Featured photo by Preston Todd
Story by Conner Smith
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MURFREESBORO, Tenn – Middle Tennessee volleyball kicked off its spring schedule Saturday afternoon against the Belmont Bruins. The Blue Raiders fought hard, but it wasn’t enough as they fell three sets to one.
“It doesn’t matter what the score was, we haven’t been focusing on offense or those types of things,” MTSU assistant coach Taylor Holmes said. “So far, we’ve been hammering defense, block and first ball touch.”
In the first set, it looked as if the Blue Raiders were going to dominate as they jumped out to a 4-0 advantage. However, from then on, the Bruins settled in proceeded to go on a 25-13 run and cruised to a 25-17 win in set one.
The story was nearly the same in the second set. MTSU once again started with an early lead, and the Bruins returned the favor; this one being a 20-12 run. The Blue Raiders rebounded and tied the set but Belmont took control at the end to grind out a hard fought 25-22 win in the second set.
With the third set awaiting, it was MTSU’s last opportunity to try and make a comeback and avoid the sweep and that’s just what they did. The Bruins did start off hot, going up 16-12, but it was the Blue Raiders who soared back this time to eventually tie it at 23 all. MTSU finished the job as it finally took the set with a 29-27 finish to force a fourth frame.
MTSU had a lot of momentum on its side, but it didn’t amount to much as the Bruins dominated the fourth set 25-16 to take the 3-1 win.
“Like I said, today I thought we did a really good job with our defense and blocks and to us that’s all that matters right now,” Holmes said. “I think we got better today.
The Blue Raiders will be back on the court on Mar. 23 in Franklin, TN when they play in the Alliance College Play Day.
Conner Smith is a sportswriter for MTSU Sidelines. For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com, and follow us on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines and on X and Instagram at @mtsusidelines. Also, sign up for our weekly newsletter here.
