Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
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Purdue Fort Wayne
Blue Raider Volleyball opens 2025 season with a victory
8/29/2025 7:40:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Middle Tennessee volleyball began their 2025 campaign on a high after a victory against Purdue Fort Wayne. The Blue Raiders came out on top at the end of a tough four-set battle with the Mastodons, winning the first two sets, dropping the third, and securing the match win in the fourth. The set scores were as follows: 25-17, 27-25, 22-25, 25-21.
"Obviously it's a great feeling to start the season off with a good win," said Head Coach Alexa Keckler, who grabbed her first win as the head coach of Middle Tennessee volleyball, "I think the cool part about it was that we had a lot of contribution from so many players, there wasn't just one person that was a key to the win." Keckler noted Caroline Macander's defensive efforts, Raegan Durbin and Aowyn Schrader's work at the service line, and Gabrielle Clinkscale's performance off the bench in the fourth set as notable highlights from the Blue Raiders' win against the Mastodons.
Middle Tennessee out-hit and out-served Purdue Fort Wayne– 52 kills to 45 and 10 aces to 4. The Blue Raiders were out-dug and out-blocked, but it was no match for the performances of Raegan Durbin and Payton Deidesheimer, both with double-digit kills, along with solid contributions from Michaela Dlouhá and Aowyn Schrader.
"Everybody contributed which was awesome," senior setter Caroline Macander said, "it was a great team effort and we're super excited because it's only game one and we're only going up from here." Macander had a double-double on the day with 35 assists and 26 digs and played a vital role in distributing the Blue Raiders' offense.
By the Numbers
- 7: Today's win featured performances from 7 newcomers who saw the court for the first time in a Middle Tennessee jersey.
- 2: 2 players, Caroline Macander and Raegan Durbin, recorded the first double-double of their career.
- 1: Head Coach Alexa Keckler got her first win as head coach of the Middle Tennessee volleyball team.
Up Next
The Blue Raiders cap off the Big Dawg Kickoff with two matches tomorrow; Evansville at 9:00 AM CT and Butler at 4:00 PM. The match against Evansville will be streamed on YouTube and the match against Butler will be streamed on ESPN+.
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).
