Will Duval | Sports Director
The FIU volleyball team looks to protect home court, as they host the MTSU Blue Raiders in a two-game series starting on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023 in Miami, Florida.
Coming into this match, the Panthers are coming off a 3-0 victory over Sam Houston and swept them over a two-game stretch.
In that game, they largely dominated every set and junior outside hitter Mackenzie Morgan led the team with 11 kills.
Pushing them to 8-9 on the season, that win marked the fourth in a row and allowed them to get off to a 4-0 start against Conference USA teams.
Along with the team’s best start to conference play in program history, FIU has been nearly unstoppable in their most recent stretch of games, winning six out of their last seven.
Having played two less games, the Blue Raiders hold a 10-5 record this season and have won their previous two games.
Only giving up one set in the series, they took a 3-1 victory and swept the Liberty Eagles in a two-game series on Sep. 30, 2023 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Defeating their opponent in a battle of accuracy, MTSU held a 32.3% hitting percentage for the match, reaching a 51.7% hitting percentage in their fourth and final set.
Their high hitting percentage didn’t come at the expense of hitting volume, as they outshot the Eagles 124-100 and collected a game-high 19 kills in the fourth set.
After winning both matches, they improved their conference record to 2-2 on the season after dropping their first two conference games against the New Mexico State Aggies.
Having a standout season, graduate student middle blocker Kaylee Oscarson has led her team with a 41.5% hitting percentage this season, which is the best in CUSA.
Despite playing less sets and games, the Blue Raiders have totaled 726 kills this season, 63 more than the Panthers.
Also totaling 669 assists this season, they have proven to be a potent offense and ranks third in CUSA in both kills and assists this season.
Even though FIU has had a statistically worse offense than their opponent, they have accumulated 101 service aces on 110 errors this season.
When compared to MTSU’s 98 service aces and 146 errors, the Panthers have had a higher level of consistency when scoring off a serve.
Contrasting their high-powered offense, the Blue Raiders’ defense has allowed opponents an average of a 24.6% hitting percentage, the highest in CUSA.
While being a middle of the pack defensive team in terms of hitting percentage, the Panthers’ 20.7% hitting percentage is still significantly lower.
Historically, FIU has not fared well against MTSU, holding a 12-30 all-time record following a 3-2 victory on Oct. 16, 2022.
Looking to defend their undefeated start to their conference play, the FIU volleyball team is taking on the MTSU Blue Raiders in a two-game series, starting on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023 in Miami, Florida.
Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center, with the game being broadcasted on ESPN+.
Prediction:
FIU: 3
MTSU: 2
Follow Will Duval on X: @WillDuval40
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