Tweet

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Virginia Tech volleyball team will make the trip to Murfreesboro, Tenn. to take on Middle Tennessee on Thursday, Sept. 11 in a 7 p.m. match. Tech will remain in Murfreesboro for the Blue Raider Bash hosted by MT starting on Friday.

On Friday, the Hokies will take on Belmont at noon before facing Washington State in a 7:30 p.m. match. The Hokies will conclude the tournament on Saturday at 12:30 against No. 12 Illinois.

THE HOKIES (2-4)
Virginia Tech competed at the Ohio University Invitational last weekend, finishing with a 1-2 record including a 3-0 win over VCU. Lindsey Owens leads the Hokies on the season with 3.75 kills per set while tallying a team best 3.15 digs per set on the defensive side.

Amanda McKinzie is knocking down 2.35 kps while Kathryn Caine is adding 2.33 kps. Jordan Fish and Kyra Coundourides are putting up 6.05 and 5.14 assists per set, respectively.

On the defense, Megan Beckwith is recording 3.0 digs per set in the backcourt. At the net, Ashley Battle has recorded 18 blocks this season with LaTasha Samson-Akpan just trailing with 15.

THE BLUE RAIDERS (2-5)
Middle Tennessee defeated Arkansas 3-2 in the team’s last outing as part of the K-State Invitational where the Blue Raiders tallied a 1-2 mark. Chelsea Ross leads the team with 3.4 kps while Jazmyne Johnson is adding 2.73 kps and is one of three players averaging over a block a set with 1.20.

Ailime DeFreitas and Brianna Pannone have split time at the setter spot with 4.90 and 4.87 aps, respectively. Rachel Shaughnessy leads the Blue Raiders at the net with 1.27 bps while Jacqueline Lux is averaging 3.87 dps.

THE BRUINS (2-5)
Belmont is coming off a 3-0 win over Chattanooga, finishing the weekend at the Bulldog Invitational in Athens, Ga. with a 1-2 record. Arianna Person leads the Bruins on the season with 2.68 kps while Scarlet Gable is adding 2.58 kps. Emma Price is notching 9.19 aps.

Ellie Ivancich is recording 3.28 dps and Alex Martin has tallied 17 blocks on the season for the Bruins’ defense.

THE COUGARS (5-1)
Washington State won the Golden Dome Invitational last weekend with wins over IUPUI (3-0), Western Michigan (3-1) and host team Notre Dame (3-1). Kyra Holt is leading the Cougars with 3.57 kps. Chelsey Bettinson is adding 3.36 kps while tallying a team-high 1.55 bps.

Haley McDonald is putting up 11.55 aps. Kate Sommer is recording 4.09 dps to lead the Cougars’ backcourt defense.

THE ILLINI (3-2)
Illinois is ranked 12th in this week’s AVCA poll and is the only ranked team in the tournament. Last weekend the Illini competed in the BigTen/PAC12 Challenge, finishing with an 0-2 record after falling to No. 2 Stanford (3-2) and UCLA (3-0).

Jocelyn Birks leads a trio of Illini averaging more than three kills per set with 3.35. Liz McMahon is notching 3.29 kps while Morganne Criswell chips in 3.0 kps. Allison Palmer and Alexis Viliunas are recording 5.47 and 5.24 aps, respectively.

For the Illini defense, Brandi Donnelly is strong in the backcourt with 4.53 dps while at the net Anna Dorn is tallying 1.38 bps and Katie Stadick adds 1.18 bps.

ALL-TIME vs. THE FIELD
The Hokies lead the all-time series against the Blue Raiders, 2-1 including a 3-0 win last season in Murfreesboro. Former Hokie Samantha Gostling led Tech in that match with 11 kills. Fish had 38 assists and Beckwith notched 13 digs.

Virginia Tech is 0-1 against Washington State in the series, but the two teams last met 20 years ago in Fort Collins, Colo. The Cougars claimed the 3-0 neutral site meeting.

This marks the first meeting between Virginia Tech and both Belmont and Illinois.

UP NEXT
The Hokies will open up their home slate next weekend, hosting the Hokie Classic beginning on Friday, Sept. 19. Tech will host Marshall, Radford and UNC Wilmington as part of the two-day event.

For updates on Virginia Tech volleyball, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_VBall