LAFAYETTE, La. - Middle Tennessee volleyball (22-2, 7-1 SBC) extended its winning streak to eight with a 3-0 (30-19, 30-22, 33-1) blanking of Louisiana-Lafayette (4-15, 1-5 SBC) Friday in Earl K. Long Gym.
The shut out was the 11th of the season for Middle Tennessee and the second time this year the Blue Raiders haven't allowed a Sun Belt school to win a game. The squad is now 8-1 when playing on the road and has won seven consecutive Sun Belt matches. Middle Tennessee also remains undefeated in the month of October.
In the first two games, Middle Tennessee was solid. The Blue Raiders didn't seem to suffer any ill effects of flying into Lafayette on the day of the match.
Middle Tennessee opened the match with a commanding game one. The Blue Raiders had a .300 attack percentage and committed five errors. Game two was even more impressive as the squad had just two errors and notched a .400 attack percentage.
It was in game three that the Blue Raiders seem to lose focus. Up 27-24, Middle Tennessee looked to close out the match but the Ragin' Cajuns had other ideas. Louisiana-Lafayette went on a 5-1 run to eventually take the lead 29-28.
Middle Tennessee's Victoria Monasterolo's kill for the Blue Raiders tied the game at 29 and after two more ties the game was knotted at 31. Monasterolo would strike again as she closed out the match for the Blue Raiders with two consecutive kills off assists by Megan Sumrell.
Junior Andressa Lyra paced the Blue Raiders with 16 kills while Monasterolo ended the match with 11. Sophomore libero Alicia Lemau'u led the match with 23 digs.
Middle Tennessee will play a rare mid-week match in its final non-conference pairing of the season. The Blue Raiders will host Lipscomb on October 25 at 7 p.m. in Alumni Memorial Gym.
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