Murfreesboro, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee ended an eight-day drought, without playing volleyball, with a 33-31, 30-22, 30-19 win over cross-town opponent Belmont University.
Both teams looked as if they needed to shake off a little dust after being put on the shelf for so long, but Middle Tennessee had extra pressure with the team's first home game of the season. A tentative start led to the Lady Raiders to a close game one as Belmont (2-5) roared back from 29-27 to tie Middle Tennessee.
"We were holding back a little in the first game," said head coach Lisa Kissee. "We wanted to play well in our first home game and we held back a little."
Middle Tennessee got a spark in the second game by sophomore outside hitter Caia Morstad. She came in and garnered some key kills and serves to propel the team. She ended the match with two service aces.
"Caia had some awesome serves," Kissee said. "It was after her effort in the second game that the team got the attitude to just play."
Kelly Quinn who had 2 service aces and 23 assists led by Shakeithia Deckard who had 12 kills and 24 attacks, and middle Tennessee.
Middle Tennessee improves to 4-5 and will travel to Miami, FL to open up Sun Belt Conference action on Saturday against Florida International at 7 p.m. The team will play Miami on Sunday at 11 a.m.
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