Volleyball Splits Day Two in Evansville

Saturday, September 14

Evansville, Ind.

12:30 PM CT

Middle Tennessee

1-7

Evansville

4-2

MTSU

Evansville

9/14/2019 7:18:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

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

By: @MTAthletics

EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The Middle Tennessee volleyball team split day two of the Dunn Hospitality Tournament in Evansville Saturday evening.

MT dropped the first match of the day to host Evansville in four sets by scores of 22-25, 23-25, 25-18, 17-25 and claimed the second match against Purdue Fort Wayne in five sets by scores of 25-17, 20-25, 25-21, 15-25, 15-7. The Blue Raiders improve to 2-7 on the season.

Senior Dora Peonia led the team attacks against Evansville, finishing with a total 14 kills on the match. She also finished with 10 digs to record her fourth double-double on the season. Bri Tankesley led the team in defense with 14 digs on the match. Taylor Hammill dished out 34 assists and 10 digs to record her third double-double on the season.

Against Purdue Fort Worth, Urte Neimantaite led the team in kills with a total 17 on the match. Hammill had a season-high 52 assists and a career-high 18 digs to tally her fourth double-double. Sarah Sumida tied her career-high digs with 13 total. Freshman Marley Banton tied her career-high 14 digs, and had a career-high three kills.

SET-BY-SET
Evansville
The Blue Raiders were first to put a point on the board in set one with a Peonia kill, but the Purple Aces kept it close until MT took a 6-3 lead after a few Evansville errors and a Neimantaite kill. The Blue Raiders held the lead until the Purple Aces tied it up at 12-12. Evansville went on a 4-0 run to take a bigger lead and eventually claimed the set, 25-22.

In set two, Evansville scored the first point on an attacking error by the Blue Raiders, and then took a 5-1 lead. MT took back the lead at 12-11 with a Peonia kill, and proceeded to take a 14-11 lead with the help of Kayla Henley. MT had the lead until Evansville snatched a 23-22 lead, and then went on a 3-0 run to take the set, 25-23.

Neimantaite earned the first point of set three with a kill to start of the Blue Raiders 5-0 run. The Purple Aces got a kill to break up the run, but MT kept the lead throughout the set. Back-to-back kills from Neimantaite and Henley clenched the set for the Blue Raiders, 25-18.

The two teams battled it out at the start of set four, but Evansville held on to the lead throughout the entire set and claimed the set 25-17 and the match.

Purdue Fort Wayne
The Mastodons took a quick 3-0 lead in set one before the Blue Raiders went on a 5-0 run to take the lead, 5-3. The scores were tied at 6-6 and Purdue Fort Wayne took the lead off an error, but not for long. MT took back the lead and went on a 5-0 run that included back-to-back aces from Banton, 14-9. The Blue Raiders held on to the lead and claimed the set, 25-17 with a Neimantaite kill.

In set two, MT had a 7-4 lead at one point, but the Mastodons snatched the lead at 10-9 and held on the rest of the set. Purdue Fort Wayne clenched the set, 25-20.

Set three included a huge comeback for the Blue Raiders who were down at one point 11-4. MT continued to fight and was within three, 21-18, when they went on a 7-0 run with Tankesley serving to claim the set, 25-21.

The two teams stayed close in the first half of set four, but at 9-9 the Mastodons went on a 4-0 run to take a lead, and held on to the lead to eventually take the set 25-15.

In the fifth and final set, the Mastodons scored first, but the Blue Raiders went on a 7-0 run to take a 7-1 lead. Peonia led the set in attacks with four total kills, one of which helped MT further its lead to 11-6. A Neimantaite kill brought the set to match point, and Tankesley secured the win with a service ace, 15-7.

Crawford's Comments

On this weekend's performance compared to the previous weekends...

"We got better at controlling the ball this weekend. Our hitting percentage went up, our kill percentage went up and our error percentage went down. So. with the progression from the first weekend, to the second weekend and onto the third weekend, the players are starting to understand the big picture of what we're wanting."

On having Kayla Henley back after her injury...

"Having Kayla Henley back was a huge boost for us."

On the team's overall performance...

"Across the board, we showed a lot of competitive spirit. The way the players fought against (Purdue) Fort Wayne just showed that this team is different, from the standpoint that they don't lay down and they're going to fight until the match is over. They were poised and controlled, We just have to find consistency with our focus. I think that's the biggest thing holding us back right now, but that will happen in time as long as we stay patient with it.

UP NEXT
The Blue Raiders travel to Huntsville, Alabama Tuesday to take on Alabama A&M at 7 p.m.

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