Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, September 10
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
12:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
1-7
0
vs
3
Seton Hall
5-4
1
2
3
F
Seton Hall
25
25
25
3
Middle Tennessee
22
22
14
0
Team Stats
HALL
MT
Kills
32
36
Errors
13
23
Attempts
90
103
Hitting %
.211
.126
Points
43.0
48.0
Assists
29
33
Aces
4
4
Blocks
7.0
8.0
Game Leaders
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's Volleyball
Blue Raiders cap double header with five-set thriller
9/10/2016 8:30:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Five Raiders set new career-high marks
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Heart, fight and hard work have been the staples of the 2016 Middle Tennessee volleyball season. On Saturday night, all three were on display as the Blue Raiders claimed a thrilling five-set win against Tennessee Tech.
"It's good for the girls to see that hard work pays off. They have been working hard for several weeks now. They haven't lost their focus or their fight to win," Coach Dan Ahiers said. "It was really great to see our girls come out in the fifth set firing on all cylinders. They attacked every ball, served every ball tough and defended every ball. We really showed what we were worth in the fifth set."
The Blue Raiders (2-7) closed the Blue Raider Bash splitting a double header. MT dropped a hard-fought match against Seton Hall before taking the night cap win against the Golden Eagles.
In the first match of the day against Seton Hall, Middle Tennessee played one of the most balanced matches of the season. The Raiders collected more kills and blocks, but Seton Hall forced 23 MT errors to win 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-14). Vonnie Covington paced the Raiders with match-highs of nine kills and four blocks.
On the defensive side, the Blue Raiders set a new season-high with 16 blocks, which doubled the eight team blocks MT registered in the Tennessee and UC Riverside matches each. Six different Raiders joined the block party. Along with Covington's four, Delaney Gallagher added three and Bailey Mason tallied two. Matching their career highs in blocks were Dora Peonia (4), Jacqueline Lux (2) and Aubrie Huddleston (2).
In the night cap, MT saw five Raiders set new career-best marks in the offensive attack. Huddleston led the way with a career-high 14 kills while Peonia added a career-high 12 kills. Gallagher also added a career-high seven kills, including match point, a set point and two kills to end TTU threats.
Meg Irvin picked up a game-high 21 digs, while Sloan Sullivan set a career-best with 11 digs. Lux also turned in a career-high 42 assists.
Middle Tennessee and Tennessee Tech battled back-and-forth in the opening set until Tech took control with a 20-14 lead behind a 7-0 run. MT rallied with a pair of kills, and trailing 23-17, MT trimmed the lead to 23-20. The rally fell short, however, as TTU took the set 25-20.
The Blue Raiders responded in set two with a quick 4-2 lead behind Gallagher, Peonia and Huddleston kills. Tennessee Tech claimed a 6-4 lead and traded points with the Raiders until MT knotted the match at 10. The Golden Eagles then used a 4-0 run to build a 14-10 cushion, but MT kept within range at 17-15. Trailing 21-15, Coughlin and Huddleston kills helped MT climb back into the set before a Peonia kill and Irvin ace cut the lead to 22-20. Blocks by Gallagher and Huddleston followed by a forced error tied the match at 22. The Raiders kept up the tempo with a Peonia kill. An error gave MT set point and another kill from Huddleston gave MT the set win 25-23.
Out of the intermission, MT's momentum carried into the third set where the Raiders struck with a 5-1 lead. A kill by Huddleston and blocks by Gallagher and Lux extended the cushion to 8-2. Tech climbed back into the match at 9-7, but a pair of Raider kills by Coughlin and Covington kept the rally at bay. From there, TTU hung around, not allowing the Raiders to lead by more than four, and eventually tied the match 22-22. Falling behind 23-22, Covington tied the set at 23 all with a kill. Blocks by Peonia and Gallagher gave MT set point, and Gallagher put the set away with a kill assisted by Lux.
In the fourth set, TTU responded with a quick 8-2 lead. The Eagles forced four errors early and got the Raiders out of rhythm to win 25-7 and even the match once more.
MT came out of the gate with confidence in the final set behind a Coughlin kill and Peonia ace, but Tech answered to tie the frame at 3-3. The Raiders claimed six of the next eight points when Peonia put the Raiders closer to victory with a kill. MT also flashed the defense down the stretch with a block from Huddleston and Covington to extend the lead. MT kept its distance with a 12-7 lead, and consecutive kills from Peonia and Huddleston followed by match point from Gallagher gave the Raiders the game, set and match.
Despite being outhit in the match and committing 10 extra errors than the Eagles, the Raiders led the total attacks category by a 183-168 margin, something Ahiers instills in his offense to do.
"It's like we say all the time, we're always going to lead with attack errors. But we are also going to always lead in attacks. We tell the girls we have to put the pressure on other teams to win matches. It showed tonight," Ahiers said. "The more balanced we can get our offense and the more swings we can get from everyone on the court then the better we will be."
MT seeks to build upon the momentum and will return to the road starting with Wake Forest on Wednesday night before traveling to Richmond, Va. for the VCU Invitational.
"It's good for the girls to see that hard work pays off. They have been working hard for several weeks now. They haven't lost their focus or their fight to win," Coach Dan Ahiers said. "It was really great to see our girls come out in the fifth set firing on all cylinders. They attacked every ball, served every ball tough and defended every ball. We really showed what we were worth in the fifth set."
The Blue Raiders (2-7) closed the Blue Raider Bash splitting a double header. MT dropped a hard-fought match against Seton Hall before taking the night cap win against the Golden Eagles.
In the first match of the day against Seton Hall, Middle Tennessee played one of the most balanced matches of the season. The Raiders collected more kills and blocks, but Seton Hall forced 23 MT errors to win 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-14). Vonnie Covington paced the Raiders with match-highs of nine kills and four blocks.
On the defensive side, the Blue Raiders set a new season-high with 16 blocks, which doubled the eight team blocks MT registered in the Tennessee and UC Riverside matches each. Six different Raiders joined the block party. Along with Covington's four, Delaney Gallagher added three and Bailey Mason tallied two. Matching their career highs in blocks were Dora Peonia (4), Jacqueline Lux (2) and Aubrie Huddleston (2).
In the night cap, MT saw five Raiders set new career-best marks in the offensive attack. Huddleston led the way with a career-high 14 kills while Peonia added a career-high 12 kills. Gallagher also added a career-high seven kills, including match point, a set point and two kills to end TTU threats.
Meg Irvin picked up a game-high 21 digs, while Sloan Sullivan set a career-best with 11 digs. Lux also turned in a career-high 42 assists.
Middle Tennessee and Tennessee Tech battled back-and-forth in the opening set until Tech took control with a 20-14 lead behind a 7-0 run. MT rallied with a pair of kills, and trailing 23-17, MT trimmed the lead to 23-20. The rally fell short, however, as TTU took the set 25-20.
The Blue Raiders responded in set two with a quick 4-2 lead behind Gallagher, Peonia and Huddleston kills. Tennessee Tech claimed a 6-4 lead and traded points with the Raiders until MT knotted the match at 10. The Golden Eagles then used a 4-0 run to build a 14-10 cushion, but MT kept within range at 17-15. Trailing 21-15, Coughlin and Huddleston kills helped MT climb back into the set before a Peonia kill and Irvin ace cut the lead to 22-20. Blocks by Gallagher and Huddleston followed by a forced error tied the match at 22. The Raiders kept up the tempo with a Peonia kill. An error gave MT set point and another kill from Huddleston gave MT the set win 25-23.
Out of the intermission, MT's momentum carried into the third set where the Raiders struck with a 5-1 lead. A kill by Huddleston and blocks by Gallagher and Lux extended the cushion to 8-2. Tech climbed back into the match at 9-7, but a pair of Raider kills by Coughlin and Covington kept the rally at bay. From there, TTU hung around, not allowing the Raiders to lead by more than four, and eventually tied the match 22-22. Falling behind 23-22, Covington tied the set at 23 all with a kill. Blocks by Peonia and Gallagher gave MT set point, and Gallagher put the set away with a kill assisted by Lux.
In the fourth set, TTU responded with a quick 8-2 lead. The Eagles forced four errors early and got the Raiders out of rhythm to win 25-7 and even the match once more.
MT came out of the gate with confidence in the final set behind a Coughlin kill and Peonia ace, but Tech answered to tie the frame at 3-3. The Raiders claimed six of the next eight points when Peonia put the Raiders closer to victory with a kill. MT also flashed the defense down the stretch with a block from Huddleston and Covington to extend the lead. MT kept its distance with a 12-7 lead, and consecutive kills from Peonia and Huddleston followed by match point from Gallagher gave the Raiders the game, set and match.
Despite being outhit in the match and committing 10 extra errors than the Eagles, the Raiders led the total attacks category by a 183-168 margin, something Ahiers instills in his offense to do.
"It's like we say all the time, we're always going to lead with attack errors. But we are also going to always lead in attacks. We tell the girls we have to put the pressure on other teams to win matches. It showed tonight," Ahiers said. "The more balanced we can get our offense and the more swings we can get from everyone on the court then the better we will be."
MT seeks to build upon the momentum and will return to the road starting with Wake Forest on Wednesday night before traveling to Richmond, Va. for the VCU Invitational.
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MTSU Volleyball Recap 9/27-28/25
Monday, September 29
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