Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
Purdue
Lady Raiders Split in Final Day of Purdue Tournament
9/13/2003 9:31:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
In the final match of the tournament the Lady Raider's 30-15, 34-32, 27-30, 30-12 win over the Bulldogs ended a two game losing skid. Four Middle Tennessee players recorded double figure kills and two players also recorded double doubles in the match.
Junior KeKe Deckard led the team with 18 kills and she also recorded 12 digs for her fourth double double of the season. Right behind her was senior Karisse Baker who had 17 kills and also notched a .414 attack percentage.
Freshman Andressa Lyra was the other Lady Raider with a double double as she had 10 kills and 11 digs. Dara McLean rounded out the top kill producers for Middle Tennessee as she had 16 kills and also had a match-high six service aces.
Middle Tennessee closed out Mississippi State with a scorching .652 hitting percentage in the fourth game as the Bulldogs could only muster a .120. Megan Sumrell got the ball in the right direction as she had 32 assists and junior Talayana Akrie recoreded 18 assists. Purdue made short work of the Middle Tennessee Lady Raiders, tallying a 3-0 sweep Saturday morning.
Purdue won the match 30-21, 30-27, 30-19 in game four of the Mortar Board Purdue Premier. The Boilermakers hit .300 for the match, while holding the Lady Raiders to just a .193 effort.
Purdue's hitting success began in game one, when the team posted a .333 percentage. Middle Tennessee cut the lead to three at 13-10, but that was as close as they would come.
Purdue led game two from the beginning, allowing the Lady Raiders to tie it up at two and four, but never relinquishing the lead. The Boilermaker lead swelled to six at 22-16. The Lady Raiders pulled within three at 24-21 and then crept back from a seven point deficit to make it 29-27. After four game-point attempts, Purdue put it away at 30-27 on a Lady Raider service error. Purdue won the game despite being out-blocked and out-dug by the Lady Raiders.
Purdue finished it off with a dominating win in game three. A stout defense and a sparked offense helped the Boilermakers to the win.
Lyra led the Lady Raiders with 12 kills and was the only Lady Raider in double figure kills. Overall, Middle Tennessee recorded an anemic .193 attack percentage in contrast to Purdue's .300 and recorded seven service errors.
Middle Tennessee returns to the friendly confines of Alumni Memorial Gym next weekend to host the MT Invitational. The Lady Raiders will welcome Appalachian State, Murray State and Western Illinois in the two-day tournament, which begins Friday September 19.
