MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The Blue Raiders swept South Alabama 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-9) in its final conference match after honoring its lone senior Ashley Asberry in a pre-game ceremony.
"I thought our team play very well tonight. South Alabama is in the tournament as the eighth seed and I think we did some things tonight we haven't done consistently all year," head coach Matt Peck said.
Asberry ended the night with seven kills, an attack percentage of .500 and four block assists.
"I was so proud of Ashley Asberry tonight. She had a lot of friend and family in town to see her and what a joy she has been to coach. She is a hard worker, has a great attitude, is a great teammate and brings it everyday. I think she will perform very well in postseason play. We are blessed to have had her in our program the last four years," Peck said.
Sophomore Izabela Kozon led the team at the net with 15 kill as she was the Blue Raider to hit in the double-digits. Freshman Stacy Oladinni added seven kills of her own to add to the offense.
Middle Tennessee ended the match with 45 kills for a .481 attack percentage while holding USA to a .098 hitting percentage with 27 kills.
Defensively, junior Ashley Waugh led the team with 13 digs with assistance from freshman Brynne Henderson who added 12 of her own.
With the match tied at one in the first set, the Blue Raiders scored nine straight points behind the serve of Kozon to take a 13-4 lead. The Jags closed the gap to six but could not hold on for the win.
In the second set, USA kept the match close tied at nine before the Blue Raiders pulled ahead by three, 12-9. The Blue Raiders kept control of the match but the Jags got within two-points late, 24-22 before giving Middle Tennessee the win on a service error.
After two sets, Middle Tennessee had 28 kills led by Kozon with nine. Each team also had four total blocks but Asberry led both teams with three block assists.
The Blue Raiders jumped out to a 9-2 lead in set three and never looked back. Middle Tennessee continued to pull ahead taking a late 12-point lead, 17-5.
The Blue Raiders will travel to Miami to play in the Sun Belt Conference tournament next week. More information will be available on www.goblueraiders.com as it becomes available.
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