MURFREESBORO- The Blue Raider volleyball team opened up the season losing three out of four at home in the Blue Raider Bash. Overall, the team played well but, as coach Peck mentioned, the competition was high quality. On pace to break the record for kills, Senior Chelsea Ross had another stellar weekend, finishing with 74 kills in four games.
The Blue Raiders hope to improve their out-of-conference record as they travel to Utah to participate in the Utah State Invitational on September 4-5. The team will battle Utah State, San Francisco and Southern Utah in a two-day span.
Middle Tennessee opens up play against Utah State, who are 1-2 coming into this tournament. The Aggies traveled to the Texas Tech Invitational to begin their season and posted a start much like MTSU, getting out to a slow start but winning late, and are looking to rebound.
This weekend’s matchup against the Aggies is the first between the two programs. Chelsea Ross is going to be the key to the Blue Raiders’ success in this entire tournament. Ross will be looking to have a big game against Utah State, a team averaging just six blocks per game.
In game two of the Invitational, Middle Tennessee squares off against San Francisco, who sits undefeated at 3-0 on the year. The Blue Raiders have had recent success against USF, winning when the two teams played in 2013. This is the third matchup between the Dons and the Blue Raiders.
In their last game in the Invitational, another undefeated team, the Southern Utah Thunderbirds, await the Blue Raiders. The Thunderbirds have looked dominant in all of their wins, sweeping all four of them. They are averaging 1.5 blocks per set, a cause for concern for the Blue Raider attack.
Middle Tennessee and Utah State begin play Friday September 4 at 8 p.m. in Logan.
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To contact sports editor Michael Ward email sports@mtsusidelines.com.
In only monthly, city representatives have discovered between 175 residences in town which can be found without permits as vacation rentals.