Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Saturday, November 20
Norfolk, VA
11:00 AM
Middle Tennessee
-911,76 CUSA
0
vs
3
Rice University
-195,130 CUSA
1
2
3
F
Middle Tenn.
16
19
16
0
Rice
25
25
25
3
Photo by: AP
Middle Tennessee Falls Short to Rice in Semifinals
11/20/2021 1:46:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
NORFOLK, Va. – The Blue Raiders C-USA Championship run ends with a 0-3 loss to Rice.
The highest ranked RPI team in conference, Rice, gave their all to the Blue Raiders on Saturday. Although the loss stings, Middle Tennessee has set the bar higher for themselves heading forward after their best season since joining Conference USA in 2013.
There were no eye-popping statistics for the Blue Raiders for the first time in a while. The team played hard at times and made some simple mistakes the boosted the Rice defense. Kayla Henley led the team with 14 digs and was one of five Blue Raiders with five or more kills. Samira Lawson Body had another day leading the offense with 12 kills. The middles, Dasia Smith and Michaela Wright both led the team in hitting percentage with .222 and .273 respectively.
Middle Tennessee vs. Rice Set-by-Set
It was clear from the start that Rice wanted to force the ball to anywhere but where Marley Banton was. Rice got out to a quick 7-2 lead and did not look back. Middle Tennessee brought the set to a closer call as they trailed the Owls 15-19 late, but the Rice block and offense set up nicely and stopped the run. Eisert had a great set with 10 assists and two serving aces. Samira led the offense with four kills in the set. Rice won the set 25-16.
Rice got off to another fast start in set two as they were up 5-1 early on. Offensively, the Blue Raiders had their best set with a .256 hitting percentage. The Rice sideout percentage was high all match and set two was no expection as they had a 73% sideout which is almost always going to be insurmountable. Dasia Smith had a good set offensively, going four of seven on attack. Michaela Wright hit home two serving aces in the set, but ultimately Rice won it 25-19.
Although it won't show up on the stat sheet, Henley's intensity showed up huge in set three. The Blue Raiders were down 2-5 early on but ended up tying the match up at 9-9. Simple mistakes added up after the tie, as Rice went on 15-4 run and then eventually closed the match out after Melisa Tore went on a run with the team serving.
Stat Leaders
Aces: Eisert and Wright (2)
Kills: Samira Lawson Body (12)
Assists: Taylor Eisert (31)
Digs: Kayla Henley (14)
Blocks: Henley and Smith (1.0)
Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Volleyball), Instagram (@mt_volleyball), and Facebook (Middle Tennessee Blue Raider Volleyball).
The highest ranked RPI team in conference, Rice, gave their all to the Blue Raiders on Saturday. Although the loss stings, Middle Tennessee has set the bar higher for themselves heading forward after their best season since joining Conference USA in 2013.
There were no eye-popping statistics for the Blue Raiders for the first time in a while. The team played hard at times and made some simple mistakes the boosted the Rice defense. Kayla Henley led the team with 14 digs and was one of five Blue Raiders with five or more kills. Samira Lawson Body had another day leading the offense with 12 kills. The middles, Dasia Smith and Michaela Wright both led the team in hitting percentage with .222 and .273 respectively.
Middle Tennessee vs. Rice Set-by-Set
It was clear from the start that Rice wanted to force the ball to anywhere but where Marley Banton was. Rice got out to a quick 7-2 lead and did not look back. Middle Tennessee brought the set to a closer call as they trailed the Owls 15-19 late, but the Rice block and offense set up nicely and stopped the run. Eisert had a great set with 10 assists and two serving aces. Samira led the offense with four kills in the set. Rice won the set 25-16.
Rice got off to another fast start in set two as they were up 5-1 early on. Offensively, the Blue Raiders had their best set with a .256 hitting percentage. The Rice sideout percentage was high all match and set two was no expection as they had a 73% sideout which is almost always going to be insurmountable. Dasia Smith had a good set offensively, going four of seven on attack. Michaela Wright hit home two serving aces in the set, but ultimately Rice won it 25-19.
Although it won't show up on the stat sheet, Henley's intensity showed up huge in set three. The Blue Raiders were down 2-5 early on but ended up tying the match up at 9-9. Simple mistakes added up after the tie, as Rice went on 15-4 run and then eventually closed the match out after Melisa Tore went on a run with the team serving.
Stat Leaders
Aces: Eisert and Wright (2)
Kills: Samira Lawson Body (12)
Assists: Taylor Eisert (31)
Digs: Kayla Henley (14)
Blocks: Henley and Smith (1.0)
Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Volleyball), Instagram (@mt_volleyball), and Facebook (Middle Tennessee Blue Raider Volleyball).
Team Stats
MTSU
Rice
Kills
36
45
Errors
17
8
Attempts
109
104
Hitting %
.174
.356
Points
42
59
Assists
36
41
Aces
5
5
Blocks
1
9
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballRS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
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