Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
Kennesaw State
Volleyball hosts Kennesaw State to open conference play
9/25/2025 1:30:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee volleyball kicks off Conference USA play at home this weekend, welcoming Kennesaw State to the Alumni Memorial Gymnasium. The Blue Raiders will play the Owls on Friday, September 26 at 6:00 p.m. CT and again on Saturday, September 27 at 1:00 p.m.
The Blue Raiders enter conference play 4th in the CUSA standings after an impressive 7-4 finish in non-conference play. Middle Tennessee's last outing featured a split at the Virginia Tech Classic including a four-set win against Radford and a four-set loss to ETSU.
Five different Blue Raiders combined for 10 double-digit performances between the two matches of the Virginia Tech Classic, Caroline Macander securing her 5th consecutive double-double after the match against ETSU. Raegan Durbin, Gabrielle Clinkscale and Michaela Dlouhá each contributed a double-digit kill match, Dlouhá notching 19 kills on the two matches and totaling 28 points, earning her Virginia Tech Classic All-Tournament Team honors. The Blue Raiders also posted their 3rd best team performance of the season from the service line against Radford with nine aces.
Caroline Macander continues to shine for this Blue Raiders squad, totaling 71 assists and 24 digs in the last two matches, leading Middle Tennessee in assists and a tied leader in service aces, also sitting 2nd on the team in digs. Raegan Durbin continues to top the Blue Raiders offense, leading in kills and kills per set, double-doubling in four of the last five matches. Gabrielle Clinkscale ended the Virginia Tech Classic with her first career match leading Middle Tennessee offensively, notching 11 kills against ETSU.
Scouting the Kennesaw State Owls
Kennesaw State enters the weekend 6-4 under Head Coach Keith Schunzel in his 13th season. The Owls enter conference play at 6th in the CUSA standings.
The Owls are led offensively by Manu Johnsen with 141 kills, almost double the mark of the Owl with the next highest kills. Averaging a .328 efficiency and 4.15 kills per set from the outside pin, Johnsen will be the player to stop. Defensively, Leah Freeman leads Kennesaw State with 112 digs, Olivia Burrage and Maggie Byrd leading the Owls in total blocks, both with over 30. Kennesaw State enters the weekend 1st in the CUSA leaderboards in service aces and 4th in kills and hitting percentage.
The matchup between Middle Tennessee and Kennesaw State will be the 6th in the series' history, the series currently standing at 1-4. The last time the Blue Raiders clashed with the Owls was in the first round of the 2024 Conference USA Tournament, where Middle Tennessee dropped a five-set thriller to Kennesaw State, ending the Blue Raiders 2024 campaign. Both matches against the Owls will be streamed on ESPN+.
Quick Facts
- MTSU as a team is 2nd in Conference USA in digs per set.
- Caroline Macander is 5th in the conference in assists and 7th in digs.
- Michaela Dlouhá is 5th in the CUSA leaderboards in blocks.
- Raegan Durbin is 6th in the conference in points and 8th in kills.
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).
