Blue Raiders Take Down UAB in Five Sets

Friday, November 1

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

6:00 PM CT

Middle Tennessee

-1113,45 CUSA

UAB

-1111,36 CUSA

UAB

Middle Tenn.

11/1/2019 10:42:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

By: @MTAthletics

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee volleyball team defeated UAB in five sets Friday evening by scores of 26-24, 23-25, 18-25, 26=24, 15-4. The Blue Raiders improve to 11-13 on the season and 4-5 in the conference, while the Blazers fall to 11-11 overall and 3-6 in the league.

Dora Peonia led the team attacks with a total 19 kills on the match, and finished with 11 kills to record her 12^th double-double on the season. Taylor Hammill dished out a season-high 52 assists for the third time this season and 15 digs, recording her 11^th double-double on the year. Bri Tankesley tallied 18 digs and two service aces. Five Blue Raiders had double digit kills on the match.

The Blue Raiders out blocked the Blazers 7.0 to 5.0 and had an overall .321 hitting percentage. The team also tallied 10 service aces, which is the most since their first match of the season against Saint Louis.

Set-By-Set
UAB scored first in set one with a service ace, but the Blue Raiders quickly put up a point with a kill by Kayla Henley. There were nine tied scores in the set and three lead changes, making it a very close, with the last tied score at 24-24. From there, a kill from Peonia and a UAB attacking error allowed MT to take the set, 26-24.

The Blue Raiders scored the first point of the second set with a kill from Henley, but the Blazers still took a 2-1 lead. UAB was leading 6-5 when the Blue Raiders went on a 4-0 run to take back the lead. UAB tied it up at 13-13, and then took the lead again, this time holding on until the end of the set. The Blazers took set two, 25-23.

In set three, the Blazers had the lead the entire set after being tied at 1-1. The Blue Raiders came within three at 21-18 after a UAB service error, but the Blazers still claimed the set 25-18.

MT got to a 4-1 lead in set four before the Blazers tied it up 6-6. UAB then took a small lead, but MT tied it up again at 8-8. The Blue Raiders held on to the lead the majority of the set, but UAB went on a 5-0 run to tie it up again at 22-22. The Blazers were close to taking the match at 24-23, but a kill from Urte Neimantaite kept MT in the game. Two UAB attacking errors allowed the Blue Raiders to claim set four, 26-24.

The Blue Raiders were not playing around in the fifth set, and got to a 7-0 lead with freshman Marley Banton before the Blazers scored one. MT kept a strong lead the entire set, and a kill from Peonia sealed the deal. The Blue Raiders took set five 15-4 and the match.

Team Notes

Dora Peonia has led the team attacks on 10 occasions and has recorded 12 double-doubles on the season. She also recorded a career-high 23 kills against Marshall, and a career-high .636 hitting percentage against UT Martin.
Urte Neimantaite tallied a career-high 19 kills on two occasions, against Tennessee Tech and Marshall. She has one double-double on the season and has led the team attacks on nine occasions.
Neimantaite is ranked 10^th in the conference for her average 3.23 kills per set.
Taylor Hammill recorded her 2,000^th career-assist against Marshall on October 11. She has also recorded 11 double-doubles this season. Hammill is ranked third in the conference for her 10.08 assists per set.
Hammill recorded a season-high 52 assists on two occasions and a season-high 18 digs.
Bri Tankesley recorded her 1,000^th dig against UT Martin on October 22. She also recorded a career-high four aces against Alabama A&M and a season-high 26 digs against Marshall.
Tankesley is also ranked eighth in the conference for her average 3.80 digs per set, and leads the team in service aces with 21 total.
Amalie Jorgensen nearly doubled her career-high blocks against North Texas, finishing with 11 total on the match.
Kayla Henley has recorded four double-doubles on the season. She also tallied a career-high 19 digs against Western Illinois.
Marley Banton is second on the team with a total 20 aces on the year.
Mikaela Weidmann leads the team in blocks with 78.0.

Up Next
The Blue Raiders take on the LA Tech Lady Techsters Sunday at 1 p.m. at Alumni Memorial Gym. Live stats will be available and the match will stream live on ESPN+.

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