Volleyball opens training camp Wednesday

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Fresh off a sixth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament a year ago, the Middle Tennessee volleyball team opened its training camp Wednesday. The Blue Raiders have some new faces in the fold, eight in fact, as they embark on the 2012 season ahead.

"We have high expectations for our program even though we have eight freshmen coming in and one redshirt-freshman," said head coach Matt Peck following the first training day. "We'll be a young team, but that doesn't lower our expectations. We're on track to have a good season. There's a lot of work to do in training camp with a young team, but this is our tallest team and most athletic team. We have some great players returning, notably Ashley Adams who was an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American last season."

With the first day of practice behind them, the coaching staff is working on what needs improvement before the season-opening Blue Raider Bash that starts on August 24.

"I told the girls we're looking for competitiveness but we're also looking for execution," Peck added. "With so many freshmen, if I'm telling one player something I want all of them to hear so we're not repeating. The thing with freshmen is that they don't know what practice is really going to be like. Today went pretty well. I was happy with things. We now know what we have to focus on over the next few days."

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