Blue Raiders Notch Sun Belt Sweep

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee volleyball (7-8, 3-1 SBC) picked up its first Sun Belt Conference sweep of the season with a 3-0 (30-22, 30-28, 30-27) win over Arkansas-Little Rock (7-7, 1-2 SBC) Saturday at the Alumni Memorial Gym. The Blue Raiders defeated Arkansas State 3-2 on Friday.

The victory marks the first time in school history the Blue Raiders have defeated the Lady Trojans of UALR. Middle Tennessee is also riding a four-match winning streak.

Middle Tennessee's success can be attributed to the brilliant play of senior outside hitter Dara McLean. Against UALR, McLean notched 26 kills on 45 attacks and just four errors for a scorching .489 attack percentage. She also added three service aces and two block assists.

"We won this match because Dara had another great performance," said head coach Matt Peck. "It seemed everything Dara touched in the match was a kill."

Middle Tennessee had to fight through errors at crucial times. The Blue Raiders played well in game one and two but struggled in game three. Most notably were the four errors early in game three that put the Blue Raiders down 8-5 to start the game.

The Blue Raiders fought back, in game three, and finally tied it at 18 off a service ace by Megan Sumrell. It was a back-and-forth game after that until senior KeKe Deckard registered a kill to give the Blue Raiders a chance at match point with the score 29-28. Arkansas-Little Rock was also fighting through key errors and this time it benefited Middle Tennessee as Larisa Durmisevic's attack attempt was wide and gave the Blue Raiders the match.

Deckard was the only other Blue Raider with double figure kills with 15. Sophomore Andressa Lyra added five block assists.

Middle Tennessee goes outside conference play and travels to Cookeville on Wednesday to face Tennessee Tech. Match time is set for 7 p.m.

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