The Blue Raiders came into the weekend looking to top two conference opponents in rematches from earlier in the season. The Blue Raiders had to travel away to LA Tech and University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) for a tough challenge against teams searching for revenge. The weekend would be a bright spot for an otherwise awful season for a team scratching for wins when they can get them.
Middle Tennessee 3-0 LA Tech
Middle Tennessee (8-19, 6-7 C-USA) left no doubts about who was the better team after traveling to Thomas Assembly Center. The Raiders came out aggressive and didn’t think twice about mercy.
In dominate fashion, the Raiders swept Louisiana Tech (10-16, 1-12 C-USA) . MTSU owned every phase of the match, both offense and defense. The Raiders defense didn’t give the Bulldogs any room to work, posting 11 blocks and 50 digs in the match. Delaney Taylor setup the offense nicely with 31 assists, and the freshman has been one of the better parts of the Blue Raider attack.
The Blue Raiders won all three sets convincingly, 25-16, 25-18, and 25-16, an all-around convincing victory, one of the few for Middle this season.
Middle Tennessee 3-0 UAB
The Blue Raiders remained consistent in their dominance for the weekend. Back-to-back sweeps for a young Blue Raider team to finish the season is key heading into the last stages of the regular season, still searching for a conference tournament spot. Middle Tennessee found themselves down early in sets, but recovered nicely and never looked back.
The Blue Raiders offense was domiant and overpowered the UAB (9-19, 1-12 C-USA) defense. Chelsea Ross and Miri Shade anchored the offense with a combined 25 kills. Jacqueline Lux stepped up for the defense and recorded 21 digs.
The Blue Raiders were able to close out the sets with huge, clutch runs. The wins didn’t come by close margain in this match either. The Blue Raiders ran away with the lead in all three sets, 25-18, 25-21, 25-17.
The Blue Raiders will return home on Friday to face off against Charlotte. Final spots in the C-USA Tournament hinge on the matchup as both teams are still in contention. For Middle Tennessee, they’ll head into the match with a lot of confidence after this weekends’ impressive showing. Friday’s contest is set for 7 p.m. in the Alumni Memorial Gym.
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To contact Interim Sports Editor Connor Ulrey, email sportseditor@mtsusidelines.com.
