Volleyball Goes 4-0 on Weekend

Ames, Iowa - Sophomore Ashley Mead (Newnan, Ga.) had 19 kills to lead Middle Tennessee as the team defeated the Iowa State Cyclones 3-1 (30-21, 26-30, 30-20, 30-28) in their season opener Sunday evening at the Hilton Coliseum.

Junior Ashley Adams (Columbus, Ohio) had her third straight double-double with 17 kills and 14 digs, adding four block assists. Freshman Izabela Kozon (Warsaw, Poland) added 14 kills to round out the three in double digit kills.

Middle Tennessee (4-0) held Iowa State (0-1) to a .049 hitting percentage, including negative in games three and four, helped by 14.5 total blocks. The Cyclones also committed 34 hitting errors and were charged with seven reception errors.

The Blue Raiders started out game one hot taking a quick 8-1 lead over Iowa State and never looked back. The outsides found the floor combining for 14 of the team's 17 kills. Mead tallied six, while Kozon added five.

Middle Tennessee looked to continue game two in a similar fashion, building an eight-point lead at the 17-9 mark. But the Cyclones went on a 7-0 run to put the team up 24-21 holding on to put game two away on a kill by Victoria Henson tying the match at one game each.

Iowa State found its defense at the net in game four, connecting with the ball four times to take the lead at 27-25. But the Blue Raiders battled back, capitalizing on kills by Adams and Kozon. Adams recorded the final point to secure the match for Middle Tennessee.

Senior Quanshell Scott (Bakersfield, Calif.) led the team in blocks with one block solo and seven block assists, while junior Ashley Asberry (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) added six block assists.

Senior Alicia Lemau'u (Long Beach, Calif.) and sophomore Leslie Clark (Olathe, Kan.) had 13 and 11 digs.

Iowa State's Henson was the lone Cyclone in double digits for kills with 10. Laura Cady led the team defensively with 13 digs, and Jen Malcom added 10 block assists. The Cyclones had 19 total blocks.

Middle Tennessee resumes competition Friday, Aug. 31 against No. 22 Oklahoma at 7:00 p.m. CDT at the Idaho Invitational in Moscow, Idaho.

Notes:

The last time Middle Tennessee went 4-0 to start the season was in 1995, when the team went on an 8-0 run.

Sophomore Ashley Mead bested her previous career-high for kills for the second time this season, posting 19 kills.

Freshman Izabela Kozon set a new career-high for kills with 14. Her previous best was 12 against Montana State on Aug. 24.

The Blue Raiders are 2-0 against 2006 NCAA Tournament teams after defeating Iowa State. The team also defeated Stephen F. Austin in the Creighton Bluejay Invitational.

Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter @MTAthletics for continued updates.