Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Friday, October 18
Lynchburg, Va.
5 PM
Middle Tennessee
at
Liberty
Blue Raiders Travel to Liberty for CUSA Matchup
10/17/2024 12:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
MTSU look to continue win streak in Lynchburg, Va.
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Middle Tennessee volleyball (8-12, 4-4) will be traveling to Lynchburg, Va. to take on the Liberty Flames on Oct. 18 and 19. The Blue Raiders are coming off a great weekend featuring a two-match series sweep vs. Jax State. The upcoming two matches will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats can be found at statbroadcast.com
The Blue Raiders are finding their stride having won four of their last six matches. Freshman Andi Spies won her third CUSA Freshman of the Week on Oct. 7 for her performances vs. FIU. The Fort Atkinson, Wis. native recorded 79 assists across seven sets, good for 11.29 assists/set vs. the Panthers. On the season, Spies is averaging 9.11 assists/set which ranks second in CUSA. Spies also ranks fourth in CUSA in service aces with 29 after recording six in a victory vs. Jax State on Oct. 12.
The previous week, Sept. 30, libero Laure Jansen took home CUSA Defensive Player of the Week honors for her performances at Sam Houston. Jansen is the fourth Blue Raider to take home the award since MTSU joined the conference in 2013. The Valburg, Netherlands native set an all-time program record of 39 digs and 9.75 digs/set in a single match at Sam Houston on Sept. 26. Jansen's 348 digs on the season rank first in Conference USA and is 13th across all of Division I. Jansen has also found success serving the ball this season, ranking fifth in CUSA with 28 service aces.
Junior Adriana Rhoda is also having a terrific season. The Hutchinson, Minn. native ranks first in CUSA in kills/set with 3.80. On Sept. 27 at Sam Houston, Rhoda set a new program record, during the 25-point era, for kills/set in a single match with 7.33. Rhoda is inching closer to breaking the program record for service aces, during the 25-point era of 116. The outside hitter is currently at 110 aces needing seven more to break the record. Rhoda is also close to the 1000 career kill mark needing just 54 more to reach that feat.
Scouting Liberty
The Blue Raiders and Flames have faced off four times in their program's histories, with MTSU stealing three of those matchups. The most recent faceoff was won by the Blue Raiders by a score of 3-0, last September. The Flames (10-8, 4-2) are coming off two loses to Kennesaw State after starting 4-0 in CUSA play.
Liberty is led by acting head coach Nolan Albrecht who was promoted to the job in May after former head coach Trevor Johnson resigned to pursue other opportunities. Albrecht was hired as an assistant coach in March.
The Flames are led by Kate Gammer who recently recorded her 1000th career kill. Gammer has 216 on the season which ranks seventh in CUSA. Liberty runs a two-setter system featuring Charli Morris and Charli Crowson, both of whom have over 300 assists on the season.
Quick Facts
Keeping Up with the Blue Raiders
Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter/X (@MT_Volleyball), Instagram (@mt_volleyball), and Facebook (Middle Tennessee Blue Raider Volleyball).
The Blue Raiders are finding their stride having won four of their last six matches. Freshman Andi Spies won her third CUSA Freshman of the Week on Oct. 7 for her performances vs. FIU. The Fort Atkinson, Wis. native recorded 79 assists across seven sets, good for 11.29 assists/set vs. the Panthers. On the season, Spies is averaging 9.11 assists/set which ranks second in CUSA. Spies also ranks fourth in CUSA in service aces with 29 after recording six in a victory vs. Jax State on Oct. 12.
The previous week, Sept. 30, libero Laure Jansen took home CUSA Defensive Player of the Week honors for her performances at Sam Houston. Jansen is the fourth Blue Raider to take home the award since MTSU joined the conference in 2013. The Valburg, Netherlands native set an all-time program record of 39 digs and 9.75 digs/set in a single match at Sam Houston on Sept. 26. Jansen's 348 digs on the season rank first in Conference USA and is 13th across all of Division I. Jansen has also found success serving the ball this season, ranking fifth in CUSA with 28 service aces.
Junior Adriana Rhoda is also having a terrific season. The Hutchinson, Minn. native ranks first in CUSA in kills/set with 3.80. On Sept. 27 at Sam Houston, Rhoda set a new program record, during the 25-point era, for kills/set in a single match with 7.33. Rhoda is inching closer to breaking the program record for service aces, during the 25-point era of 116. The outside hitter is currently at 110 aces needing seven more to break the record. Rhoda is also close to the 1000 career kill mark needing just 54 more to reach that feat.
Scouting Liberty
The Blue Raiders and Flames have faced off four times in their program's histories, with MTSU stealing three of those matchups. The most recent faceoff was won by the Blue Raiders by a score of 3-0, last September. The Flames (10-8, 4-2) are coming off two loses to Kennesaw State after starting 4-0 in CUSA play.
Liberty is led by acting head coach Nolan Albrecht who was promoted to the job in May after former head coach Trevor Johnson resigned to pursue other opportunities. Albrecht was hired as an assistant coach in March.
The Flames are led by Kate Gammer who recently recorded her 1000th career kill. Gammer has 216 on the season which ranks seventh in CUSA. Liberty runs a two-setter system featuring Charli Morris and Charli Crowson, both of whom have over 300 assists on the season.
Quick Facts
- Freshman Andi Spies recorded the first triple-double in program history, during the 25-point era, earning her CUSA Freshman of the Week (Sept. 9). Spies received two more CUSA Freshman of the Week's (Sept. 16, Oct. 7) making her the second student-athlete to win multiple in the same season (Adriana Rhoda).
- Senior Laure Jansen took home CUSA Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 30) after her record-setting performance at Sam Houston on Sept. 26 where she set an all-time program-record with 39 digs in a single match.
- On Sept. 17 vs. UVA, Laure Jansen reached historic the historic milestones of 100 career service aces and 1000 career digs, doing so on the same night.
- On Sept. 27 at Sam Houston, Adriana Rhoda set a new program record, during the 25-point era, for kills/set in a single match with 7.33.
- Freshman Emma Nilson recorded the highest single-game blocks/set ratio for a freshman in program history, during the 25-point era, vs. Arkansas State, recording 3.0 blocks/set.
Keeping Up with the Blue Raiders
Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter/X (@MT_Volleyball), Instagram (@mt_volleyball), and Facebook (Middle Tennessee Blue Raider Volleyball).
Players Mentioned
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