Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Friday, September 9
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
7:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
vs
Illinois State
MT hosts Blue Raider Bash in home opener
9/8/2016 3:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Raiders welcome Illinois State, Seton Hall, Tennessee Tech
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – After opening the 2016 campaign on the road for the past two weekends, the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders return to the friendly confines of AMG for the Blue Raider Bash Friday and Saturday.
Middle Tennessee welcomes Illinois State, Seton Hall and Tennessee Tech for the program's 24th overall and 15th consecutive invitational.
"All three teams coming in are really good," Coach Dan Ahiers said of this weekend's competition. "We like to set up our non-conference schedule as tough as possible and challenge our team."
MT is searching to get back in the win column following a tough three-match road trip to California. The Raiders dropped the opening match in three sets to Nevada before falling in hard-fought matches to Saint Mary's and UC Riverside to close the tournament.
Junior Jacqueline Lux continued her impressive transition to setter over the weekend, dishing out 90 assists in the Saint Mary's Tournament. Her 7.90 assists per set ratio ranks eighth in Conference USA.
Freshman Meg Irvin leads the team with 67 digs, 41 of which were tallied against Saint Mary's (19) and UC Riverside (22) last weekend.
Sophomore Bailey Mason paces the Blue Raider offense with 57 kills and has led in that category in four of MT's six matches. Mason also ranks fifth in C-USA, averaging 0.43 aces per set.
Defensively, the Blue Raiders rank second in C-USA in kills per set allowed (10.62) and assists per set allowed (9.43). Sophomore Vonnie Covington claims a team-best 11 total blocks on the season.
MT also excels at getting the opposition out of rhythm from the service line, as the Raiders rank fourth in C-USA with 1.67 aces per set.
The Blue Raiders open the weekend with a 7 p.m. first serve against Illinois State.
"Illinois State has some really big arms on their team. We really need to pick on them with our serve and our offense to get them out of their system," Ahiers said. "If we can get their setters off the net, their hitters will be less effective."
The Redbirds (3-4) enter the Blue Raider Bash with a pair of wins from the Tiger Invitational last weekend in Columbia, Mo. ISU knocked off Miami (Ohio), and dropped a match to Rice before finishing the weekend with a victory against Utah. Overall, the Redbirds have been a battle-tested team from the get-go, having played two top-25 opponents in Loyola Marymount and UCLA to open the season.
Jaelyn Keene leads the Redbird offense with 71 kills and hits at a .430 clip. Defensively, Keene has tallied 19 total blocks on the year while Ali Line has added 16.
Friday's action will mark the first time Middle Tennessee and Illinois State have met on the court.
Following Friday night's matchup, MT will finish the weekend with a double header Saturday against Seton Hall at 12 p.m. and Tennessee Tech at 5 p.m.
All matches this weekend will be played in AMG and are free to the public. Fans can also follow the action with a live stream at CUSA.TV/RaiderVision.
Weekend schedule:
Friday, Sept. 9
2 p.m. Illinois State vs. Seton Hall
4:30 p.m. Seton Hall vs. Tennessee Tech
7 p.m. Illinois State vs. Middle Tennessee
Saturday, Sept. 10
12 p.m. Seton Hall vs. Middle Tennessee
2:30 p.m. Tennessee Tech vs. Illinois State
5 p.m. Tennessee Tech vs. Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee welcomes Illinois State, Seton Hall and Tennessee Tech for the program's 24th overall and 15th consecutive invitational.
"All three teams coming in are really good," Coach Dan Ahiers said of this weekend's competition. "We like to set up our non-conference schedule as tough as possible and challenge our team."
MT is searching to get back in the win column following a tough three-match road trip to California. The Raiders dropped the opening match in three sets to Nevada before falling in hard-fought matches to Saint Mary's and UC Riverside to close the tournament.
Junior Jacqueline Lux continued her impressive transition to setter over the weekend, dishing out 90 assists in the Saint Mary's Tournament. Her 7.90 assists per set ratio ranks eighth in Conference USA.
Freshman Meg Irvin leads the team with 67 digs, 41 of which were tallied against Saint Mary's (19) and UC Riverside (22) last weekend.
Sophomore Bailey Mason paces the Blue Raider offense with 57 kills and has led in that category in four of MT's six matches. Mason also ranks fifth in C-USA, averaging 0.43 aces per set.
Defensively, the Blue Raiders rank second in C-USA in kills per set allowed (10.62) and assists per set allowed (9.43). Sophomore Vonnie Covington claims a team-best 11 total blocks on the season.
MT also excels at getting the opposition out of rhythm from the service line, as the Raiders rank fourth in C-USA with 1.67 aces per set.
The Blue Raiders open the weekend with a 7 p.m. first serve against Illinois State.
"Illinois State has some really big arms on their team. We really need to pick on them with our serve and our offense to get them out of their system," Ahiers said. "If we can get their setters off the net, their hitters will be less effective."
The Redbirds (3-4) enter the Blue Raider Bash with a pair of wins from the Tiger Invitational last weekend in Columbia, Mo. ISU knocked off Miami (Ohio), and dropped a match to Rice before finishing the weekend with a victory against Utah. Overall, the Redbirds have been a battle-tested team from the get-go, having played two top-25 opponents in Loyola Marymount and UCLA to open the season.
Jaelyn Keene leads the Redbird offense with 71 kills and hits at a .430 clip. Defensively, Keene has tallied 19 total blocks on the year while Ali Line has added 16.
Friday's action will mark the first time Middle Tennessee and Illinois State have met on the court.
Following Friday night's matchup, MT will finish the weekend with a double header Saturday against Seton Hall at 12 p.m. and Tennessee Tech at 5 p.m.
All matches this weekend will be played in AMG and are free to the public. Fans can also follow the action with a live stream at CUSA.TV/RaiderVision.
Weekend schedule:
Friday, Sept. 9
2 p.m. Illinois State vs. Seton Hall
4:30 p.m. Seton Hall vs. Tennessee Tech
7 p.m. Illinois State vs. Middle Tennessee
Saturday, Sept. 10
12 p.m. Seton Hall vs. Middle Tennessee
2:30 p.m. Tennessee Tech vs. Illinois State
5 p.m. Tennessee Tech vs. Middle Tennessee
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
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