Blue Raiders Look To Continue Hot C-USA Play Against FIU

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Blue Raiders return home to play two matches with FIU Friday, October 8, and Saturday, October 9 after splitting their weekend series with Marshall (2-3, 3-1).

Chasing 1,000 Assists
Redshirt freshman Taylor Eisert looks to become the fastest Blue Raider to the 1,000 career assists milestone this weekend, as she sits only 16 assists away at 984. The Louisville, Kentucky native will reach the milestone during their first match with FIU on Friday, taking only 27 games to do so. Eisert currently sits at seventh on the career records list for assists in the 25-point scoring rally era and by the end of the year could end up as high as fourth. Her first two shortened seasons as they stand would rank in the top-five for single-season assists per set since 2008.

Middle Tennessee (3-1, 5-5) vs. Florida International University (0-2, 3-8)

Friday, October 8 at 1 p.m. CT – C-USA.TV
Saturday, October 9 at 1 p.m. CT – C-USA.TV
Hosted at Alumni Memorial Gymnasium - Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Middle Tennessee leads the all-time series 24-11 and is 13-4 at home with the Blue Raiders on a current 3-0 win streak against the Panthers.

Blue Raider's Quick Hitters

The Blue Raiders are 3-1 in C-USA play after splitting their two matches against Marshall on Friday and Saturday. This is Middle Tennessee's best start to conference play since joining Conference USA in 2013.
Taylor Eisert sits 16 assists away from a career milestone of 1,000 assists.
Samira Lawson Body's 20 kills Saturday, October 2 at Marshall sets a new career-high which was previously 19.
Middle Tennessee is undefeated at home so far this season.

Tale of the Tape: FIU Panthers

The Panthers are on a three-loss streak after getting swept twice by currently ranked Western Kentucky and dropping a match to North Florida 1-3. Both FIU and MT are 1-1 against shared opponents this season (Seton Hall and UNF).
FIU ranks near the bottom of the conference in all statistics except for attacks per set, which they currently sit at second.
On the attack, Giada Bianchi leads the Panthers with 122 kills on a .154 clip.
Defensively, libero Valeria Santos has racked up 164 digs on the season, averaging 4.82 digs/set. Santos ranks second in the conference for digs per set and is also ranked 38th nationally.

Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Volleyball), Instagram (@mt_volleyball), and Facebook (Middle Tennessee Blue Raider Volleyball).

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Players Mentioned

Taylor Eisert

Samira Lawson Body

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics