Tennessee State Preview

Belmont (5-12, 3-4 OVC) vs. Tennessee State (9-7, 1-6 OVC)

Tuesday, Oct. 12 | 6pm

ESPN+ | Live Stats | Match Notes

Kean Hall | Nashville, Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Belmont University volleyball will play their first match in the Music City since Sept. 25 when they take on Tennessee State inside Kean Hall on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. 

Belmont hosted Tennessee State on Sept. 21, with the Bruins pulling out a 3-1 win in the conference opener. Taylor Floyd had 17 kills and 10 digs in the win, while Lauren Walsh recorded a career-high 16 kills. 

Tuesday night's match will be streamed live on ESPN+, with Alex Gould on the call. Live stats will also be available. 

What's Bruin 

• The Bruins will be playing their fifth straight conference match on the road, their longest stretch of OVC games away from the Curb Event Center this season. 

• Belmont is coming off a split on the road this past weekend with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) 

• On Friday night in the first contest, the Bruins came back after losing the opening set to win three frames in a row, 25-20, 27-25, and 25-21.  

• Floyd and Walsh both finished with 15 kills each in the win, while Kailee Bass set a career-high with seven blocks. 

• The 3-1 triumph was the first time the Bruins had ever beaten SIUE on the road and snapped a seven-match Cougar winning streak in the all-time series. It was also the first win on the road this season for Belmont 

• On Saturday, Belmont won the opening set, 25-22, before dropping the match, 1-3 

• Three Bruins finished with double-digit kills in the loss: Floyd (11), Shoopman (11), and Walsh (10) 

• Normally a setter that facilitates the Belmont attack, senior Carly Mason has taken on a more offensive role within the Bruins scheme as of late, and picked up a career-high seven kills on Saturday 

• After her double-double on Saturday, Floyd remains in the top ten in the OVC for kills per set (2.90) and points per set (3.34) 

• Rachel McBride is having a stellar sophomore season on the back row for the Bruins. The Indiana native currently ranks sixth in the conference for digs per set (4.35) 

• After starting only once in her first four matches back from injury, Mary Catherine Ball has started eight of the last nine matches since transitioning from the pins to the middle and has picked up at least two blocks each of her last seven times out 

• September's matchup between Belmont and Tennessee State was one of the closest matches in the OVC this season. Three of the four sets went past the 25-point mark, including the longest set Belmont has played in this year, a 30-28 win in the third set 

About the Tigers 

• Tennessee State began their season 8-1, one of the best starts in program history, before a loss to Belmont began a stretch of six losses in their next seven matches 

• Tennessee State is currently 1-6 in conference play, ranked 9th in the OVC standings 

• The Tigers come into Tuesday on a four-match losing streak, having dropped two road contests at Tennessee Tech, 1-3 and 1-3, before falling at home to Morehead State this past weekend, 1-3 on Friday and 2-3 on Saturday 

• Tennessee State has won at least one set in every match this year except for their non-conference loss to Evansville back on Sept. 14 

• The Tigers currently rank second in the OVC in opponent hitting percentage (.163), third in blocks (2.18), third in digs (16.66), and fourth in hitting percentage (.191) 

• Gina Rivera-Ortiz is one of the best liberos in the conference. The senior has won OVC Defensive Player of the Week honors twice this season and is currently third in the NCAA in digs per set (5.95) 

• In Saturday's five-set loss, Aniya Williams finished with 16 kills on a .344 attack percentage with seven blocks. Williams currently ranks second in the conference in blocks per set (1.18), fourth in points per set (4.20), and seventh in hitting percentage (.269) 

Series History 

• Belmont beat Tennessee State in their first matchup this season, a 3-1 victory over the Tigers at home on Sept. 21 in the OVC opener 

• The Bruins have now won three in a row, and lead the all-time series, 26-14 

• Belmont and Tennessee State have played 40 times since the Bruin volleyball program started in 1993. The only opponent that Belmont has faced more often is Lipscomb (45 meetings)