Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Friday, August 26
Sacramento, CA
12:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
vs
University of Portland
Photo by: Braydin Sik/ MT Athletic Communications
MT Set to Face Portland, Sacramento State, and Nevada
8/25/2022 7:51:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee volleyball team will begin its 2022 season with the Sacramento State Tournament in Sacramento, California. The Blue Raiders will face Portland at 12 p.m. and Sacramento State at 9:30 p.m., and then look to battle Nevada at 1 p.m. on Saturday. All three matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.
The Blue Raiders are looking to build off the momentum they built up in the Fall 2021 season. Through all the adversity last season, the 'Boro squad found a way to make the C-USA Tournament semifinals and head to the program's first ever NIVC Tournament. Middle returns six of its seven starters from last season after their points and kills leader, Samira Lawson Body, graduated. Among the six returners from the starting lineup is Conference USA Libero of the Year Marley Banton.
Scouting the Portland Pilots | Watch | Live Stats
The Pilots are coming off a tough season in 2021 that saw the team only win five of their 25 matches. Only six student-athletes from last year's roster returned for 2022, three of which started at least half of last season's matches.
On offense, the Pilots return their leading attacker in junior Jayde Harris. The 5-11 outside hitter racked up 261 kills and 299.0 points last season, but on a .160 attack percentage. Harris also averaged .34 service aces per set for a total of 30 aces on the season. She was a West Coast Conference All-Conference honorable mention in 2022.
On defense, Portland lost their leading blocker in Jiana Lawson after she elected to transfer away to San Jose State. The team does return their leading dig artist in junior Grace Zilbert, however. The libero out of Portland, Oregon racked up 2.72 digs per set and was second on the team in service aces with 23.
This will be the first time the Blue Raiders and Pilots have played each other.
Scouting the Sacramento State Hornets | Watch | Live Stats
The Hornets had a good season in 2021 after going 16-12 overall and posting a 10-6 record in the Big Sky Conference. The Sacramento squad is a fairly young with seven of it's 15 athletes being freshman, but the team brought back eight players with starts under their belt.
On offense, the Hornets return their leading attacker in junior Bridgette Smith. The 5-10 outside hitter racked up 350 kills and 407.5 points last season, but on a .179 attack percentage. Harris also averaged .35 service aces per set for a total of 36 aces on the season. Smith has been an All-Big Sky Conference selection for two years in a row.
On defense, Sacramento State set up an impressive block with three players averaging 0.96 blocks per set or higher. Two of the three have returned for the 2022 season in junior Kalani Hayes (0.96 b/s) and senior Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin (0.97 b/s).
This will be the first time the Blue Raiders and Hornets have played each other.
Scouting the Nevada Wolf Pack | Watch | Live Stats
The Fall 2021 season was one for the Wolf Pack to forget after winning three of their 29 matches. The team went 0-18 in the Mountain West Conference, ending their season on an 18-loss streak. The last two seasons Nevada has gone 6-38 after a 2019 season that saw the team post a winning record (17-13). Four starters returned for the team as they added 10 newcomers, including seven freshman.
On offense, the Wolf Pack's points and attack percentage leader in middle blocker Sydney Petersen (.310) transferred to Virginia Tech. Senior outside Kyla Waiters led the team in kills with 256 and looks to lead the young team to an improved record.
On defense, the team's block leader was also Petersen with 98 blocks on a 1.01 blocks per set average last season. Their second best blocker, sophomore Syndey Wyman, also transferred after last season (Morehead State). The team's dig leader in libero Kaila Spevak graduated after putting up 3.59 digs per set in 2021.
This will be the second time the Blue Raiders and Wolf Pack have met. The last time they met was September 02, 2016 when Nevada swept Middle Tennessee at a neutral site.
Quick Facts
Keep Up with the Blue Raider Volleyball Team
Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Volleyball), Instagram (@mt_volleyball), and Facebook (Middle Tennessee Blue Raider Volleyball).
The Blue Raiders are looking to build off the momentum they built up in the Fall 2021 season. Through all the adversity last season, the 'Boro squad found a way to make the C-USA Tournament semifinals and head to the program's first ever NIVC Tournament. Middle returns six of its seven starters from last season after their points and kills leader, Samira Lawson Body, graduated. Among the six returners from the starting lineup is Conference USA Libero of the Year Marley Banton.
Scouting the Portland Pilots | Watch | Live Stats
The Pilots are coming off a tough season in 2021 that saw the team only win five of their 25 matches. Only six student-athletes from last year's roster returned for 2022, three of which started at least half of last season's matches.
On offense, the Pilots return their leading attacker in junior Jayde Harris. The 5-11 outside hitter racked up 261 kills and 299.0 points last season, but on a .160 attack percentage. Harris also averaged .34 service aces per set for a total of 30 aces on the season. She was a West Coast Conference All-Conference honorable mention in 2022.
On defense, Portland lost their leading blocker in Jiana Lawson after she elected to transfer away to San Jose State. The team does return their leading dig artist in junior Grace Zilbert, however. The libero out of Portland, Oregon racked up 2.72 digs per set and was second on the team in service aces with 23.
This will be the first time the Blue Raiders and Pilots have played each other.
Scouting the Sacramento State Hornets | Watch | Live Stats
The Hornets had a good season in 2021 after going 16-12 overall and posting a 10-6 record in the Big Sky Conference. The Sacramento squad is a fairly young with seven of it's 15 athletes being freshman, but the team brought back eight players with starts under their belt.
On offense, the Hornets return their leading attacker in junior Bridgette Smith. The 5-10 outside hitter racked up 350 kills and 407.5 points last season, but on a .179 attack percentage. Harris also averaged .35 service aces per set for a total of 36 aces on the season. Smith has been an All-Big Sky Conference selection for two years in a row.
On defense, Sacramento State set up an impressive block with three players averaging 0.96 blocks per set or higher. Two of the three have returned for the 2022 season in junior Kalani Hayes (0.96 b/s) and senior Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin (0.97 b/s).
This will be the first time the Blue Raiders and Hornets have played each other.
Scouting the Nevada Wolf Pack | Watch | Live Stats
The Fall 2021 season was one for the Wolf Pack to forget after winning three of their 29 matches. The team went 0-18 in the Mountain West Conference, ending their season on an 18-loss streak. The last two seasons Nevada has gone 6-38 after a 2019 season that saw the team post a winning record (17-13). Four starters returned for the team as they added 10 newcomers, including seven freshman.
On offense, the Wolf Pack's points and attack percentage leader in middle blocker Sydney Petersen (.310) transferred to Virginia Tech. Senior outside Kyla Waiters led the team in kills with 256 and looks to lead the young team to an improved record.
On defense, the team's block leader was also Petersen with 98 blocks on a 1.01 blocks per set average last season. Their second best blocker, sophomore Syndey Wyman, also transferred after last season (Morehead State). The team's dig leader in libero Kaila Spevak graduated after putting up 3.59 digs per set in 2021.
This will be the second time the Blue Raiders and Wolf Pack have met. The last time they met was September 02, 2016 when Nevada swept Middle Tennessee at a neutral site.
Quick Facts
- Middle Tennessee added seven new student-athletes during their offseason: four freshman, one senior, and two graduates. They returned eight players from the previous season, including five of their six starters and their libero Marley Banton.
- The Blue Raiders made it to the semifinals in the Conference USA tournament for the first time since moving over from the Sun Belt in 2012 and also made their way to the NIVC tournament for the first time in program history.
- The team's offensive leader, Samira Lawson Body, graduated after averaging 3.61 kills per set in conference play, earning her All-Conference USA Second Team to go along with her C-USA All-Academic and CoSIDA All-District First Team honors.
- Returning senior, Marley Banton, was named Conference USA Libero of the Year and All-CUSA Second Team after averaging 4.63 digs per set last season and 5.20 digs/s in conference play.
- Junior Taylor Eisert has proved to be one of the best setters in Conference USA after becoming the fastest Blue Raider to reach the 1,000-career assists milestone. It took a total of 27 matches and was reached in a win over FIU on October 7, 2021.
- The Blue Raiders have seen a steady incline in success over the years under Chuck Craw- ford, placing second in the East Division of Conference USA behind #21 Western Kentucky last season.
- At home, the Blue Raiders were dominate, finishing the year with a .833 win percentage in Alumni Memorial Gym.
Keep Up with the Blue Raider Volleyball Team
Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter (@MT_Volleyball), Instagram (@mt_volleyball), and Facebook (Middle Tennessee Blue Raider Volleyball).
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Volleyball
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