Blue Raiders return to conference play this weekend

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - After a strong performance on Wednesday evening against Georgia Tech, the Middle Tennessee volleyball team will return to conference play this weekend, playing host to North Texas and Denver at Alumni Memorial Gym.

"Obviously, we're very focused on this weekend," head coach Matt Peck said. "North Texas was the West champ last year, and Denver was too not that long ago. We know that both of these teams are very capable of playing a good hard match against us. We want to finish off conference play strong, and a loss to either of these teams would hurt our chances of getting the top seed at the Sun Belt Tournament."

Middle Tennessee is entering the match on a 12-match winning streak, which is tied for the eighth-longest in the country. The run has helped the Blue Raiders grab the lead in the Sun Belt Conference.

North Texas is entering play on Friday with a 14-13 record and ranked third in the Sun Belt's West Division. The Mean Green gave the Blue Raiders a pair of difficult matches last year, taking the Blue and White to five sets in Denton, and falling in four in the Sun Belt Tournament semifinals in Murfreesboro.

Denver is coming into the weekend with a 10-13 record, including a 7-4 mark in conference play to sit second in the West. The Pioneers fell in straight sets in Denver in last season's meeting with MT.

Saturday will also mark Senior Day for the Blue Raiders, and Middle Tennessee will celebrate the contributions of Lindsay Cheatham, Brynne Henderson, Oyinlola Oladinni, Maria Szivos and Alyssa Wistrick following the match.

"The contributions that our five seniors have made to the program have been tremendous," Peck said. "This group will be sorely missed, and I really hope they go out with a bang here."

Middle Tennessee will take on North Texas on Friday and Denver on Saturday. First serve for each match is set for 7 p.m.

Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter @MTAthletics for continued updates.