Story by David Janes / Sports Reporter
Photo by Devin P. Grimes / MTSU Sidelines
For the Middle Tennessee Blue Raider volleyball team (4-10), day two at the Robert Morris Invitational didn’t go as planned as they fell to Penn in straight sets.
Penn held MT from scoring more than 19 points in all three sets and were led by outside hitter Parker Jones. She led Penn with 13 kills and 15 digs, as they won all three sets by scores of 25-17, 25-19 and 25-17.
Although it was a tough loss for the Blue Raiders, both Dora Peonia and Makila York had outstanding performances. Peonia had 16 kills and seven digs with a .353 percentage, while York had 13 kills and two digs for a .500 percentage.
While this isn’t the result the Blue Raiders wanted, they know what they have to do moving forward into conference play.
“We’ve got to work harder in practice,” Peonia said about how they can bounce back. “We’ve got to put these two losses in the past and be ready for the conference.”
York was named to the Robert Morris Invitational all-tournament team with 46 total kills and an average of 4.18 kills per set. While the team only went 1-2 at the invitational, York’s performance certainly merited the recognition.
“It just shows my mentality and my motivation to work hard is actually paying off,” York said. “That makes me feel really great.”
With a couple conference games looming on the schedule for next week, York knows the team needs to focus more to win these games.
“I think our mental toughness needs to be a lot stronger,” York said. “I think when we get to that point where we are mentally tough and nothing can faze us, we will be such an amazing team.”
After a 1-2 finish with the invitational, conference play begins Sept. 22 against UAB at 7 p.m.
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