RICHMOND, Ky. – Sophomore Amy Arlinghaus tallied a match-high 16 kills to lead the Eastern Kentucky volleyball team past Murray State, 3-0 (30-24, 30-27, 30-22) Saturday afternoon at McBrayer Arena for their 20th straight home victory.

Senior Liz Guard registered a season-best in blocks (six BS, five BA) to go along with 12 kills for the Colonels (12-5, 4-1), who held the Racers to a .080 attack percentage. Sophomore Brittany Nobilio added 19 digs and junior Jessica Sabath recorded 17 for Eastern.

Game one was tight early with EKU grabbing its largest lead of the game at 17-11 on a Guard block. The Racers would keep it close, cutting the lead to one at 21-20 on a Colonel attack error. But EKU responded with four straight points highlighted by kills from juniors Kasha Brozek and Denise Grundhoefer and secured the victory on a Guard block.

Murray State came out hot in game two, surging to a 13-5 lead on an Alison Mugler kill. The Colonels went on a 12-3 run to get back in the game, taking their first lead at 17-16 on a Racer attack error. The two teams battled back and forth, with EKU finally gaining some breathing room on consecutive kills from Guard and Sabath to give the Colonels a 28-23 lead. EKU claimed the victory two points later on an Arlinghuas kill.

Despite hitting only .167 in game three, EKU managed to build its largest lead of the match at 20-10, and then coasted to the eight-point win.

Katie Kemezys and Heather Norris led the Racers with 12 kills and 19 digs, respectively.

The Colonels are back in action on Friday, October 14 as they host Jacksonville State at 7 p.m.