Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
-13,00 CUSA
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North Florida
9-1,0-0ASUN
Middle Tennessee Finishes UNF Tournament with a Reverse Sweep
9/17/2021 9:26:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Blue Raider volleyball team completes a reverse sweep in match two against the Seton Hall Pirates to split this weekend's matches at the UNF Sunshine Tournament hosted by the University of North Florida.
Match one on Friday saw the Blue Raiders and Ospreys face off for the first time. The Blue Raiders took the first set but looked lost at times throughout the rest of the match. Their attack percentage of .093 was evident, while so was the block difference between the two teams. Though the team showed off with some of the most impressive digs you will ever witness, including redshirt freshman Taylor Eisert's kick-dig, the team was unable to put it all together with a 1-3 (26-24, 13-25, 14-25, 20-25) loss.
Middle Tennessee at North Florida Set-by-Set
The first set started with a series of sloppy plays from both teams. Redshirt junior Samira Lawson Body and Eisert's defensive efforts, along with North Florida's eight errors, came to be the difference in the set. A Lawson Body kill finished the first set with Middle Tennessee on top.
Redshirt sophomore Dasia Smith opened set two up with a monster block. The Blue Raiders only had three kills to UNF's 13 in the set. The inability for MT to find the holes in UNF's defense while on the attack led to a set attack percentage of -0.091.
Set three was identical to set two. The inability to hit open spots on the attack made the Ospreys defensive jobs easy.
The fourth set got off to a good start with MT and UNF going back-and-forth for a 3-3 tie. But, after the good came the bad, as North Florida strung an 8-1 run together that included six attack errors from MT. As the Blue Raiders started to show some life, UNF strung together a 5-1 run to close out the set and match.
Stat Leaders from Match One
Aces: Samira Lawson Body (2)
Kills: Emma Grever (11)
Assists: Taylor Eisert (29)
Digs: Marley Banton (14)
Blocks: Eisert, Henley, Smith, Wright (2)
FINAL | MT 1 - UNF 3
— MT Volleyball (@MT_Volleyball) September 17, 2021
The Blue Raiders drop the last three sets to the Ospreys. Match two of the day against Seton Hall is set for 3:30 PM CT.#BlueRaiders | #MT pic.twitter.com/0JQsCmkqWQ
The Blue Raiders looked rough the first two sets (16-25, 22-25) against Seton Hall like they had earlier in the day against North Florida. After the first two sets, the team reverse swept the Pirates going on a 3-0 set-run (25-23, 25-13, 15-11) to close out the match on top. Grever set a new career-match high with 18 kills, making her total on the day 29 kills. Temiz's six service aces, including two in set five, offset the offensive woes the team had.
Middle Tennessee vs. Seton Hall Set-by-Set
The Blue Raiders started the first set against Seton Hall 2-0 before the Pirates caught fire and went on a 7-1 run. The Pirates had only one error to Middle Tennessee's eight, which seemed to make the biggest difference in the set.
Set two started with a back-and-forth battle with Middle Tennessee on top 8-7 early on. The fun was quickly ended with a 7-1 run from the Pirates. MT had a match-high 11 errors in set two.
The third set was won by Middle Tennessee and was the beginning of the comeback. Grever's arm was shown off this set, leading the team with four kills that easily could've been mistaken for missiles.
Middle Tennessee came out blazing hot in set four with a 9-1 run to start things off while Temiz was serving. She racked up two of her six service aces consecutively during this run. Four Blue Raiders had three kills in the set, hitting a .455 clip as a team.
Grever and Temiz took over the fifth and final set of the match. MT got off to a 4-1 start, in which Temiz had two service aces. Grever led the team with six kills at a .500 attack percentage, which deflated the Pirates closing out the match.
Stat Leaders from Match One
Aces: Melisa Nur Temiz (6)
Kills: Emma Grever (18)
Assists: Taylor Eisert (44)
Digs: Marley Banton (21)
Blocks: Smith and Wright (4)
FINAL | MT 3 - SHU 2
— MT Volleyball (@MT_Volleyball) September 17, 2021
Don't call it a comeback! The Blue Raiders finish the match on top! Grever showed out with a career-high 18 kills!💪#BlueRaiders | #MT pic.twitter.com/n1snQutTWA
Up next, the Blue Raiders will be traveling to take on UT Martin, Tuesday, September 21 at 6:00 p.m CT.
Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Volleyball), Instagram (@mt_volleyball), and Facebook (Middle Tennessee Blue Raider Volleyball).
