Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
Miami (Ohio)
Volleyball heads to Ohio for Miami/Best Western Invitational
9/11/2025 12:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
OXFORD, Ohio – Blue Raider Volleyball is on the road to Ohio for another three matches of non-conference play. Middle Tennessee heads to Oxford to compete in the Miami/Best Western Invitational that will feature matches against host Miami (OH), Duquesne and Southern Indiana. The Blue Raiders will play two games on Friday, September 12; Miami (OH) at 9:30 a.m. CT and Duquesne at 3:30. Middle Tennessee will then take on Southern Indiana on Saturday, September 13 at 11:00 a.m. before returning home to Murfreesboro.
Middle Tennessee Volleyball hits the road after a 2-1 weekend at home, featuring sweeps over opponents Marist and UT Martin, and a competitive straight-set loss to power four opponent Mississippi State. The Blue Raiders posted their three highest hitting efficiencies of the 2025 season over the three matches of the weekend. The offense was led by Raegan Durbin, who tallied double-digit kills in every contest of the Blue Raider Bash and had an errorless match against Marist, hitting a .522 clip with 12 kills.
The Blue Raider block showed out this weekend, Michaela Dlouhá leading the defense at the net, accounting for 14 of the 18 total Middle Tennessee blocks. Dlouhá also contributed 15 kills on the weekend, averaging a .327 efficiency across the three matches. A bright spot of the weekend was the Blue Raiders six blocks against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, the most blocks posted against the power four opponent so far this season accounting for 25% of the total blocks against the Bulldogs.
At the conclusion of the weekend, Durbin and Dlouhá were named to the Blue Raider Bash All-Tournament Team for their respective offensive and defensive performances.
Scouting the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks
The host Miami (OH) enters the weekend 3-4 under Head Coach Dan Gwitt in his second season. Riding a four-match losing streak, the RedHawks' last outing at the Xavier Invitational saw three tough losses to Xavier, Eastern Kentucky and IU Indy, two of those matches ending as five-set thrillers. Miami (OH) also pushed a tough power four Ohio State team to five-sets in a midweek matchup with the Buckeyes but ultimately came up short to lose the match.
The RedHawks are led by outside hitter duo Molly Creech and Chelsea Williams, combining for 141 kills and 44% of the Miami (OH) offense. Kamryn Utley and Hayden Hicks distribute the Miami (OH) offense, combining for 248 assists. Lindsay Kahren leads the RedHawks defensively with 89 digs and just one reception error.
Miami (OH) enters the weekend with the highest blocks per set ratio with 2.7 and the lowest aces per set ratio with 0.9 out of all competing teams at the Miami/Best Western Invitational.
This will be the 5th meeting with Miami (OH) in the series' history; the Blue Raiders currently lead the series 4-0. The match will be streamed on ESPN+
Scouting the Duquesne Dukes
Under the leadership of the winningest coach in program history, Steve Opperman in his 28th season, Duquesne enters the weekend 6-0 as the only undefeated team of the Invitational. The Dukes dropped their first sets of the 2025 season at the Chick-Fil-A Robinson Classic, winning four-set matches against Loyola Maryland and FDU, and a five-set match against Robert Morris.
Sophomore outside hitter Emerson Schrom is the Dukes player to stop, undoubtably leading Duquesne offensively with 102 kills, the next highest Duke with 58. Schrom secured two consecutive A-10 Player of the Week honors after three double-doubles in the last six matches. Madison Grimm leads the Dukes defense with 70 digs and 3.18 digs per set.
Duquesne enters the weekend with the highest hitting efficiency, the lowest opponent efficiency, and the most kills and assists per set out of all competing teams at the Miami/Best Western Invitational.
This will be the first meeting between Middle Tennessee and Duquesne in the series' history. The match will be streamed on Miami's website; RedHawks All-Access.
Scouting the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles
Southern Indiana enters the weekend at 1-6 under Head Coach Jeffrey Aucoin in his 3rd season. The Screaming Eagles, on a four-game losing streak, picked up their first and only win over Northern Kentucky at the USI invitational. Four of Southern Indiana's six losses were dealt in straight sets, their most recent contest a four-set loss to power four opponent Michigan.
USI's offense is led by junior outside hitter Ashby Willis and senior middle blocker Bianca Anderson. The two combine for 123 kills, making up over half of the offensive production for the Screaming Eagles.
The Screaming Eagles' defense is their strong point, USI entering the weekend with the most digs per set out of every competing team in the Miami/Best Western Invitational. The defense is led by sophomore libero Audrey Small, totaling 71 digs on the season, a season-high 18 digs tallied against Marshall. Three Screaming Eagles have over 60 digs on the season.
Middle Tennessee is currently 1-1 against Southern Indiana, the last matchup between the two teams occurring in 1992 and resulting in a Blue Raiders victory. The match will be streamed on Miami's website; RedHawks All-Access.
Quick Facts
- The Blue Raiders posted their three highest hitting efficiencies of the season in each match of the Blue Raider Bash.
- Raegan Durbin has posted the most double-digit kill matches for the Blue Raiders this season with four; after the weekend Durbin now leads Middle Tennessee in kills and kills per set and is 10th in Conference USA in points.
- Michaela Dlouhá currently sits 2nd in Conference USA standings in blocks.
- Caroline Macander is ranked 4th in CUSA in service aces; Macander leads the Blue Raiders in assists, assists per set, digs, digs per set and service aces.
Keeping Up with the Blue Raiders
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Twitter/X @MT_Volleyball (https://twitter.com/MT_Volleyball)
Instagram @mt_volleyball (https://www.instagram.com/mt_volleyball/)
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