Sept. 4, 2009
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Izabala Kozon had match-highs of 19 kills and 12 digs to lead the Middle Tennessee State Volleyball team (4-0) to a 3-1 win (25-14, 20-25, 25-20, 32-30) over Georgia Tech (3-1) Friday night in the Blue Raider Bash. Freshman Monique Mead led the Yellow Jackets with 13 kills, seven total blocks and four digs, her third double-digit kill performance of the season.
“We had a lot of missed opportunities tonight,” said head coach Tonya Johnson. “We put ourselves in a position to win set four and continue the match, but had too many mistakes at the end. We played well at times tonight, but again too many missed opportunities at crucial times during the match”
The loss was the first of the season for the Yellow Jackets as they hit just .143 on the night against a Blue Raider team receiving votes in this week’s AVCA top 25 poll. Sophomore Bailey Hunter had 12 kills for the Yellow Jackets and hit .364 in the match. Junior Jordan McCullers had a team-high eight digs, while Hunter and senior Chrissy DeMichelis accounted for two solo blocks apiece. Sophomore Asia Stawicka also turned in a solid performance with five kills and five total blocks.
The first set was tight initially, but the Blue Raiders used a 16-3 run to turn a 7-7 score into an eventual win 25-14 win. In the second set, the Jackets bounced back evening the match with a 25-20 victory. DeMichelis and Hunter had four kills apiece in the second set. The Jackets took control of the set with a pair of 4-0 runs turning a 12-12 set into the match-tying win.
Set number three saw Middle Tennessee come out victorious by a score of 25-20 as well as it used an 11-3 run to open things up at 17-9. Tech came storming back, however, and got within four points at 22-18. Following a timeout, the Blue Raiders were able to close out the set and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
In set four, the teams battled long past the 25-point mark but it was Middle Tennessee pulling out a 32-30 win and sending Tech to its first defeat of the young season. There were 11 ties in the fourth set alone which saw Tech hold set point, 24-22. Middle Tennessee came back to tie it up at 24 before a service error gave the Jackets set point again. The Blue Raiders tied it again and the two teams exchanged the next several points until Middle Tennessee broke a 30-30 tie with the final two points.
The Yellow Jackets continue play in the Middle Tennessee Blue Raider Bash tomorrow as they will face Ohio (3 p.m. ET) and Northern Illinois (8 p.m. ET). Check back to www.ramblinwreck.com following the match for complete recaps and stats.
