Deckard Breaks School Record in Lady Raider Win over ASU

Jonesboro, ARK. - Middle Tennessee freshman Shakeithia Deckard set a school record with 35 kills in one match as she helped lead the Lady Raiders to a 36-38, 30-23, 30-28, 26-30, 20-18 win over Arkansas State University Sunday afternoon in Convocation Center.

Middle Tennessee watch a 2-1 lead in the match slip away and the team was faced with a game five. After falling to a 4-11 deficit, the Lady Raiders scored eight straight unanswered points to tie the game 11-11, as the game saw seven lead changes and six ties before MT came out on top.

"Although we won today, we had better consistency against University of Arkansas-Little Rock on Saturday," said Middle Tennessee head volleyball coach Lisa Kissee. "Our middles made some adjustments and played much better in game two."

Deckard took over the school record, with 34, when she helped tie game five to make the score 14-14. She knocked off Yanira Santiago who held the record with 33 when she set it against the University of Memphis on October 30, 1995.

"Shakeithia really battled," Kissee said. "Her will to win produced a lot of her kills."

Deckard was one of two Lady Raiders who registered a double-double in the match as she also had 18 digs. Junior Erin Hillstrom had 14 kills and 15 digs. Goldie Bilyeu was one assist, with 67, off of tying for fifth place for assists in a match.

Middle Tennessee improves to 8-16 overall and 4-7 in the Sun Belt Conference, while Arkansas State falls to 7-14 overall and 3-8 in the conference. The Lady Raiders travel to Bowling Green, KY on Tuesday for a Eastern Division showdown with league leader Western Kentucky at 7 p.m..

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