The Blue Raiders were led by junior Ashley Mead who had 15 kills and senior Ashley Asberry with 13 kills.

Freshman Lindsey Cheatham also performed well as she was 12 for 14 with no attack errors for a .857 hitting percentage. Defensively, Cheatham had one solo block and four block assists.

Junior Leslie Clark had 51 assists with three service aces. Sophomore Izabela Kozon added 10 kills of her own.

As a team the Blue Raiders had 59 kills with a .316 hitting percentage and 11 team blocks.

To begin the first set, Middle Tennessee took a 15-6 lead over the Mavericks. The Blue Raiders won the set 26-16 after a block assist by Asberry and Oladinni.

Middle Tennessee trailed most of the second set and mid-way through was down 15-10 to the Mavericks. Late in the set, the Blue Raiders trailed 21-17. Middle Tennessee lost the set 25-18 after a service error by Elebute.

The Blue Raiders took their first lead since the second set 7-6 and traded points with UT-Arlington before pulling ahead 11-8. Clark had two straight service aces to help Middle Tennessee pull ahead 18-15. The Blue Raiders continued to pull ahead and took the set, 25-18, on a block assist by Asberry and Oladinni.

With a 2-1 match lead, Middle Tennessee and the Mavericks traded points to begin the fourth set before the Blue Raiders pulled ahead by four, 15-11. UT-Arlington closed the gap to one three times before the Blue Raiders took the match and the set, 25-21, on a block assists by Clark and Cheatham.

Middle Tennessee will be back in action later Saturday afternoon when it faces Duke at 7 p.m. in the last match of the UT-Arlington Hilton Invitational.

	Print this article
Share on Facebook