Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
NOTEBOOK: Soccer’s Aston Rhoden picks up win No. 200 at MTSU
9/5/2022 4:12:00 PM | Baseball, Football, General, Men's Cross Country and Track & Field, Women's Soccer, Women's Cross Country and Track & Field, Women's Volleyball, Track & Field/Cross Country
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — One unexpected addition to my work schedule this fall has been helping out at Dean A. Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium on our department's stat crew for Blue Raider Soccer. It's been a fun experience for me across MTSU's six home dates already this season.
And none of them were sweeter than this past Sunday, when head coach Aston Rhoden picked win No. 200 with a 3-1 victory over Austin Peay in front of a great Labor Day weekend crowd.
"I'm really happy with the performance," Rhoden said post-game. "It's good that we got up really early and were able to maintain the lead. Certainly, I think, just having the fans behind us, driving us on, was a big help, so we're definitely going to need their support for every game."
MTSU scored three goals twice on the weekend, blanking Mississippi Valley State 3-0 on Friday night before rolling the Governors on Sunday behind three assists from Lauren Spaanstra, who's deep crosses from the left back position but APSU on their heels the entire afternoon.
Volleyball's Eisert, Rhoda earn C-USA Weekly Awards
MT Volleyball continued their strong start to the season over the weekend, taking two of three matches at Miami (OH) to improve to 4-2 on the year. On Monday, MTSU received recognition from Conference USA in their weekly rewards, with setter Taylor Eisert earning Setter of the Week honors, while outside hitter Adri Rhoda earned Freshman of the Week honors.
Eisert, in addition to having 125 assists across 12 sets on the weekend, was a force in attack, hitting .483 (14-0-29) to help power the Blue Raiders past Bellarmine and Miami (OH). Against the Red Hawks, Eisert compiled 40 assists in just three sets, helping MTSU hit .532 as a team, the thrid-highest single-match hitting percentage in the country this year.
On the outside, Rhoda swung a blistering .400 (30-6-60) across the team's three matches, led by an astonishing .800 mark (12-0-15) against Miami (OH). That mark is the highest single match hitting percentage by any player in Conference USA this season and is tied for second all-time in program history for a second match. It is the first time since 2008 an MTSU player has hit over .760 in a single match.
Men's and Women's Cross Country both hit the podium at Memphis Twilight
MTSU Cross Country started off the blocks hot in Memphis over the weekend, nearly sweeping the Men's and Women's races at the Memphis Twilight, with the women's team finishing first and the men's team tying for first, taking second on a tiebreaker.
All runners for the women's team finished inside the Top 11, led by sophomore Irene Jeptoo, who took home fourth. The men's placed its top two runners, Hillary Kimaiyo and Habtamu Geta, first and second, with Vincent Yegon placing fifth to fit three Blue Raiders in the Top Five.
Football heads to the Rocky Mountains for Week 2
MTSU Football was back at work over the holiday weekend, practicing Sunday afternoon to get back on the horse ahead of a trip to Colorado State this Saturday. The Rams fell to 0-1 to start the season with a 51-7 loss on the road at No. 8 Michigan and are in their first season under head coach Jay Norvell, who joined CSU from Mountain West rival Nevada.
Head Coach Rick Stockstill highlighted how the transfer portal helped Norvell bring over a plethora of his former Wolf Pack players to Fort Collins, Co., a total of 11 currently on the CSU roster.
"They've got seven new starters on offense that are transfer guys," Stockstill said. "Five of them came from Nevada with Jay (Norvell). So, they're very familiar with their offensive scheme."
Norvell comes into Saturday with a 33-27 overall record, 33-26 at Nevada, where he had a winning record in his last four seasons in Reno. Stockstill said that much of their film time in scouting has been devoted to last year's Nevada film as a result of the continuity between the staffs, with a little Montana State film as well for defensive coordinator Freddie Banks, who joined the CSU staff after helping the Bobcats to the FCS National Championship game in 2021.
Much of Stockstill's game week press conference was dedicated to where the Blue Raiders need to make the jump from Week 1's 44-7 loss to James Madison, with the 17th year head coach giving a quick rundown of the major issues after reviewing the team's film over the weekend.
"Offensively, in trying to protect the quarterback number one, we've got to do a better job there to give Chase (Cunningham) a little bit more time to get through his reads," Stockstill said. "We've got to be more consistent and get better in the running game. And that's not just an indictment of the running backs, it's not just the offensive line, it's everybody.
"We've got to be better defensively," Stockstill added. "We gave up way too many big plays, explosive plays. We've got be better there, we've got to execute better on the back end in the passing game. I thought up front, we did a good job, we pressured him. We did a good job in the run game. We just have to be more consistent in the back seven in the run game and in the passing game."
Of note for this week: Fort Collins, Co. is 5,003 feet above sea level, presenting a physical challenge for the Blue Raiders heading on the road. Hydration, as Stockstill pointed out, will be key, something the team is already making sure is a focus off the field this week.
TV Coverage for Colorado State Game
As per usual with G5 vs G5 non-conference matchups early in the football season, TV coverage can be bit tricky to find. Thanks to my coworkers in the Athletic Communications office, though, we've got you covered.
If you missed our release on how to find out where you can most easily watch the Blue Raiders this Saturday at 3 p.m. CT, check out the release, reprinted in full, below.
"Middle Tennessee's football game at Colorado State on Sept. 10 will be produced and aired on Evoca in the Fort Collins, Denver and Colorado Springs area. Locally, the game will be picked up by Circle TV which is channel 4.5 in Nashville, a Diginet of WSMV TV 4. It will also be available on Xfinity cable channel 230.
The game will also be streamed on GoBlueRaiders.com at GoBlueRaiders.com/Watch.
Circle is available across the United States on many cable providers channel line-ups or you can use your TV's digital antenna. Enter your zip code at this LINK to find out where you can view the game.
Circle is also available on Dish Channel 370, Roku channel 317, Samsung TV Plus 1082, Peacock, Tubi, XUMO channel 817, frndly TV, Stirr channel 80, RedBox, DistroTV and LG Smart TV channel 278."
Rick Stockstill LIVE! moved to Tuesday for Labor Day Holiday
MTSU Athletics hopes you're enjoying Labor Day, wherever you are. In recognition of the holiday, this week's edition of Rick Stockstill LIVE!, hosted by The Boulevard, will instead be held on Tuesday evening, instead of its usual Monday timeslot.
ICYMI: Checking in with Interim Head Baseball Coach Jerry Meyers
GBR.com sat down with interim head baseball coach Jerry Meyers last week to learn about his vision for Blue Raider baseball, as well as his outlook on the fall. You can check it out below!
And none of them were sweeter than this past Sunday, when head coach Aston Rhoden picked win No. 200 with a 3-1 victory over Austin Peay in front of a great Labor Day weekend crowd.
2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣
— MT Soccer (@MT_Soccer) September 5, 2022
Congrats to Aston Rhoden on 200 wins at MTSU! 🎉👏 pic.twitter.com/VZJZDyf1RP
"I'm really happy with the performance," Rhoden said post-game. "It's good that we got up really early and were able to maintain the lead. Certainly, I think, just having the fans behind us, driving us on, was a big help, so we're definitely going to need their support for every game."
MTSU scored three goals twice on the weekend, blanking Mississippi Valley State 3-0 on Friday night before rolling the Governors on Sunday behind three assists from Lauren Spaanstra, who's deep crosses from the left back position but APSU on their heels the entire afternoon.
Plenty of memorable moments tonight! ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/TiAxvOALUr
— MT Soccer (@MT_Soccer) September 5, 2022
Volleyball's Eisert, Rhoda earn C-USA Weekly Awards
MT Volleyball continued their strong start to the season over the weekend, taking two of three matches at Miami (OH) to improve to 4-2 on the year. On Monday, MTSU received recognition from Conference USA in their weekly rewards, with setter Taylor Eisert earning Setter of the Week honors, while outside hitter Adri Rhoda earned Freshman of the Week honors.
🏐 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 🏐@MT_Volleyball's Taylor Eisert (@tayloreisert21) is the #CUSAVB Setter of the Week presented by @BlendersEyewear!
— Conference USA (@ConferenceUSA) September 5, 2022
🏅1️⃣ pic.twitter.com/WhLmgI3zdP
🏐 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 🏐@MT_Volleyball's Adri Rhoda (@adrianarhoda) is the #CUSAVB Freshman of the Week presented by @BlendersEyewear!
— Conference USA (@ConferenceUSA) September 5, 2022
🏅1️⃣ pic.twitter.com/8jf21lTrNU
Eisert, in addition to having 125 assists across 12 sets on the weekend, was a force in attack, hitting .483 (14-0-29) to help power the Blue Raiders past Bellarmine and Miami (OH). Against the Red Hawks, Eisert compiled 40 assists in just three sets, helping MTSU hit .532 as a team, the thrid-highest single-match hitting percentage in the country this year.
On the outside, Rhoda swung a blistering .400 (30-6-60) across the team's three matches, led by an astonishing .800 mark (12-0-15) against Miami (OH). That mark is the highest single match hitting percentage by any player in Conference USA this season and is tied for second all-time in program history for a second match. It is the first time since 2008 an MTSU player has hit over .760 in a single match.
Junior Taylor Eisert and freshman Adri Rhoda received @ConferenceUSA honors for their performances at the Miami (OH) Invitational over the weekend! 👏
— MT Volleyball (@MT_Volleyball) September 5, 2022
📰: https://t.co/FNSxa0IyKY#BLUEnited | #TrueBlue pic.twitter.com/R7YDaF9dox
Men's and Women's Cross Country both hit the podium at Memphis Twilight
MTSU Cross Country started off the blocks hot in Memphis over the weekend, nearly sweeping the Men's and Women's races at the Memphis Twilight, with the women's team finishing first and the men's team tying for first, taking second on a tiebreaker.
All runners for the women's team finished inside the Top 11, led by sophomore Irene Jeptoo, who took home fourth. The men's placed its top two runners, Hillary Kimaiyo and Habtamu Geta, first and second, with Vincent Yegon placing fifth to fit three Blue Raiders in the Top Five.
Football heads to the Rocky Mountains for Week 2
MTSU Football was back at work over the holiday weekend, practicing Sunday afternoon to get back on the horse ahead of a trip to Colorado State this Saturday. The Rams fell to 0-1 to start the season with a 51-7 loss on the road at No. 8 Michigan and are in their first season under head coach Jay Norvell, who joined CSU from Mountain West rival Nevada.
Head Coach Rick Stockstill highlighted how the transfer portal helped Norvell bring over a plethora of his former Wolf Pack players to Fort Collins, Co., a total of 11 currently on the CSU roster.
"They've got seven new starters on offense that are transfer guys," Stockstill said. "Five of them came from Nevada with Jay (Norvell). So, they're very familiar with their offensive scheme."
Norvell comes into Saturday with a 33-27 overall record, 33-26 at Nevada, where he had a winning record in his last four seasons in Reno. Stockstill said that much of their film time in scouting has been devoted to last year's Nevada film as a result of the continuity between the staffs, with a little Montana State film as well for defensive coordinator Freddie Banks, who joined the CSU staff after helping the Bobcats to the FCS National Championship game in 2021.
Much of Stockstill's game week press conference was dedicated to where the Blue Raiders need to make the jump from Week 1's 44-7 loss to James Madison, with the 17th year head coach giving a quick rundown of the major issues after reviewing the team's film over the weekend.
"Offensively, in trying to protect the quarterback number one, we've got to do a better job there to give Chase (Cunningham) a little bit more time to get through his reads," Stockstill said. "We've got to be more consistent and get better in the running game. And that's not just an indictment of the running backs, it's not just the offensive line, it's everybody.
"We've got to be better defensively," Stockstill added. "We gave up way too many big plays, explosive plays. We've got be better there, we've got to execute better on the back end in the passing game. I thought up front, we did a good job, we pressured him. We did a good job in the run game. We just have to be more consistent in the back seven in the run game and in the passing game."
Of note for this week: Fort Collins, Co. is 5,003 feet above sea level, presenting a physical challenge for the Blue Raiders heading on the road. Hydration, as Stockstill pointed out, will be key, something the team is already making sure is a focus off the field this week.
TV Coverage for Colorado State Game
As per usual with G5 vs G5 non-conference matchups early in the football season, TV coverage can be bit tricky to find. Thanks to my coworkers in the Athletic Communications office, though, we've got you covered.
If you missed our release on how to find out where you can most easily watch the Blue Raiders this Saturday at 3 p.m. CT, check out the release, reprinted in full, below.
"Middle Tennessee's football game at Colorado State on Sept. 10 will be produced and aired on Evoca in the Fort Collins, Denver and Colorado Springs area. Locally, the game will be picked up by Circle TV which is channel 4.5 in Nashville, a Diginet of WSMV TV 4. It will also be available on Xfinity cable channel 230.
The game will also be streamed on GoBlueRaiders.com at GoBlueRaiders.com/Watch.
Circle is available across the United States on many cable providers channel line-ups or you can use your TV's digital antenna. Enter your zip code at this LINK to find out where you can view the game.
Circle is also available on Dish Channel 370, Roku channel 317, Samsung TV Plus 1082, Peacock, Tubi, XUMO channel 817, frndly TV, Stirr channel 80, RedBox, DistroTV and LG Smart TV channel 278."
Rick Stockstill LIVE! moved to Tuesday for Labor Day Holiday
MTSU Athletics hopes you're enjoying Labor Day, wherever you are. In recognition of the holiday, this week's edition of Rick Stockstill LIVE!, hosted by The Boulevard, will instead be held on Tuesday evening, instead of its usual Monday timeslot.
Making the move to Tuesday night this week for @CoachStock LIVE!
— Middle Tennessee FB (@MT_FB) September 5, 2022
Join us at 6 PM tomorrow night at The Boulevard.#BLUEnited | #EATT pic.twitter.com/wINlqgD7QF
Enjoy your #LaborDay! #MTSU #TrueBlue pic.twitter.com/sBAXA6ykWI
— MTSU News (@MTSUNews) September 5, 2022
ICYMI: Checking in with Interim Head Baseball Coach Jerry Meyers
GBR.com sat down with interim head baseball coach Jerry Meyers last week to learn about his vision for Blue Raider baseball, as well as his outlook on the fall. You can check it out below!
Associate Head Coach ➡️ Interim Head Coach@JRMeyers12 sat down with https://t.co/UX8EVNlpdv to discuss his promotion, expectations, philosophy and more.
— MT Baseball (@MT_Baseball) September 1, 2022
📰 https://t.co/laDsV2nRz0 pic.twitter.com/yNicC0xABO
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Volleyball
Distance
/ Men's Cross Country and Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Cross Country and Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Cross Country and Track & Field
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Soccer
Distance
/ Men's Cross Country and Track & FieldMTSU Men's Tennis CUSA Championship Recap 4/19/26
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Former Head MBB Coach Kermit Davis - 10th Anniversary of NCAA win over MSU
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MTSU Women's Basketball Postgame Press Conference vs FIU on 3/05/26
Friday, March 06
