Liberty University
4-2,0-0ASUN
Murray State
2-3,0-0MVC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murray St. | 22 | 14 | 20 | 0 |
| Liberty | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Lady Flames Claim Home Tournament Title, Sweeping Murray State
9/3/2022 6:30:33 PM | Women's Volleyball
Liberty finished off a perfect 3-0 weekend at its home tournament, sweeping Murray State (25-22, 25-14, 25-20), Saturday at Liberty Arena.
The Lady Flames (4-2) defeated Winthrop 3-1 last night before posting sweeps of UNCW and Murray State this afternoon. The Racers (2-3) went 0-3 in their first visit to Liberty Arena.
Liberty’s Trinity Watts was named Tournament MVP. Meanwhile, Lady Flames Lydia Burts (Top Blocker), Delaney Dilfer (Top Setter) and Erica Lowery (Top Libero) also earned All-Tournament Team honors.
Notable Numbers
• Liberty outhit Murray State .308-.095 for the match. The Lady Flames led in kills (44-27), aces (9-7), digs (49-45) and blocks (11-3).
• Lydia Burts (.556) and Kamryn Bacus tied for the match high with 11 kills each, while Burts tied her own Liberty Arena record with eight blocks and Bacus served up three aces. Trinity Watts added 10 kills, while Delaney Dilfer registered 36 assists, a career-high 15 digs and a career-high five blocks.
• Federica Nuccio scored a team-high 10 kills for the Racers, while Dahlia Miller collected 13 digs and Darci Metzger recorded 11 digs. Bailey DeMier dished out a team-high 19 assists.
Turning Point
• Murray State raced out to a 17-12 lead in the first set. The Lady Flames roared back, staging a 6-1 run and tying it on a kill by Julia Mangum. The Racers gained a little traction, still leading 20-19, but Bacus answered with back-to-back kills, sparking a set-clinching 6-2 run as the Lady Flames won 25-22. All told, Liberty outscored Murray State 13-5 over the final 18 serves of the opening set.
Quick Hits
• Liberty tied up the all-time series with Murray State, 1-1, as the Racers won the only previous meeting, Sept. 5, 2014. Murray State won the 2014 Liberty Invitational at the Vines Center.
• Prior to today, the last time the Lady Flames hit .300 or better in back-to-back matches was Oct. 26-28, 2018.
• Liberty won its home tournament for the first time since going 3-0 at the 2019 Liberty Invitational.
• After dropping the opening set to Winthrop last night, the Lady Flames have won their last nine sets in a row. The last time Liberty won nine straight sets was March 13-20, 2021, when the Lady Flames posted a 3-0 sweep at Bellarmine before sweeping North Alabama at home on back-to-bac days.
• Watts has scored double-figures in kills in each of the last four matches, reaching double digits in five out of Liberty’s six matches this season.
Up Next
Liberty heads to California for the first time since 2010, competing in the UNC San Diego Tournament in La Jolla, Calif.
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