Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
Radford
Volleyball back on the road to close out non-conference slate
9/17/2025 2:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Middle Tennessee Volleyball is back on the road, this week to Virginia Tech. The Blue Raiders will play two matches in Blacksburg to close out non-conference play. The two contests feature a match against Radford on Thursday, September 18 at 2:00 p.m. CT and a match against ETSU on Friday, September 19 at 12:00 p.m.
The Blue Raiders wrapped up a successful 2-1 weekend at the Miami/Best Western Invitational in Oxford, Ohio. Middle Tennessee played three tough four-set matches, including wins over Southern Indiana and Duquesne, handing the Dukes their first loss of the season. The weekend was filled with stellar stats, as five Blue Raiders broke or tied 11 career highs. Middle Tennessee as a team posted season high matches in kills, assists, digs, and top three performances in blocks.
Raegan Durbin and Payton Deidesheimer were the Blue Raiders to stop, leading the team offensively all weekend. Durbin combined for 56 kills and 34 digs, securing double-doubles in each match of the Invitational. Deidesheimer posted 32 kills and 14 total blocks on the weekend, a bright spot for the Blue Raiders both offensively and defensively.
The Middle Tennessee Defense also had a great outing, the Blue Raiders now topping the CUSA standings in digs per set. Isil Yilmaz led the defense with 54 digs, Caroline Macander and Marie Lowell behind Yilmaz with 45 and 35. Macander also tallied 103 assists across the Invitational, Danit Cohen adding 19 to the assists figure.
At the conclusion of the weekend, Raegan Durbin and Payton Deidesheimer were named to the Miami/Best Western Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Scouting the Radford Highlanders
After dropping a tough five-set battle to Liberty, Radford enters the week 2-8 under 2nd year Head Coach Savanna Hammond.
The Radford offense has four Highlanders with over 55 kills, Aubrey Hatch leading with 61. Miranda Howard dominates the Radford defense with 128 digs, almost double that of the Highlander with the next highest total digs. Radford enters the Virginia Tech Classic with the lowest figure in every stat category except for blocks per set.
Middle Tennessee is 1-0 against Radford in series history, the first and only matchup resulting in a Middle Tennessee Sweep in 2006.
Scouting the ETSU Buccaneers
The Bucs enter the week 4-5 under the leadership of Lindsey Devine in her 18th season.
Makayla Bays is the clear offensive leader for ETSU with 135 kills, the next highest Buccaneer with 72 kills. ETSU averages 11.7 kills per set and a .206 hitting efficiency. Defensively Melanie Morris leads the back court with 99 digs and Whitley Rammel protects at the net with 40 total blocks. Bailey Gohlke and Alex Kreutzmann distribute the Buccaneers offense, combining for 313 assists.
This will be the 8th matchup between the Blue Raiders and the Buccaneers, the series currently 3-4. The last meeting in 2014 was a loss for Middle Tennessee.
Quick Facts
- Raegan Durbin ranks 3rd in CUSA in points and 4th in the conference in kills; her 24-kill match against Duquesne is tied for 20th in the nation for kills in a four-set match.
- Isil Yilmaz became the leader in digs for the Blue Raiders, jumping to 8th in CUSA standings in digs and 6th in digs per set.
- Caroline Macander continues to to shine on both sides of the ball, currently 5th in the conference in assists, 6th in assists per set, 9th in digs and 7th in digs per set.
- Middle Tennessee enters the Virginia Tech Classic averaging 15.03 digs per set, the highest out of all competing teams.
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).
