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Sept. 26, 2000
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - An old face in a new place comes to E.A. Diddle Arena Tuesday when Middle Tennessee, one of the newest members of the Sun Belt Conference, takes on Western Kentucky in a 7 p.m. (CDT) match. Even though the two schools have already met 22 times, Tuesday's contest takes on added significance with both teams owning 2-0 records and sitting atop the SBC Eastern Division after the first week of conference activity.
WKU (13-3, 2-0) picked up its fourth consecutive win, and second straight Sun Belt triumph, Sunday afternoon with a 3-0 (15-7, 15-10, 15-8) victory over Florida International at Diddle Arena. Junior left-side hitter Tara Thomas and junior outside hitter Natalie Furry proved to be a devastating combination, teaming up for 37 kills and a stellar .586 hitting percentage. Thomas finished with a match-high 21 kills, while Furry added 16 kills, eight digs and four blocks for the Lady Toppers, who defeated FIU for the sixth consecutive time.
Middle Tennessee (7-6, 2-0) began its first season in the Sun Belt in style, posting victories over Florida International (3-1) and Louisiana Tech (3-0) last weekend. In the win over Tech, outside hitter Erin Hillstrom posted a double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs, and outside hitter Katie Thiesen added 11 kills, seven digs and seven blocks for the Lady Raiders. Middle blocker Lindsay Pritchard is MTSU's top all-around player, leading the Sun Belt in both blocks (1.53 per game) and hitting percentage (.413), ranking in the top 10 nationally in the latter category.
Although Western and Middle Tennessee were members of the Ohio Valley Conference from 1952-1982, Tuesday's match will mark the first time the two schools have faced off in a conference setting. WKU leads the all-time series with the Lady Raiders by an 18-4 count, including a 12-2 mark in Bowling Green. The last time they met, the Lady Toppers handed MTSU a 3-0 (15-4, 15-7, 15-7) loss in Bowling Green on Sept. 7, 1999.
-- WKU --
