MOBILE, Ala. - Middle Tennessee took a 3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-19) win over South Alabama on Saturday night.
The Blue Raiders (21-4, 11-2 SBC) were led by sophomore Izabela Kozon who ended the night with 14 kills.
Middle Tennessee has now won 12 of its last 13 matches and is on a two-match win streak.
Senior Ashley Asberry ended the night with 10 kills and seven block assists and was the only other Blue Raider to post double-digit kills in the match. Junior Janay Yancey and freshmen Lindsey Cheatham and Stacy Oladinni each had six kills on the night.
As a team, the Blue Raiders knocked down 42 kills for a .333 hitting percentage. The Blue Raiders held South Alabama to 27 kills for a .071 attack percentage.
"Prior to making this trip we told the team these would be challenging matches and I think on both nights especially tonight we did a good job of staying focused and had a very good offense night form all attackers. We served well and we really needed this match before heading to Florida to play the No. 1 team next week," head coach Matt Peck said.
The two teams traded points to begin the match before the Blue Raiders took a 15-10 lead at the halfway point. Then Middle Tennessee pulled ahead by nine-points, 20-11 late in the set.
The Blue Raiders continued to perform well in the second set taking a 20-13 lead after a kill by Asberry but the Jags kept fighting closing the gap to three-points, 23-20. The Blue Raiders took the set and a 2-0 lead in the match after a kill by Oladinni.
After two sets, Kozon led the Blue Raiders with 11 kills while Asberry had a .667 attack percentage with four kills. Yancey and Oladinni also had four kills after two sets.
Asberry added depth to the block with seven block assists as the Blue Raiders had nine team blocks.
Middle Tennessee had 26 kills for a .346 attack percentage while holding South Alabama to a -.017 attack percentage with just 17 kills.
The Blue Raiders kept up the attack taking a 17-12 lead in the third set. South Alabama continued to battle and while it closed the gap going on a four-point run it still trailed by four-points, 22-18.
Middle Tennessee will have the week off before traveling to Miami to play Florida International on Friday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. The Blue Raiders will play Florida Atlantic at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8 in Boca Raton, Fla.
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