Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
8-4,1-0CUSA
Kennesaw State
6-5,0-1CUSA
Volleyball handles Kennesaw State in sweep of conference opener
9/26/2025 10:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee Volleyball opened conference play with a sweep of Kennesaw State. The set scores were as follows: 25-23, 25-18, 25-17.
The match was all Blue Raiders, with only two lead changes in the entire three sets. Middle Tennessee out-performed Kennesaw State in every statistical category, most notably in the third set where the Blue Raiders hit .294 while holding the Owls to a -.054 hitting efficiency. The serve and pass game also played a large role in the match, the Blue Raiders out-serving the Owls nine aces to six and siding out at a higher percentage in each set of the match.
Raegan Durbin had a stellar night on the outside pin with 13 kills hitting a .407 clip. The freshman also led the Blue Raiders defensively, posting a career high 19 digs, notching her 6th career double-double. Gabrielle Clinkscale also had a strong night on the outside pin, the next highest kill contributor with nine kills, Michaela Dlouhá and Payton Deidesheimer both had five kills.
Defensively, Durbin led the way from the backcourt, Isil Yilmaz trailing her with 11 digs. Marie Lowell posted seven digs, Caroline Macander with eight in addition to her 29 assists. At the net, Dlouhá had a team high four total blocks, Clinkscale and Logan Carr each with three.
"It feels great," said Head Coach Alexa Keckler. "It's one of those things where you're always looking for the first win of the season, the first win in conference, and to get that at home in a sweep fashion the way that we did is great. It definitely signified that our work is paying off."
By the Numbers
53: The Blue Raiders posted 53 digs as a team, the highest of the season in a three-set match.
9: The nine Middle Tennessee aces tied the third best team service performance of the season.
1: Head Coach Alexa Keckler now has her first Conference USA win with tonight's sweep of the Owls.
Up Next
The Blue Raiders are back at the Alumni Memorial Gymnasium tomorrow to face Kennesaw State again at 1:00 p.m. CT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
Keeping Up with the Blue Raiders
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Twitter/X @MT_Volleyball (https://twitter.com/MT_Volleyball)
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