MTSU Travels to Virginia for Two Matches – Middle Tennessee State University Athletics

CHARLOTTESVILLE, V.A. – In the coming days, Sept. 17-18, Middle Tennessee volleyball will be traveling to Charlottesville to take on Virginia in two matches across two days. Both matches will take place at 5:30 p.m. CT and will be shown on ACC Network and can be streamed through the ESPN app. Live stats can be found at statbroadcast.com.

This past weekend, the Blue Raiders took part in the College of Charleston Invitation and faced off against Utah Tech, Robert Morris, and Charleston. MTSU finished the weekend with a record of 1-2 with the win coming against Robert Morris. Junior Adriana Rhoda was named to the All-Tournament Team. Across the three matches, Rhoda recorded 59 kills on an elite .333 hitting percentage. In the Blue Raiders victory over Robert Morris, the outside hitter tallied 20 kills on a ridiculous .485 hitting percentage.

Freshman Andi Spies had a great weekend herself, recording her 300th assist of the season in just her ninth career match. She recorded 137 assists in the three matches, averaging an outstanding 45.67 per game. Defensively, Laure Jansen had career-performances. The Valburg, Netherlands native recorded 67 digs across the three matches averaging a ridiculous 5.15 digs/set. In the opening match of the weekend vs. Utah Tech, Jansen tallied a career-high 28 digs which was the most by a Blue Raider since October, 2022.

Scouting The Cavaliers

This will be just the second time in Middle Tennessee volleyball history the Blue Raiders face off vs. Virginia. The Cavaliers won the first battle which took place on Sept. 9, 2000, by a score of 3-1. UVA volleyball is off to a terrific start with a record of 8-1 and enter the matches with a five-game winning streak. A season ago, Virginia finished with a record of 11-17 and 4-14 in ACC play.

The Cavaliers are led by head coach Shannon Wells who is in her fourth season at the helm. Wells came to Virginia after serving on staff for seven seasons at the University of Florida under volleyball coaching legend Mary Wise. Wells’ record as head coach is 39-55.

Offensively, Virginia is led by Elayna Duprey who averages 3.31 kills/set across 26 sets played. At setter, the Cavaliers are led by Ashley Le who has recorded 206 assists this season. Defensivley, Milan Gomillion leads the team in digs with 142 and Abby Tadder leads the team in blocks with 43.

Quick Facts

• The Blue Raiders return six student-athletes from last season. MTSU added three transfers in Kiera Booth, Alivia Bronner, and Brooke Springer, as well as five freshmen in Ally Magre, Reagan McIntosh, Emma Nilson, Aowyn Schrader, and Andi Spies.
• Junior Adriana Rhoda was named to the preseason CUSA All-Conference team and leads the team with 136 kills.
• The week of Sept. 2, freshman Andi Spies won CUSA Freshman of the Week as she recorded the first triple-double in program history during the 25-point era. In her last match, Spies reached 300 assists in just her ninth collegiate match.
• Senior Laure Jansen is at 98 service aces in her career needing two more to reach the 100 mark.
• Jansen is also at 994 career digs needing just 6 more to reach 1,000.

 
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