Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, September 6
Manhattan, Kan.
1:00 p.m.
Middle Tennessee
2-5
3
vs
2
Arkansas
3-3
1st set1
2nd set2
3rd set3
4th set4
5th set5
FinalF
Arkansas
25
25
32
19
10
2
Middle Tennessee
17
27
30
25
15
3
Blue Raiders Defeat Razorbacks in Thriller
9/6/2014 4:49:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Middle Tennessee volleyball team defeated Arkansas 3-2 in an exciting five-set match inside the Bramlage Coliseum Saturday afternoon. MT improves to 2-5 on the year while Arkansas drops to 3-3.
MT's 3-2 victory over Arkansas is the first tme since 2011 that the Blue Raiders defeated an SEC team when they won in four sets against Missouri at home.
"We're still trying to find the right combinations and the lineup we had in there today really worked for us today. Chelsea Ross was a workhorse and Jazmyne Johnson came through at the end for us" said Head coach Matt Peck.
Ross led the Blue Raiders with a season-high 19 kills and 13 digs for her second-straight double-double, and was named to the Varney's Invitational All-Tournament team after leading the team in kills (44) with a 3.67 kill per set.
Johnson performed well with 13 kills to go along with five swats while freshmen Morgan St. Germain, Brianna Pannone and Haley Morton all set career-highs in today's contest as St.Germain paced MT with 20 digs while Pannone and Morton led the team with 28 and 21 assists, respectively.
Monét Marshall gave an all-around performance as she tallied season-highs in kills (10),blocks (8) and points (15.5).Marshall ended the weekend with the highest hitting percentage at .274 while finishing second with 24 kills and 12 blocks.
The Blue Raiders took control of the final frame after a 4-4 tie as Marshall recorded a block and a kill on consecutive rallies to give MT a 6-4 lead that the team wouldn't relinquish.
MT stretched the lead to five on its way to taking the set 15-10 and claiming the match after junior Rachel Shaughnessy tallied a kill that was nicely set up by Pannone.
"This was a very important match for us, and going 2-0 in two five-set matches is big. This team (Arkansas) was receiving top 25 votes earlier this week so to beat an SEC team is huge for us. I'm really proud the way the girls fought today to get the win" said Peck.
Arkansas used a late run and a .333 hitting percentage to take the first set 25-17. The Razorbacks took control by scoring nine of the next 11 points to go ahead 18-11 after a 9-9 tie and eventually headed into the second set with a 1-0 lead.
The next two frames were decided in extra sets as each team split the second and third frames. MT captured the second set 27-25 after facing two set points from Arkansas and being down 25-24 before scoring three straight points off a kill by Ross and two Arkansas attack errors.
Arkansas would take a 2-1 advantage in a third-set marathon that reached a 30-30 tie before the Hogs score two-straight points to take the stanza 32-30.
MT and Arkansas went back and forth in the fourth frame before the Blue Raiders used an 11-5 run to break a 14-14 tie and take the set 25-19 to go into the fifth set tied 2-2.
The Blue Raiders will look to build momentum after today's win as Virginia Tech will visit Alumni Memorial Gym on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Varney's Invitational MVP
Kylee Zumach (K-State – FR, OH)
Varney's Invitational All-Tournament Team
Katie Brand (K-State – S, RS SO)
Katie Reininger (K-State – MB, RS SO)
Kaye-Alese Green (UCF)
Jade Hayes (UCF)
Meredith Hays (Arkansas – SR, OH)
Chelsea Ross (Middle Tennessee – JR, OH)
MT's 3-2 victory over Arkansas is the first tme since 2011 that the Blue Raiders defeated an SEC team when they won in four sets against Missouri at home.
"We're still trying to find the right combinations and the lineup we had in there today really worked for us today. Chelsea Ross was a workhorse and Jazmyne Johnson came through at the end for us" said Head coach Matt Peck.
Ross led the Blue Raiders with a season-high 19 kills and 13 digs for her second-straight double-double, and was named to the Varney's Invitational All-Tournament team after leading the team in kills (44) with a 3.67 kill per set.
Johnson performed well with 13 kills to go along with five swats while freshmen Morgan St. Germain, Brianna Pannone and Haley Morton all set career-highs in today's contest as St.Germain paced MT with 20 digs while Pannone and Morton led the team with 28 and 21 assists, respectively.
Monét Marshall gave an all-around performance as she tallied season-highs in kills (10),blocks (8) and points (15.5).Marshall ended the weekend with the highest hitting percentage at .274 while finishing second with 24 kills and 12 blocks.
The Blue Raiders took control of the final frame after a 4-4 tie as Marshall recorded a block and a kill on consecutive rallies to give MT a 6-4 lead that the team wouldn't relinquish.
MT stretched the lead to five on its way to taking the set 15-10 and claiming the match after junior Rachel Shaughnessy tallied a kill that was nicely set up by Pannone.
"This was a very important match for us, and going 2-0 in two five-set matches is big. This team (Arkansas) was receiving top 25 votes earlier this week so to beat an SEC team is huge for us. I'm really proud the way the girls fought today to get the win" said Peck.
Arkansas used a late run and a .333 hitting percentage to take the first set 25-17. The Razorbacks took control by scoring nine of the next 11 points to go ahead 18-11 after a 9-9 tie and eventually headed into the second set with a 1-0 lead.
The next two frames were decided in extra sets as each team split the second and third frames. MT captured the second set 27-25 after facing two set points from Arkansas and being down 25-24 before scoring three straight points off a kill by Ross and two Arkansas attack errors.
Arkansas would take a 2-1 advantage in a third-set marathon that reached a 30-30 tie before the Hogs score two-straight points to take the stanza 32-30.
MT and Arkansas went back and forth in the fourth frame before the Blue Raiders used an 11-5 run to break a 14-14 tie and take the set 25-19 to go into the fifth set tied 2-2.
The Blue Raiders will look to build momentum after today's win as Virginia Tech will visit Alumni Memorial Gym on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Varney's Invitational MVP
Kylee Zumach (K-State – FR, OH)
Varney's Invitational All-Tournament Team
Katie Brand (K-State – S, RS SO)
Katie Reininger (K-State – MB, RS SO)
Kaye-Alese Green (UCF)
Jade Hayes (UCF)
Meredith Hays (Arkansas – SR, OH)
Chelsea Ross (Middle Tennessee – JR, OH)
Team Stats
AR
MT
Kills
66
56
Errors
38
31
Attempts
178
169
Hitting %
.157
.148
Points
80.0
72.0
Assists
59
54
Aces
4
4
Blocks
10.0
12.0
Game Leaders
Kills
19
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
8
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballMTSU Volleyball Recap 10/17-18/25
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MTSU Volleyball Recap 9/27-28/25
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True Blue Testimonials - Caroline Macander MTSU Volleyball Setter - Presented by MMC
Tuesday, September 16
