Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
NM State
Blue Raiders set for action in New Mexico
10/23/2025 3:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Middle Tennessee Volleyball is on the road to Las Cruces for two road Conference USA matches with New Mexico State. The Blue Raiders will take on the Aggies on Friday, October 24 at 7:00 p.m. CT and again on Saturday, October 25 at 2:00 p.m.
The Blue Raiders had a solid outing against Liberty last weekend, splitting the weekend after two five-set contests. Middle Tennessee took match one with the help of freshman outside hitter duo Raegan Durbin and Gabrielle Clinkscale. Durbin notched a match high 24 kills and Clinkscale posted a career high 19, both leading any opponent across the net by at least six kills. Mackenna Poole had a career high 16 digs and two aces in the second contest with the Flames.
Caroline Macander posted a career high 53 assists in match one, totaling 97 assists on the weekend, her numbers garnering her the second TSWA Player of the Week honors of her career.
Scouting the New Mexico State Aggies
New Mexico State enters the weekend 11-10 under Mike Jordan in his 28th season. The Aggies are sixth in the Conference USA standings with a 4-4 conference mark.
Maggie Lightheart leads the way for the Aggies with 222 kills and 42 aces on the season, first in CUSA in service aces and aces per set. Defensively, Makayla Martinez leads the back court with 232 total digs, 10th in Conference USA, and Kate Sinclair leads at the net with 70 total blocks, fifth in CUSA. As a team New Mexico State is third in the conference in opponent hitting percentage and fourth in team kills and service aces.
Middle Tennessee is 2-8 against New Mexico State. Last year in CUSA play, the Blue Raiders and the Aggies split their matches, the most recent matchup resulting in a five-set loss for Middle Tennessee. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
Quick Facts
- Middle Tennessee as a team is second in Conference USA in digs, third in digs per set and fourth in opponent hitting percentage.
- Raegan Durbin is ranked 25th in the nation in service aces, 70th in points and 90th in total kills.
- Caroline Macander is second in CUSA and 55th in the nation in total assists.
- Michaela Dlouhá is third in the conference in total blocks and Isil Yilmaz is fifth in total 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).
