Volleyball sweeps Florida Atlantic for eighth straight win

Friday, October 14

Alumni Memorial Gym

7:00 PM

Middle Tennessee

Florida Atlantic

Photo by: Athletic Communications

10/14/2011 9:33:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

By: Athletic Communications

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Led by Ashley Adams' 14 kills, the Middle Tennessee volleyball team notched its eighth straight victory with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-23) sweep of visiting Florida Atlantic at Alumni Memorial Gym on Friday evening. The match marked the fourth consecutive that the junior has led the team in kills. Szivos was second with eight, and both Alyssa Wistrick and Lindsay Cheatham tallied five. As a team the Blue Raiders (10-9, 7-1 SBC) out-hit the Owls . 219 to .156 and tallied 40 kills to FAU's 29. After recording a season-high 10 service aces earlier this season at Florida Atlantic, the Blue Raiders put up seven on Friday. Oyinlola Oladinni led the pack with a career-high three, and both Morgan Peterson and Halie Vannoy chipped in two. Defensively, Brynne Henderson, who surpassed the 1,000 dig mark earlier this week, followed up with a match-high 15 digs. Vannoy was second on the team with six. At the net, the Blue and White posted eight blocks, led by four block assists from Cheatham. Both Adams and and Oladinni added three. The duo of Cheatham and Oladinni combined to hit .667 with 10 kills to lead Middle Tennessee to a 25-20 opening set victory. The Blue Raiders led off with a 5-1 run, but they couldn't shake the Owls, who would pull within one on several occasions, including at 14-13. However, a Vannoy ace and a pair of Szivos kills helped establish some breathing room, handing MT the early 1-0 match lead. The second frame was a bit closer, featuring five tie scores, but Oladinni and Adams helped put together a mid-set run on the way to a 25-18 lead. With the score even at 9-9, Adams followed up a FAU service error with a kill. After Oladinni picked up a service ace, both Cheatham and Adams combined for a block to push the lead out to 13-9, and the Blue Raiders didn't look back. Adams put up five kills and both Szivos and Brandi Waller recorded three en route to a 25-23 third set win. With the score tied up at 8-8, both Adams and Oladinni tallied a kill and a block over the course of a 7-1 run to give MT the 15-9 advantage, that would stick for the majority of the frame. However, after a powerful Adams kill set up match point at 24-16, the Owls began a ferocious comeback effort, running off eight straight points before Adams shut the door with another kill to secure the Blue and White's seventh sweep over the past eight matches. Middle Tennessee will now look for a ninth straight win on Sunday when they play host to FIU at Alumni Memorial Gym. First serve is set for 1 p.m.