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NOTEBOOK: Women’s Soccer Season Finale Set for Friday

Football heads west for weekend tilt, Cross Country preps for CUSA Championship this weekend

MT Athletics
Posted 10/29/24

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — With spots in the Conference USA Tournament coming down the wire, MTSU Women's Soccer returns home to Dean A. Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium with a critical final match of the regular season in CUSA play.

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NOTEBOOK: Women’s Soccer Season Finale Set for Friday

Football heads west for weekend tilt, Cross Country preps for CUSA Championship this weekend

Posted

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — With spots in the Conference USA Tournament coming down the wire, MTSU Women's Soccer returns home to Dean A. Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium with a critical final match of the regular season in CUSA play.
 
The Blue Raiders, sitting fifth in the latest CUSA standings but level on points with fourth place Sam Houston, will face bottom of the table LA Tech on Friday, November 1 at 7 p.m. on Senior Night. A win and a Sam Houston draw or loss to WKU that same day would cause MTSU to jump the Bearkats in the CUSA standings.
 

 
The top six teams in the standings at the end of Friday's final day of competition will travel to Miami for next week's CUSA Championship, hosted by FIU.
 
Football thankful to have a normal week ahead of Saturday's game at UTEP
 
After three straight weeks of midweek contests, Middle Tennessee football coach Derek Mason was grateful to have a normal game week of preparation as his team turned the page to UTEP, who the Blue Raiders face on the road in the Sun Bowl this Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT.
 
"Excited about our preparation for this game," Mason said. "Our guys have had a chance to get a couple of days of recovery towards the end of the last week. I think that always helps when you have an opportunity to come off a tough game and really just look at yourself, how to recover, get to refresh, hit the reset button and get ready to go."
 
The reset button was hit heavily on the defensive side, where Mason said that MTSU gave up 283 yards of rushing after contact against Jacksonville State last week. Mason said that improving the group's "time on task" in practice for tackling was a point of emphasis after looking at the film, an improvement he's already seen in the team's first practice of game week on Sunday.
 
"Our guys have seen the tape," Mason said. "I think they understand what it is and I thought practice looked a little different in terms of what guys were looking to do and what we're looking to get done in the fundamentals practice."
 
Xavier Williams leads the Blue Raiders in tackles despite playing in just five games at safety after moving over from quarterback in September. Williams said his focus on working on angles has been key in making the most of his "time on task" in MTSU's copious tackling drills to start practice.
 
"Tackling all comes down to angles, putting yourself in the best position to make form tackles," Williams said. "My biggest focus has been trying to work on my angles, consistently working on that every day."
 
In MTSU injury news, Mason said that tight end Holden Willis, as of Monday, had not been cleared to play for the Blue Raiders this week after leaving the game late on Wednesday night against Jax State after a hard hit. Mason hoped that Willis would be able to make the trip to El Paso, but the team is preparing without their star tight end for the time being.
 
Cross Country heads to Oxford, Ala. for CUSA Championships
 
Cross Country will look to defend both CUSA Cross Country Championships this weekend, with both the men and women competing for the title on Saturday, November 2 in Oxford, Ala.
 
The Blue Raiders found momentum ahead of the event, hosted by Jacksonville State, by sweeping the Conference USA Cross Country awards last week. Allan Kiplagat and Odilia Jepchumba combined to win the men's and women's, respectively, freshman and athlete of the week awards from the CUSA office.
 

 
It was Kiplagat's third Freshman of the Week award and his first Athlete of the Week honor in his young Blue Raider career. He led the Blue Raiders to a top 10 finish in the Arturo Barrios Invitational placing fourth out of 376 runners, shaving nearly a minute off of his previous personal best with a time of 22.28.1.
 

 
It's also Jepchumba's third time winning the Conference USA Freshman of the Week and her first time winning the Athlete of the Week. Jepchumba led the Blue Raiders with her eighth place finish out of 400 runners in the Arturo Barrios Invitational. She cut nearly a minute off of her 6k PR with a time of 19:32.7.
 

 
Women's Basketball hosts final exhibition ahead of the season on Wednesday
 
After flashing their potential in a romp over UT Southern on Friday, MTSU Women's Basketball returns to the Murphy Center on Wednesday, October 30, taking on NAIA foe Lindsey Wilson in the program's final preseason exhibition of the 2024-25 season.
 
All fans under the age of 17 who come to the game in costume will receive free admission! Tickets for adults are just $8 to catch the Blue Raiders ahead of the regular season! Check out highlights from MTSU's first exhibition below. And then make sure to take a glimpse at Women's Basketball's 2023-24 CUSA Championship rings that came in this week!
 

 
Join Men's Basketball for Happy Hour and Hoops on Friday
 
You are invited to watch MTSU Men's Basketball practice on Friday, November 1, to get your first preview of the Blue Raiders in person this season! This free to attend event will kickoff at 4 p.m., with a meet-and-greet with this year's team to follow at 5 p.m.
 
Fans can purchase their 2024-25 season tickets, enjoy selections from a cash bar and enjoy finger foods while watching practice.
 

 
Spies nabs Setter of the Week honors after Volleyball sweep of LA Tech
 
Freshman setter Andi Spies was named Conference USA Setter of the Week, as announced by the league office on Monday, October 28. Spies becomes just the second Blue Raider freshman to earn the award, with the last being Delaney Taylor in 2015.
 

 
Middle Tennessee volleyball hosted LA Tech for a two-match series (with MTSU winning both), and in those two matches, Spies recorded an outstanding 95 assists, averaging 11.88 assists/set. In addition to her passing, the setter recorded 23 digs, nine kills, four aces, and three blocks across the two matches. In the first match, the Fort Atkinson, Wis., native recorded 55 assists, the highest single-match total for a CUSA student-athlete this season. In the second match, Spies tallied an impressive 40 assists and 16 digs, marking her 11th double-double of the season.
 

 
MTSU travels to UTEP this weekend in CUSA play.
 
Maynard earns CUSA Golfer of the Week honors after Top-15 finish
 
For the first time this season and second time in her career, Kendall Maynard has been voted Conference USA Women's Golfer of the Week, as announced by the conference office Wednesday afternoon. A top-15 finish at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate secured her the honor, the first league award under head coach Lauren Wamsley.
 

 
The senior kicked off the tournament with a team-low 70 (-1), carding four birdies and a bogey-free front nine. At the time, the round was her fourth at or below par. Maynard had a difficult second round, shooting a 76 (+5), but was able to quickly rebound on her final 18 holes. On the final round of the tournament, she shot a 71 for her fifth round at par or lower on the season, securing her a 217 (+4) finish on the competition.
 

 
"I am so happy for Kendall, being selected golfer of the week," said Wamsley. "This is very well deserved after placing well in a tough field. Kendall has been so close at every tournament, so its been very fun to watch it all come together in Knoxville. It is such a great way to finish up the fall season and certainly great motivation for the spring!"
 
Softball wraps up offseason play with Fall World Series this week in Murfreesboro!
 
Middle Tennessee Softball wraps up its fall slate this week with a trilogy of games, starting on Tuesday and continuing each day through Thursday. Fans can come out to Blue Raider Softball Field for a first pitch at 6 p.m. each evening and watch the Blue Raiders compete on October 29, October 30 and October 31!
 
You can view this year's rosters for the annual scrimmage below!
 

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics, MT Soccer