Rivalry Renewed with Volleyball Set For Trip to Murray State

Belmont (4-11, 0-2 MVC) at Murray State (4-8, 0-2 MVC) 

Tuesday, Sept. 27 | 6pm 

ESPN+ | Live Stats | Match Notes 

Racer Arena | Murray, Kentucky 

MURRAY, Ky. -- The Belmont University volleyball team travels to a familiar venue on Tuesday night as they match up against old OVC rival Murray State in a Missouri Valley Conference battle at Racer Arena at 6 p.m. 

Both teams will be hungry for their first-ever MVC win after going 0-2 over the first weekend of conference play. 

The match will be streamed on ESPN+, with live stats available on BelmontBruins.com. In-game updates will be posted to Twitter by @BelmontVB.  

What's Bruin 

• Belmont is coming off a pair of tight losses to open Missouri Valley Conference action at the Curb Event Center this past weekend 

• The Bruins fell to Missouri State on Friday night, 17-25, 20-25, 26-24, 9-25, in the conference opener 

• On Saturday evening, Belmont dropped their first two sets to Southern Illinois, 19-25, 24-26, before responding with wins of 28-26 and 25-19 to force a decisive fifth game, which the Salukis won, 8-15. 

• Kristen Clemons led the way with 17 kills against Southern Illinois, one shy of her career high, while hitting an efficient .378 

• Brooke Gilleland tallied a career-high 16 kills in the five-set loss, hitting a remarkable .368 

• Peyton O'Brien finished with a career-high 50 assists and a career-high 17 digs, helping Belmont hit .296 on the evening, their third-highest mark of the season 

• Sydney Willis finished with six blocks against Southern Illinois, and had a stretch of three straight blocks to boost Belmont to a tight 28-26 win in the third set 

• Laura Shoopman is second in the MVC in kills (226) and fourth in kills per set (3.77) 

• Ally Peterson was outstanding in Friday night's match against Missouri State, tallying 13 kills with two aces to push her season total for service aces to 21, tied for second in the MVC 

• Rachel McBride is sixth in the MVC in digs (212) after finishing with 18 against Missouri State and 13 against Southern Illinois 

• Belmont plays four of their first five conference matches at the Curb Event Center, with the lone road contest taking place on Tuesday at Murray State 

• Belmont has now played in three five-set matches this fall and gone 1-2, with a win over Georgia State and losses to Middle Tennessee and Southern Illinois 

• Belmont, Murray State, and UIC are the three new members of the Missouri Valley Conference, with Belmont and Murray State joining from the Ohio Valley Conference and UIC coming over from the Horizon League 

• Tuesday night will be the second and final time that Belmont plays on a Tuesday, after they already hosted Lipscomb on August 30. The only other midweek game left this season will take place in the regular season finale, when Murray State comes to the Curb Event Center on Wednesday, November 16. 

About the Racers 

• Murray State dropped both of their home conference contests over the weekend in dramatic fashion, falling to Southern Illinois, 3-2, on Friday before being defeated by Missouri State, 3-2, on Saturday 

• Murray State led two sets to one over the Salukis before Southern Illinois staged a comeback and won the final two sets, 25-17 and 15-13 

• On Saturday, the Racers took a must-win game four, 25-23, before falling in the fifth frame to the Bears, 9-15 

• Bailey Demier dished out 109 assists over the weekend, including a remarkable 58 against Missouri State 

• Dahlia Miller ranks third in the MVC in digs per set (4.29) 

• The Racers allow 2.40 blocks per set, the second-highest mark in the MVC 

• Murray State was picked 10th in the Missouri Valley Preseason Coaches' Poll, one spot ahead of Belmont 

Series History 

• Tuesday night marks the 17th meeting between the Bruins and Racers 

• Murray State leads the all-time series, 11-5 

• The Bruins and Racers split their two contests last season at the Curb Event Center, with Murray State sweeping the first matchup on October 29 before Belmont responded the next day with a 3-1 win behind 17 kills from Laura Shoopman, their first win over Murray State since the 2015 OVC Championship match 

• Murray State has won five of the last six meetings 

• Belmont and Murray State first met in 1997 

• Murray State beat Belmont in the 2014 OVC Championship match before the Bruins returned the favor by taking down the Racers in the 2015 OVC Championship match 

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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