts leads the conference in kills (4.02 per set), and has won six OVC Newcomer of the Week awards and three OVC Offensive Player of the Week awards 

• Bailey DeMier, a reigning OVC Co-Setter of the Week, leads the conference in assists (11.05 per set) while helping Murray State hit .213 as a team 

• Becca Fernandez is one of the top liberos in the OVC, leading the conference in digs (5.68 per set) 

Series History 

• Friday will mark the 15th all-time meeting between the Bruins and the Racers 

• Murray State leads the all-time series, 10-4 

• The two teams met in the 2015 OVC Championship match, with No. 2 Belmont taking down No.  1 Murray State, 3-1, in Murray, Ky., to clinch the Bruins' second OVC Tournament title 

Follow Belmont volleyball on social media - @BelmontVB on Twitter and @belmontvball on Instagram - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.          

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