RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky’s volleyball team continues its home stand with a pair of matches this weekend. The Colonels will face Murray State at 7 p.m. on Friday and Tennessee-Martin at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Both matches will be played at McBrayer Arena on the EKU campus. Eastern is coming off a 3-1 home win over Eastern Illinois on Saturday. Senior Brittany Nobilio moved into the NCAA top-5 for career digs against the Panthers.
The volleyball program will honor its lone senior, Nobilio, in a ceremony before Saturday’s match against UT Martin. Saturday is also Youth Day. Goodie bags will be given away to fans under 13 and to EKU students. Following the match the volleyball team will autograph free posters.
The Colonels (4-21, 3-12 OVC) have three wins in their last seven matches and are 2-1 at home over that span.
When Nobilio made her second dig in game one against Eastern Illinois, she moved past Jennifer Alexander (Western Illinois) and took fifth place on the NCAA’s all-time digs list. She finished with 24 digs against the Panthers and now has 2,366 digs during her career. Nobilio needs 59 more to take over fourth place.
Nobilio has recorded 20 or more digs in five straight matches and seven of the past eight. She leads the Ohio Valley Conference and ranks 10th in the NCAA with an average of 6.06 digs per game.
Junior Amanda Wilson led Eastern Kentucky and tied for the match-high with 18 kills against the Panthers. She also posted a .389 attack percentage and had four blocks. Freshman Amanda Fago recorded another double-double, finishing with 17 kills and 10 digs. Bridget Mustard totaled 14 kills, hit .333 and had seven blocks.
Wilson leads the Colonels’ offensive attack this season. She has a team-best 323 kills and ranks sixth in the conference with an average of 3.67 kills per game. She also leads the squad with 68 blocks. Freshmen Leah Nelson and Fago are also key components of the offense. Fago is second on the team with 226 kills and 24 aces. She has recorded five double-doubles (kills & digs) this season including two straight. Nelson has 223 kills. Freshman Kate Hendle leads the Colonels with 707 assists and has averaged 12 assists per game over Eastern’s last seven matches.
Murray State (14-11, 11-4 OVC) enters the weekend in third place in the OVC standings, only one game behind conference leader Morehead State. The Racers have won 11 of their last 13 conference matches. MSU leads the conference with an average of 20.51 digs per game and ranks third in hitting percentage, assists per game and kills per game. However, the Racers are 10th in the league in blocks per game.
Alison Mugler leads the team with 318 kills and is second on the squad with 375 digs. Tara DeMage is second on the team with 302 kills and leads the Racers with 63 blocks.
Tennessee-Martin (10-17, 4-11 OVC) enters the weekend having lost five of its last six matches. Kathryn Sprague leads the team with 292 kills and a .364 attack percentage. Sarah Jett is second on the team with 224 kills and leads the squad with 137 blocks. Seven Skyhawks have registered 100 or more digs this season, led by Anna Gautreau with 534.
