Blue Raiders Heading to Ohio for Three Matches

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee volleyball team is on it's way to the Miami Ohio Invitational in Oxford, Ohio. The Blue Raiders will face Bellarmine at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, and then look to battle Marshall at 9:30 a.m. and Miami (OH) at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. The Miami match will be streamed on ESPN+, while the other two matches will be on Miami's website behind a paywall.

Last week, the Blue Raiders went two and one at the Sacramento State Invitational to kick of their season. Seniors Kayla Henley and Kaylee Oscarson proved they could be counted on, taking home All-Tournament honors for their performances.

Scouting the Bellarmine Knights | Watch | Live Stats
Like the Blue Raiders, Bellarmine (2-1, 0-0 ASUN) started their new season off with a loss but quickly bounced back with two wins. Last year, entering their second season as a Division I volleyball team, the Knights went 6-22, losing to fellow Conference USA member Charlotte in four sets. The team returns two players that didn't play last season due to injury, and also added six new athletes to the team.

On offense, the Pilots are led in kills by senior Jayme Scott. The 5-11 outside hitter has 39 kills on a .151 attack percentage through three matches. Not far behind Jayme is middle blocker Jayda Harris with 27 kills on a .365 attack percentage. The Knights run a 6-2, sharing time between both setters, Macie Garrison and Emily Arnold.

Junior Anna Lococo leads Bellarmine on defense, digging up an astounding 4.58 digs per set with 55 digs on the young season. The Knights average 1.58 digs per set, being led by their middle Jayda Harris with .82 blocks per set.

This will be the third time the Knights and Blue Raiders face off. The Knights won both matches in 1981 (score unknown) and 1982 (1-2).

Scouting the Marshall Thundering Herd | Watch | Live Stats
It's been a rough start for the Herd (1-2, 0-0 SBC), kicking their season off at home with a 1-2 start. Last season Marshall went 9-16 overall and 5-6 in Conference USA, just missing out on the conference tournament. The Herd returned 10 players from last season while adding nine new student-athletes to this year's squad.

On offense, Marshall is led by graduate student Macy McElhaney and sophomore setter Brynn Brown who bolster attack percentages of .232 and .473 respectively. Their leading assister, Brynn Brown, averages 6.65 assists per set. The biggest part of their game that the Herd need to figure out is their serve receive. Through three matches the Herd have had nine service aces (0.75 sa/s) while giving up 30 and allowing a 2.50 service aces per set average.

On defense, Marshall has two players averaging above 1.0 blocks per set in graduate student Kayla Malec (5 sets, 1.60 blk/s) and senior Lydia Montague (12 sets, 1.08 blk/s). Fifth year senior Kaitlyn Gehler leads the Herd with 4.18 digs per set through seven sets. Gehler is one of four Marshall members that have at least 20 digs through three matches.

This will be the 15^th time the two teams have met each other. The Blue Raiders have won three of the last five matchups between the two teams and have a one match winning streak over the Herd.

Scouting the Miami (OH) Redhawks | Watch | Live Stats
The Redhawks (1-2, 0-0 MAC) started the season with two losses at the Bradley Invitational but bounced back with a five-set win over the host team. One of those losses coming in a sweep by Blue Raider rival, Western Kentucky. Last season Miami went 7-21 overall and 5-13 in the MAC. Of their 17 student athletes, 12 of the Redhawks are returners from last season.

On offense, senior Allyson Severance is leading the Redhawks with 30 kills on a .304 attack percentage. Freshman Hayden Hicks is the team's leading passer with a 7.46 assists per set average in 13 sets played. Serving wise, Miami is close to neutral with 27 errors and 23 aces on the season.

Looking through the numbers, the team's block is the weak point of this year's Redhawk team. The team averages one block per set, led by freshman Gentry Warrick with a 0.62 blocks per set average. Miami's opponents average 2.08 blocks per set and a .257 attack percentage through 13 sets. Sophomore Margo Lawson leads the squad with a 3.17 digs per set average in 12 sets.

This will be the fourth time the two teams have met each other. The Blue Raiders have a winning streak of two (match from 09/18/04 not counted due to sanctions) matches, last playing each other in 2008.

Quick Facts

Seniors Kayla Henley and Kaylee Oscarson earned all-tournament honors for their play in last weekends Sacramento State Invitational.
Last weekend, Henley led Middle Tennessee in kills (31) and points (36.0) and was also second in digs (29) and total blocks (10). The senior recorded a double-double in both of their wins, tying her with former All-American, Leslie Clark, for 13 double-doubles in the 25-point rally scoring era.
Oscarson was a force to be reckoned with all last weekend. In Friday night's reverse sweep over the host team, Sacramento State, she led the Blue Raiders with a .312 attack percentage and six total blocks. Her match-winning tip in the fifth was one of her three kills (3-0-4) in the set that deflated the Hornets' chances. Over the weekend, Kaylee led the Blue Raiders with a .261 attack percentage and four solo blocks.
Banton hit home two more service aces against Nevada last weekend, putting her at 90 in her career. She is now sitting in second place in the 25-point rally scoring era for career aces.
The last time the Blue Raiders were able to start a season 2-1 through the first three matches was in 2013.
Middle Tennessee's block set up nicely in their first tournament, averaging 2.55 blocks per set in 11 total sets played.

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).

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Players Mentioned

Kayla Henley

Kaylee Oscarson

Middle Tennesee State University Athletics