Blue Raiders Come Up Short in St. Louis

Saturday, August 31

St. Louis, Mo.

10:00 AM

Middle Tennessee

0-2

Portland State

2-0

Portland State

Middle Tennessee St.

8/31/2019 12:41:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: @MTAthletics

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Middle Tennessee volleyball team came up short during the final day of the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic in St. Louis. They fell to the Portland State Vikings by scores of 22-25, 25-22,13-25, 26-28 in the first match of the day, and to the Southern Illinois Salukis by scores of 23-25, 14-25, 25-19, 21-25 in the second match.

For the second match in a row, Urte Neimantaite led the team in attacks with a total 15 kills against Portland State. Dora Peonia finished with 12 kills and 11 digs for her first double-double on the year, and Neimantaite also recorded her first double-double with 14 digs. Sophomore Emma Grever recorded her first 10-plus match of the season with 11 kills, and Sarah Sumida finished with 21 assists and nine digs.

Grever led the attacks against Southern Illinois, fiinishing with a match-high 16 kills. Sarah Sumida tallied a match-high 44 assists and senior Bri Tankesley held it down in the back row, recording a total 20 digs.

SET BY SET
Portland State
The two teams went point-for-point in set one, had a tied score 12 times total, until the Blue Raiders went on 4-0 run to take a 7-5 lead. The Vikings tied it up at 9-9 with a kill and took the lead, but back-to-back kills from Neimantaite and Mikaela Weidmann brought the score to 14-14. Middle Tennessee had the lead once again at 21-19 after an Amalie Jorgensen kill, but Portland State fought back and claimed set one, 25-22.

In set two, the Blue Raiders went on the longest run of the match, 10-0, and took a 23-18 lead after being down 18-13. Three kills from Emma Grever contributed to that run. Middle Tennessee clenched set two at 25-22 with another Grever kill.

The Vikings took a 3-0 lead at the start of set three, and kept the lead throughout the set. The Blue Raiders had a short 3-0 run in the beginning with kills from Grever and Peonia, but Portland State took a bigger lead and eventually won the third set, 25-13.

Set four was quite a battle. Middle Tennessee got off to 2-0 start with a Peonia kill and an ace from Neimantaite, but from there, it was a close match. The scores were tied a total 13 times in the set. Neimantaite tallied six kills in the set, followed by Grever who tallied five. At a score of 28-26, Portland State claimed set four to win the match, 3-1.

Southern Illinois
At the start of set one, Southern Illinois took a small lead, but Middle Tennessee kept it close with a series of kills. The Blue Raiders were trailing 7-4 when they went on a 4-0 run, that included an ace from Tankesley, to take an 8-7 lead. It was looking good for Middle Tennessee after back-to-back kills from Grever brought the Blue Raiders within one, 24-23, but Southern Illinois claimed the set on a kill.

The Blue Raiders had a 13-10 lead in set three after going on a 4-0 run, and kept the lead throughout. Back-to-back kills from Samira Lawson Body gave Middle Tennessee a 19-14 lead, and a kill from Neimantaite clenched the set, 25-19.

In the fourth and final set, Middle Tennessee had a 6-0 run in the beginning, taking a 7-3 lead. Southern Illinois also had a 6-0 run to take back the lead. The Blue Raiders came within one, 20-19, after a Southern Illinois attacking error, but the Salukis stilled claimed the set, 25-21, to take the match.

UP NEXT
The Blue Raiders head to Cedar City, Utah next weekend for the Thunderbird Classic hosted by Southern Utah. They take on Boise State Friday morning at 10:30 and Southern Utah at 6:30 that evening. Their match on Saturday is against Saint Mary's at 11a.m.

Keep up with Blue Raider Volleyball online: Middle Tennessee Blue Raider Volleyball on Facebook, @MT_Volleyball on Twitter and @mt_volleyball on Instagram.