Blue Raider Volleyball Shocks Tennessee in Spring Tourney Win

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee volleyball defeated 2005 NCAA Final Four team the University of Tennessee 31-29, 33-31, 15-13 Saturday at the spring tournament, held by the Lady Vols, to end the spring season a perfect 8-0.

"We played well today," said Head Coach Matt Peck. "I was most pleased with our passing, which allowed us to get into our offensive system. Our top five attackers all hit over .400 this weekend."

The Blue Raiders opened the tournament at UT by defeating Tennessee Tech 30-28, 30-12, 15-13. Rising senior Andressa Lyra led the team with 15 assists and fellow upcoming senior Megan Sumrell had 42 assists.

The big match up came in the second game when the Blue Raiders faced the Lady Vols. Middle Tennessee proved it didn't miss a beat from its stellar 2005 season by shocking UT and picking up the win. Lyra had 15 kills in the match and rising sophomore Ashley Adams, who was named AVCA National Player of the Week as a freshman, added 11 kills. As a team, Middle Tennessee hit .433 with 44 kills and also had 16 blocks. Adams, Quanshell Scott and Ashley Asberry each had five blocks.

"Ashley Asberry had some huge blocks for us, especially against UT," Peck said. "Overall, our middles were very effective."

In the final match of the tournament, the Blue Raiders closed out the contest with a 30-22, 30-20, 15-11 victory over UAB. Lyra again led the team with 12 kills and Adams also notched seven blocks.

For the weekend, Middle Tennessee hit .407 as a team, averaging 15.4 kills per game. The Blue Raiders went 8-0 this spring, not losing one single game. For the 2005-06 season, Middle Tennessee went 9-0 vs. NCAA Tennessee schools (TSU (2), UT Marin, Tennessee Tech (2), Memphis, Tennessee, Lipscomb, and APSU), and 5-0 vs. the SEC (Georgia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Alabama, and UT).

"We had a great spring, and I know all of us are looking forward to the fall," Peck said. "I think our hard work is really paying off."

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