Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
Liberty
Volleyball slated for two home matches against Liberty
10/16/2025 2:30:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee Volleyball welcomes Liberty to the Alumni Memorial Gymnasium for two Conference USA matches. The Blue Raiders will take on the Flames on Friday, October 17 at 6:00 p.m. CT and again on Saturday, October 18 at 1:00 p.m.
The Blue Raiders are looking to bounce back after two tough losses to Delaware. Despite the outcome of the matches, Middle Tennessee posted two solid performances against the Blue Hens. Middle Tennessee totaled more kills, assists and digs than Delaware in both matches. Raegan Durbin had a fantastic weekend, totaling 41 kills and averaging 4.56 kills per set. In the first match against the Blue Hens, Durbin notched 26 kills; the 4th best CUSA kills performance spanning the entire season. Durbin's weekend performance garnered her TSWA Player of the Week honors, her 2nd of the season.
Durbin was not the only Blue Raider to post excellent numbers against the Blue Hens. The Middle Tennessee defense continued to shine, sitting 3rd in the conference in digs and digs per set. Mackenna Poole totaled a career-high 15 digs in the first match against Delaware, and Isil Yilmaz posted a season high match with 25 digs in the second contest against the Blue Hens.
Scouting the Liberty Flames
Liberty enters the weekend 15-4 under the leadership of Jeremy White in his first season. The Flames are 7th in the Conference USA standings with a 3-3 conference mark.
The Flames are top of the conference in several categories, including 1st in kills, 2nd in digs and assists, and 3rd in service aces. The Liberty offense is well-balanced, led by Jenna Otts and Paige Overcash each with 241 kills on the season, Carly O'Brien right behind the outside hitter duo with 217 kills. Defensively, the Flames are led by Carly O'Brien with 206 digs and Zoe Hall with 55 blocks. Liberty averages 13.64 digs per set and 1.86 blocks per set; both figures that are lower than the Blue Raiders.
Middle Tennessee and Liberty will clash for the 7th and 8th time in history; the Blue Raiders are currently 4-2 against the Flames. The last time the two teams met was last year during CUSA play; the teams finishing their contests 1-1, Liberty prevailing in the most recent matchup in four sets. The matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
Quick Facts
- MTSU as a team is 4th in Conference USA in opponent hitting efficiency and 7th in blocks and blocks per set.
- Caroline Macander is 2nd in CUSA in assists and 6th in digs.
- Michaela Dlouhá is 3rd in the conference in blocks and 5th in blocks per set.
- Isil Yilmaz is 5th in Conference USA in digs.
Keeping Up with the Blue Raiders
Follow the Blue Raiders on social media:
Twitter/X @MT_Volleyball (https://twitter.com/MT_Volleyball)
Instagram @mt_volleyball (https://www.instagram.com/mt_volleyball/)
and Facebook Middle Tennessee Blue Raider Volleyball (https://www.facebook.com/BlueRaiderVolleyball).
