"Our team has been playing well recently, especially at home," head coach Matt Peck said. "We weren't doing that earlier this season, and we need to continue to improve this weekend because I think both FAU and FIU will test us up here. FAU is having a tough start, but they're young and tall and played us pretty well down there. FIU is always a competitive match for us. I'm expecting a couple battles this weekend."
Led by the play of reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week Ashley Adams, the Blue Raiders will look to build off Tuesday's win against visiting Marquette. The match marked the sixth 3-0 sweep by the Blue and White over the course of the winning streak and the third consecutive that Adams has led the team in kills.
This weekend's matches will serve as rematches after Middle Tennessee played both teams on a trip to South Florida two weeks ago. The Blue Raiders won both matches in 3-0 fashion with Adams leading the way with 21 kills and a .486 attack percentage.
"I think Ashley's had some very good matches, but if you look at our stats, all of our outsides have played extremely well recently," Peck said. "Part of that is that our middles can draw some of the defense away with their play, and we've been taking advantage of that. When our hitters are playing like this, we can be very hard to defend."
Friday will mark the 15th meeting all-time between Middle Tennessee and Florida Atlantic. The Blue Raiders have won 10 in a row against the Owls, last losing in 3-0 fashion in Boca Raton in 2006.
FAU is entering the match with a 3-14 record and are winless so far through five Sun Belt contests.
The Blue and White will look to extend their recent successes against divisional foe FIU on Sunday. The Blue Raiders have won three of their last four against the Panthers, including a 3-1 decision in the 2009 Sun Belt Championship match. MT is 15-7 all-time against FIU, last losing 3-1 in Miami last season.
The Panthers are coming in to the weekend with an 11-5 record and are 3-2 in conference play.
Middle Tennessee will begin this weekend's matches at Alumni Memorial Gym on Friday against FAU at 7 p.m. prior to taking on FIU at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
