Volleyball notches four-set victory over FIU

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The Middle Tennessee volleyball team notched their 10th consecutive win Friday, knocking off defending Sun Belt regular season champion FIU at Alumni Memorial Gym, 3-1 (25-22, 25-12, 23-25, 25-20).

The Blue Raiders (13-4, 4-0 SBC) became the first team to defeat the Panthers in a conference regular season bout since 2008. The match also served as the first meeting of the two schools since last year's Sun Belt Tournament Championship, which Middle Tennessee also won in four sets.

"Iza had an amazing match," said head coach Matt Peck. "She was on fire for us tonight. Overall, I thought we played a very good match, and our offense was looking good as well. It was a great win for us."

Izabela Kozon was the unquestioned star of the evening, tying a career high with 25 kills at an outstanding .351 clip. She also tallied 11 digs on the evening, pushing her over 1,000 for her career. Kozon is just the fourth Blue Raider in school history with over 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs.

Ashley Adams and Stacy Oladinni also reached double figures in kills, each notching 10 on the evening.

Defensively, the Blue Raiders were anchored by Kendall Howard with 14 digs. Brynne Henderson and Angela Peyton each recorded 12.

After a hard fought first set, the Blue Raiders ran away with the second 25-12, to take a 2-0 lead into the break. Kozon caught fire in the frame, posting nine kills and a pair of service aces.

However, FIU took an early lead in the third set and weathered a ferocious late Middle Tennessee comeback to win, 25-23.

The Blue Raiders would shut the door on the Panthers in the fourth set, coming back to win 25-20. Once again, FIU held on to an early edge, but after tying the affair at 12, Middle Tennessee raced out to a five point lead at 19-14. The Panthers cut the margin to two at 22-20, but MT responded with the final three points, sealing the deal with a Kozon kill.

Middle Tennessee will look to run their winning streak to 11 tomorrow evening against Florida Atlantic. The match is slated to begin at 7 p.m. at Alumni Memorial Gym.

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