Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Friday, September 22
Las Cruces, NM
7 PM
Middle Tennessee
at
New Mexico State
Photo by: Andrew Glover/MTSU Athletic Communications
MTSU kicks off conference play at New Mexico State on Friday and Saturday
9/21/2023 11:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The Middle Tennessee volleyball team begins conference play at New Mexico State on Friday, September 22 and Saturday, September 23. The Friday match will be at 7 p.m. CT and the Saturday match will be at 2 p.m. CT. Both matches will be live streamed on ESPN+ and have live stats to follow along.
The Blue Raiders are on an eight-match win streak for the first time since 2011. MTSU has won back-to-back preseason tournaments in the Tiger Invitational and the Patriot Invite. The team leads Conference USA in hitting percentage with a .295 hitting percentage.
Redshirt senior Kayla Henley had an impressive weekend hitting the ball. The Little River, S.C. native recorded 39 kills on a .465 hitting percentage. She earned 3.55 kills per set. Henley tallied seven service aces. On the defensive side, she finished the weekend with 19 digs. She was named to the Patriot Invite All-Tournament team.
Senior Taylor Eisert tallied 113 assists last weekend and is only 59 assists away from tying the record for career assists in the 25-point era.
Henley leads the team in kills with 137 averaging 3.43 per set. Junior Laure Jansen has been incredible on both sides of the ball earning 100 kills and 103 digs.
Scouting the New Mexico State Aggies
New Mexico State is 7-4 so far in the season. This is the first season for the Aggies in Conference USA. In the last match, New Mexico State fell to Long Beach State 1-3. The team returns 13 players from last season. The Aggies added four freshmen as well as four transfers to this year's squad.
On offense, redshirt sophomore Ryleigh Whitekettle leads the team in kills with 140 earning 3.5 per set. Not too far behind is redshirt sophomore Starr Williams tallying 120 kills. Williams was named CUSA Offensive Player of the Week on September 11. Sophomore Bianca Perez has 263 assists.
On defense, senior Darian Markham has recorded 188 digs earning 4.7 per set. Markham was tabbed CUSA Defensive Player of the Week twice on August 28 and September 18. Redshirt junior Kacia Brown has 35 blocks averaging 0.9 blocks per set.
This will be the seventh meeting between MTSU and NM State. The Aggies lead the series 5-1. The last meeting was in 2004 with NM State winning 3-1.
Blue Raider Notes
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 on an eight-match win streak for the first time since 2011. MTSU has won back-to-back preseason tournaments in the Tiger Invitational and the Patriot Invite. The team leads Conference USA in hitting percentage with a .295 hitting percentage.
Redshirt senior Kayla Henley had an impressive weekend hitting the ball. The Little River, S.C. native recorded 39 kills on a .465 hitting percentage. She earned 3.55 kills per set. Henley tallied seven service aces. On the defensive side, she finished the weekend with 19 digs. She was named to the Patriot Invite All-Tournament team.
Senior Taylor Eisert tallied 113 assists last weekend and is only 59 assists away from tying the record for career assists in the 25-point era.
Henley leads the team in kills with 137 averaging 3.43 per set. Junior Laure Jansen has been incredible on both sides of the ball earning 100 kills and 103 digs.
Scouting the New Mexico State Aggies
New Mexico State is 7-4 so far in the season. This is the first season for the Aggies in Conference USA. In the last match, New Mexico State fell to Long Beach State 1-3. The team returns 13 players from last season. The Aggies added four freshmen as well as four transfers to this year's squad.
On offense, redshirt sophomore Ryleigh Whitekettle leads the team in kills with 140 earning 3.5 per set. Not too far behind is redshirt sophomore Starr Williams tallying 120 kills. Williams was named CUSA Offensive Player of the Week on September 11. Sophomore Bianca Perez has 263 assists.
On defense, senior Darian Markham has recorded 188 digs earning 4.7 per set. Markham was tabbed CUSA Defensive Player of the Week twice on August 28 and September 18. Redshirt junior Kacia Brown has 35 blocks averaging 0.9 blocks per set.
This will be the seventh meeting between MTSU and NM State. The Aggies lead the series 5-1. The last meeting was in 2004 with NM State winning 3-1.
Blue Raider Notes
- Henley is coming off an outstanding weekend of hitting. She earned 39 kills on a .465 hitting percentage. She earned 3.55 kills per set. Henley tallied seven service aces. On the defensive side, she finished the weekend with 19 digs. She was named to the Patriot Invite All-Tournament team.
- Rhoda has 84 service aces needing 16 more to reach 100 career service aces. The program record is 116 held by Marley Banton.
- Eisert ranks second with 2,813 career assists, needing 59 more assists to tie the current 25-point era program record for assists in a career at 2,872. She is a two-time CUSA Setter of the Week. Eisert was tabbed Tennessee Sports Writers Association Volleyball Player of the Week on 9/12. She leads the nation in assists per set averaging 11.50 per set.
- The Blue Raiders lead Conference USA in hitting percentage with a .295 hitting percentage.
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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