Posted: Saturday, October 10, 2009 4:10 pm

Volleyball team wins tought match with ALR

Middle Tennessee battled with Arkansas-Little Rock but managed to pull out the match in straight sets 3-0 (28-26, 25-16, 27-25).

The Blue Raiders (11-7, 4-1) notched 47 kills in the match for a .271 attack percentage while UALR had just 35 kills for a.164 attack percentage.

Junior Izabela Kozon, who joined the 1,000 kill club, knocked down 18 kills in the match for a .444 hitting percentage. Senior Ashley Mead added to the Blue Raider arsenal with 12 kills of her own.

Senior Ashley Waugh guided the backcourt defense with 18 digs while senior Leslie Clark had 11 and sophomore Brynne Henderson notched 10.

As a team, the Blue Raiders had 7.5 blocks while UALR ahd five total blocks with senior Janay Yancey and junior Alyssa Wistrick each having three block assists.

Clark also guided the offense with 39 assists on the day.

Middle Tennessee and the Trojans battled back and forth throughout the first set before the Blue Raiders pulled it out after playing extra points. Kozon hit the 1,000 kill mark for her career midway through the set and ended it with seven kills. Clark also hit a milestone midway through the first set as she notched 5,000 assists. Clark is the only player in Blue Raider history to have 5,000 assists in a career.

The Blue Raiders took control of the second set and while UALR pulled into within a few points it never got the upper hand. At the set break, Middle Tennessee had 31 kills with a .307 attack percentage while the Trojans were hitting just .150 with 23 kills.

Kozon had 12 kills at the break with just two errors posting a .345 hitting percentage. Waugh and Henderson were each performing well in the backcourt with 11 and 10 digs respectively.

Middle Tennessee will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 16 when it plays host to North Texas at 7 p.m. Then on Sunday, Oct. 18 the Blue Raiders will face one of the top teams in the Sun Belt West Division Denver at 1 p.m.

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UALR scores twice in second half for 2-1 win

Visiting UALR scored twice in the second half, including the game winner with just over six minutes remaining, to overcome a one-goal deficit and pull out a 2-1 victory against host Middle Tennessee in Sun Belt soccer action Sunday afternoon at the Dean A. Hayes Track and Soccer Stadium.

Neither team was able to put a dent on the scoreboard during the opening 45 minutes, despite the Blue Raiders holding an 8-2 shot advantage against the Trojans. Just after the second half began, Middle Tennessee (10-3-1, 4-2 Sun Belt) struck first at 46:05 as Regina Thomas redirected a pass inside the six-yard box for her third score this season. Hope Suominen sent a corner kick into the box, which found the foot of teammate Fran Howells. Howells one-touched a pass to Thomas at the right post for the 1-0 lead.

However, UALR would not let the advantage remain on the scoreboard for long. Just three-and-a-half minutes later, at 49:39, Kristen Semko sent a long through ball on the left flank to Christina Veasley. Veasley gathered the ball in-stride and broke free from the Blue Raider defense before beating MT keeper Rebecca Cushing to the far side for the equalizer.

The Trojans used a similar tactic for the game winner. Rachael Maina again found Veasley on a long through ball, which the forward then turned and placed the ball in a familiar spot to give UALR (5-7-1, 2-2-1 Sun Belt) the 2-1 edge at 83:29.

"This is certainly a disappointing loss, especially at home," Blue Raider head coach Aston Rhoden said. "We cannot play a game in spurts. Today we did that and the desire was not there the full 90 minutes. To their (UALR's) credit, they stayed in the game with us and were able to come out on top with a last-minute goal."

The win is the Trojans' first in the series since 1997 and only the third in 16 all-time meetings.

Veasley led the visitors with three of the team's nine shots, while Jane Picarelli stopped five Blue Raider attempts while playing in the cage.

Suominen paced the Blue Raiders with three of the team's 15 attempts, while five others had two shots apiece. Cushing collected five saves for Middle Tennessee.

The Blue Raiders will return to action when they travel to Louisiana for a pair of matches next weekend, beginning at 4 p.m. Friday against ULM in Monroe, La. Middle Tennessee will then conclude the weekend road trip with a 1 p.m. Sunday contest against Louisiana in Lafayette, La.

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Late scores lift soccer team to victory

Middle Tennessee scored twice in a nine-minute span late in the second half after finding itself tied with visiting Arkansas State to earn a 3-1 triumph Friday evening in a crucial Sun Belt Conference match at Dean A. Hayes Track and Soccer Stadium. The Blue Raiders reach the double-digit win plateau for the sixth time in eight seasons under head coach Aston Rhoden and the ninth time overall in program history with the win.

"Arkansas State is certainly a good team," Rhoden said. "I was really proud of how our team responded after their goal. We did not lose our composure and kept doing what we believe in to give us two goals. It also created several opportunities for us. We will take the win at home against a team that was at the top of our league."

Once again, a balanced offensive attack was the difference for Middle Tennessee (10-2-1, 4-1 Sun Belt), as three different players scored the team's goals in the victory.

"To have the number of people score goals for us this season is a very good thing," senior Jen Threlkeld said. "To be so dynamic up top, along with a solid defense, we are very confident right now."

Threlkeld was credited with the game winner when she put the Blue Raiders ahead 2-1 at the 70:08 on her fifth goal of the campaign. Freshman Paige Goeglein sent a high cross from the right side into the penalty box, finding Threlkeld's head from 12 yards out. The senior redirected the pass past Red Wolves goalkeeper Susan Brown.

Nearly nine minutes later, at 78:53, the icing was put on the cake when sophomore Luisa Moscoso one-touched a pass behind her to junior Vanessa Mueggler, who was running all alone on the left flank. Mueggler took the ball, dribbled to just inside the 18-yard box and fired it past Brown for her sixth goal this season.

Junior Fran Howells started the night's scoring at 29:18. Following a foul on the Arkansas State (6-5-1, 3-1 Sun Belt) defense, freshman Allison Stallard lined up for the free kick. Her shot landed inside the six-yard box, only to be bobbled by Brown. Howells was one of many Blue Raiders around the loose ball, but she placed her foot on it and had a wide-open net in front of her for the second goal this fall for the co-captain.

The score remained 1-0 through the half, but the Red Wolves were able to net the equalizer at 64:12 when Chelsea Fricke located Miranda Wiley standing near the midfield line. Wiley moved forward about 10 yards before launching a long-range shot that just went under the crossbar and above the head of MT goalkeeper Rebecca Cushing.

The two teams had several other chances apiece, but the wet field conditions due to heavy rains in the Murfreesboro area all day helped control the pace at which the game was played.

Threlkeld finished with a game-high five shots, while Mueggler and sophomore Shan Jones each added four as the Blue Raiders held a 20-10 edge in the category. Cushing collected seven saves in between the pipes for Middle Tennessee.

Arkansas State played a balanced game with 10 different players taking its shots. Brown finished with a game-high 10 saves in the cage.

Prior to the game, the Blue Raiders wore specially designed pink warm-up t-shirts in support of breast cancer research. The Center for Breast Health at Middle Tennessee Medical Center sponsored the event.

Middle Tennessee will again wear the pink shirts when it returns to action at 1 p.m. Sunday when it plays host to UALR at the Dean A. Hayes Track and Soccer Stadium. A similar designed t-shirt is available for purchase to the general public for $12.

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Volleyball team wins tough match with Ark. State

The Blue Raiders pulled out a five-set battle (23-25, 25-23, 18-25, 25-15, 15-13) over Arkansas State on Friday night.

Middle Tennessee (10-7, 3-1,) started out rocky but composed itself when it needed to pull out the win. The Red Wolves (14-6, 4-2) fought and won then they needed to but the Blue Raiders were able stay ahead just enough.

Senior Ashley Mead who needed just eight kills to join the 1,000 kill club and joined the prestigious group when she notched 13 kills.

Senior Ashley Waugh also joined a prestigious club when she recorded her 1,000th dig. Waugh had 19 digs against the Red Wolves.

Sophomore Stacy Oladinni led the team throughout the night at the net notching 14 kills for a .440 hitting percentage while junior Izabela Kozon added 13 kills of her own.

As a team, Middle Tennessee had 66 kills for a .210 hitting percentage while ASU hit just .153 in the match with 51 kills.

Brittany Hoag led the Red Wolves in kills with 15 for a .308 hitting percentage while Cayla Fielder had 13.

The Blue Raiders continued to perform well at the net defensively posting 15 total blocks with senior Janay Yancey posting six block assists and one solo block. Mead also added depth to the block with five assists and one solo of her own.

Middle Tennessee and the Red Wolves battled throughout the first set. With the match tied at 23 ASU pulled ahead by one. Then Kozon made a passing error receiving the serve from the Red Wolves giving them the 25-23 win.

The Blue Raiders rebounded in the second set staying ahead by two or three. ASU tied the match a number of times but Middle Tennessee kept winning points to take the lead back over. A kill by Wistrick gave the Blue Raiders the 25-23 win and knotted the set at one.

At the end of two sets, Middle Tennessee had 32 kills with a .240 hitting percentage while the Red Wolves had a .192 attack percentage with 27 kills. Wistrick and Oladinni each had eight kills at the set break.

The Blue Raiders had just one more block in the match though with five while ASU had four.

Each team had 10 kills in the third set but the Blue Raiders were unable to capitalize and win a string of points falling to ASU 25-18.

The Blue Raiders will be back in action on Sunday, Oct. 11 at 1 p.m. when they face Arkansas-Little Rock.

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Peers drops tight three-setter in ITA All-American

John Peers' run in the ITA All-American main draw ended in a three-set battle on Friday.

Peers lost a three-set heartbreaker to Stanford's Bradley Klhan, seeded 14th in the tournament and in the ITA poll, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

"John had a great tournament. He can take a lot away from this experience knowing he can play with the 'big' boys," head coach David McNamara said.

The Blue Raiders will have next week off before competing at the Regional Indoors Qualifying in Bloomington, Ind., Oct. 22-26.