Volleyball Drops First Two Matches of Thunderbird Classic

Friday, September 6

Cedar City, Utah

11:30 AM CT

Middle Tennessee

0-3

Boise State

1-2

Middle Tenn.

Boise St.

9/6/2019 10:23:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

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

CEDAR CITY, Utah – The Blue Raider volleyball team dropped both matches on Friday, the second day of the Thunderbird Classic at Southern Utah University. They fell to Boise State in the afternoon by scores of 15-25, 28-26, 22-25, 19-25, and to Southern Utah that evening by scores of 18-25, 14-25, 12-25.

Urte Neimantaite led the attacks for the third time this season with 16 total kills. Three Blue Raiders got five blocks (Dora Peonia, Mikaela Weidmann, Amalie Jorgensen) out of the teams 20 total blocks. Taylor Hammill had 30 assists on the match, her second-highest of the season. Senior libero Bri Tankesley led the back row with 12 digs. Peonia racked up 10 kills and 10 digs for her second double-double on the season.

SET BY SET
Boise State
Boise State took an early lead in set one, scoring first and then going on a 4-0 run. Middle Tennessee scored twice with a kill from Peonia and an attacking error by the Broncos, but Boise State went on another 4-0 run to take a 10-3 lead. Back-to-back kills from Neimantaite and a block helped the Blue Raiders come within four, 12-8, but the Broncos went on another run and eventually claimed the set, 25-15.

The Blue Raiders made the first point in the second set with a kill by Emma Grever, and then continued the lead with a 3-0 run that included a block assist by Jorgensen and Grever, and a kill by Neimantaite. A service ace by Kayla Henley gave Middle Tennessee a 10-5 lead, which they kept until Boise State tied it up at set point, 24-24, with a block. The two teams went point-for-point, but a Neimantaite kill and a Boise State attacking error sealed the deal for the Blue Raiders, claiming the set 28-26.

In set three, the Broncos scored first and got to a 3-1 lead before the Blue Raiders tied it up. Boise State tallied a few more kills to take a 6-3 lead, and then went on a 4-0 run to up the lead, 11-6, but after three Boise State errors and blocks by Peonia, Jergensen and Weidmann, the Blue Raiders came within one, 13-12. The Broncos had another big lead, 21-15, but Middle Tennessee kept fighting to come within two at set point. Boise State clenched the third set, 25-22 with a kill.

The scores remained close at the start of the fourth set, but the Broncos gained some momentum after going on a 6-0 run, giving them a 17-10 lead. The Blue Raiders kept up the fight after being down by 10 points at one point, and brought the score to 24-19, but the Broncos claimed the set, 25-19, and the match with a kill.

Southern Utah
The Blue Raiders got off to a good start in the first set, scoring the first two points to take a 2-0 lead. The two teams went point-for-point for the first half of the set, and had tied scores on nine occasions. Middle Tennessee went on a 3-0 run off of Southern Utah errors and a Peonia kill, but the Thunderbirds had a 6-0 run to claim the set, 25-18.

Grever got a kill to score the first point of the second set. The teams battled back and forth for a while, but the Thunderbirds went on a 6-0 run to take a 15-7 lead. The Blue Raiders fought back with kills from Peonia and Grever, followed by a block assist by Jorgensen and Samira Lawson Body, bringing the score to 17-11. However, Southern Utah continued to lead and took the second set 25-14.

The Thunderbirds claimed set three and the match with a kill and two Middle Tennessee errors, 25-12.

UP NEXT
The Blue Raiders take on the Saint Mary's Gaels Saturday at 12 p.m. CT for their last match of the Thunderbird Classic. Live stats will be available for the match.

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