Blue Raider Invitational Next Non-Conference Stop for Volleyball

Belmont (1-6) vs. UT Martin (4-3) 

Friday, Sept. 9 | 1:30 p.m. CT 

CUSA.tv | Live Stats | Match Notes 

Belmont (1-6) vs. Middle Tennessee (4-2) 

Friday, Sept. 9 | 6:30 p.m. CT 

ESPN+ | Live Stats

Belmont (1-6) vs. Grambling State (2-4) 

Saturday, Sept. 10 | 11:00 a.m. CT 

CUSA.tv | Live Stats 

Alumni Memorial Gym | Murfreesboro, Tennessee 

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- The Belmont University volleyball team continues their non-conference slate of games with a trio of matches this weekend at the Blue Raider Invitational in Murfreesboro. 

The Bruins will take on both the University of Tennessee at Martin and host Middle Tennessee State on Friday before wrapping up the weekend with a contest against Grambling State on Saturday. 

Friday evening's match against Middle Tennessee will be streamed on ESPN+.  

Friday afternoon's contest against UT Martin and Saturday's match against Grambling State will both be streamed on the Middle Tennessee channel of CUSA.tv.

Live stats for all three matches will be available on BelmontBruins.com, and in-game updates will be posted to Twitter by @BelmontVB. 

What's Bruin 

• Belmont is coming off their longest trip since 2016, an appearance at the Cougar Challenge in Pullman, Washington, last weekend 

• The Bruins went 0-3 at the tournament, falling to receiving-votes Washington State, California Baptist, and CSU Bakersfield, all by scores of 3-1 

• By taking the second set off receiving-votes Washington State last Friday, the Bruins won their first set over a Power Five opponent since they took a set off No. 22 Michigan State in 2018 

• Junior outside hitter Laura Shoopman was named to the All-Tournament Team after collecting 41 kills and 26 digs over the three matches 

• Shoopman is second in the Missouri Valley Conference in kills (98) and sixth in kills per set (3.50) 

• In Belmont's 3-2 win over Georgia State on Aug. 27, Shoopman collected a career-high 27 kills, the fifth-most in a single match in program history 

• Junior middle blocker Kristen Clemons is second in the MVC in blocks (28), eighth in hitting percentage (.341), and 12th in kills (65) 

• In a 3-1 loss to Marist on Aug. 26, Clemons collected 11 block assists, the most in a single match in program history 

• Belmont ranks fourth in the MVC in blocks per set (1.86) and fourth in service aces per set (1.57) 

• Junior libero Rachel McBride is fourth in the MVC in digs (94) 

• McBride's diving save into the team bench against Washington State last Friday earned a spot in last Saturday's edition of "SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays", checking in at No. 9 

• In Saturday's 3-1 loss to CSU Bakersfield, freshman setter Lilly Lutz picked up her first career double-double and set career-highs with 30 assists and 11 digs 

• Junior middle blocker Sydney Willis currently owns 99.0 career blocks, one shy of hitting the 100-block milestone 

• Freshman outside hitter Brooke Gilleland is a native of Murfreesboro, where she was a standout at Siegel HS, earning All-Area Player of the Year honors during her senior season 

• In Saturday's 3-1 loss to CSU Bakersfield, junior outside hitter Ally Peterson set a new career-high with four of Belmont's ten service aces 

• This weekend marks the first of two straight non-conference tournaments that Belmont will participate in while staying local. Next weekend, the Bruins will compete in the Tiger Invitational, hosted by Tennessee State 

About the Skyhawks 

• For the first time in program history, UT Martin swept the OVC weekly awards this past week, with Karen Scanlon taking home Offensive Player of the Week, Dylan Mott earning Defensive Player of the Week, and Angel Baylark collecting Newcomer of the Week honors 

• UT Martin is coming off a 2-1 showing at their Skyhawk Invitational, sweeping both Alabama A&M and Western Illinois before being defeated by Arkansas State 

• The Skyhawks picked up two first-place votes and were selected third in the 2022 OVC Preseason Coaches Poll 

• UT Martin leads the all-time series with Belmont, 16-11 

• The two teams split last season's conference series, with Belmont winning 3-1 on Sept. 24 at the Curb Event Center before the Skyhawks won the rematch on Sept. 25, 3-0. 

• In the Bruins' win, Laura Shoopman finished with a match-high 17 kills and Rachel McBride tallied a match-high 18 digs as Belmont took the match 25-17, 25-23, 25-27, 25-19. The next day, UT Martin got revenge with a 25-21, 25-20, 25-13 result 

• The series has been split, 6-6, since 2012 

About the Blue Raiders 

• Middle Tennesse has gone 2-1 at each of their first two non-conference tournaments this season, picking up wins over Nevada, Sacramento State, Bellarmine, and Miami (OH) in the process 

• The Blue Raiders were predicted to finish eighth in the Conference USA Preseason Coaches Poll, and Marley Banton, the reigning C-USA Libero of the Year, was named Preseason All-Conference 

• Kayla Henley leads the team in kills (64) and is averaging 3.37 points per set 

• Middle Tennessee leads the all-time series with Belmont, 7-2 

• The two teams last met in 2017 at the Curb Event Center, with Belmont winning, 3-1 

About the Tigers 

• Grambling State faced one of Belmont's old OVC foes in the season opener, falling to SIUE in straight sets, before rebounding against one of Belmont's new MVC opponents, Southern Illinois, winning 3-1 over the Salukis 

• Sophomore outside hitter Jayden James has powered the Tiger attack, with 87 kills coming into the weekend. The next closest on the team owns 37 kills 

• Saturday marks the first meeting between Belmont and Grambling State 

• Grambling State is one of four historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) that the Bruins have on the 2022 schedule (Tennessee State, Alcorn State, Bethune-Cookman) 

Follow Belmont volleyball on social media - @BelmontVB on Twitter and @belmontvball on Instagram - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.        

#ItsBruinTime