EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE volleyball was welcomed to the Ohio Valley Conference Friday and handed a four-set loss by Murray State at the Vadalabene Center.

Murray State, 1-11 and 1-0 in the OVC, collected a 25-27, 25-22, 25-21, 25-21 win over the Cougars, 5-7 and 0-1 in the OVC.

SIUE Head Coach Leah Johnson and her Cougars wanted to start with a win in league play.

"We struggled a little bit in serve-receive, an area where we have been very strong. We got a little out of our comfort zone and didn't adjust after that," said Johnson.

Four players hit for double-digit kills for both teams. Julia Whitfield led the way for SIUE with 17. She was followed by 12 from Brianne Graunke and 10 each from Cori Harris and Jessica Hemann.

The Cougars thought they had the first set won at 25-23 before a service ace by Harris was overruled by the head official. SIUE would battle forward to win the set 27-25 as Chelsea Coclausure served out the set.

Murray State evened the match up in set two by going to outside hitter Teresa Krog, who recorded seven of her match-high 19 kills in the set.

SIUE committed 25 errors in the match and finished with a .186 hitting percentage.

"A lot of it is mental. A lot is playing to the speed of the opponent. We need to step back and regain control. We just haven't matured enough in our game to do that. I have faith in our team and I have faith that they will," Johnson said.

The Racers would hit for a season-high .249. Cassy Woolverton powered the Racers with 14 kills followed by 13 from Wendi Zickfield and 10 from Mary Cunningham. Kayleah Sauer led the Racers defense with 31 digs.

SIUE returns to action Saturday with a 2 p.m. matchup against Southeast Missouri at the Vadalabene Center.

"I know that they (the Cougars) are determined and as frustrated as I am. They are eager to get on the court tomorrow for a little bit of redemption. SEMO is a great team. They're going to be a very tough opponent."

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