Feature Photo by Ephraim Rodenbach
Story by Willie Phaler
The Middle Tennessee volleyball team (1-3) defeated Southeast Missouri (1-4) for its first win of the season on Friday.
The Blue Raiders won by a score of 3-2, in a comeback as they were down two sets to none after the first two periods.
SEMO won the first set by a score of 25-18. Middle Tennessee had early control, but the Redhawks were able to put the Blue Raiders away with an eight to two run which ended the first set.
SEMO gained another set on MTSU winning, 25-20. Although it was a competitive set, Southeast Missouri was able to capitalize on errors from MTSU late in the set. Five of the last nine points in the set were due to Middle Tennessee errors.
With its backs up against the wall, MTSU began to show some fight in the third set. The play of the set came from Emma Nilson and Kiera Booth who combined for an emphatic block on Lucy Arndt of SEMO. This block pushed it to set point for the Blue Raiders, who were able to win the set 25-23.
MTSU won their second straight set in the fourth period of play, winning with a score of 25-22. The set was clinched by an ace off the right hand of Andi Spies after being mishandled by the RedHawks defense.
“That got everyone really hyped up, especially coming from a freshman. It makes everyone more excited that way too. We just really found our passion for the game,” Spies said.
After forcing a fifth set to win the match, the Blue Raiders came out of the locker room with a different spirit than they had shown all night.
“Our mindset was just going in super energetic with a lot of aggression and speed,” said senior Laure Jansen.
The Blue Raiders did that, as they took the fifth set to win the match, 15-11. MTSU went on a four-to-one run to win the final set.
Jansen and Spies led the way in MTSU’s comeback, as Jansen recorded 19 kills and 17 digs throughout the match, along with Spies recording 11 kills and 11 digs.
“They (MTSU) really showed their passion, and their intensity tonight,” said assistant coach Taylor Holmes. “They really pulled together as a team, and they are a really talented group.”
After five grueling sets against SEMO, the Blue Raiders finally had their first win in hand.
“We really needed this win, we worked so hard and every time we just got a little short,” said Jansen. “Finally, we got to push through and it’s a great opportunity to move on from this and keep this our standard.”
Willie Phaler is a contributing writer for MTSU Sidelines.
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