The ISU volleyball team will begin their promising 2007 season Sunday when Middle Tennessee State pays a visit to Hilton Coliseum.

This will be the first of 15 matches the Cyclones will play against NCAA Tournament teams from 2006. The Blue Raiders, like the Cyclones, advanced to the second round in their second ever tournament appearance last season, their first since 1995.

The Blue Raiders upset Louisville in five games in the first round before falling to No. 18 Ohio State in round two.

“It’s not going to be an easy match,” said ISU coach Christy Johnson. “They return most of their players, and we know they’re going to play hard. They are a very athletic team.”

The Blue Raiders (27-8, 14-3 Sun Belt Conference in 2006) have returned four starters and their libero from last year’s Sun Belt Conference regular season and tournament championship team.

Middle Tennessee, a team with just two seniors on its roster, has been chosen as the preseason favorite in the Sun Belt Conference for 2007, and has four players named to the preseason All-Sun Belt team.

“We will have to be very crisp on offense against them,” said senior Erin Boeve.

“They’re a good team, and we have to set the pace right away on our side and not let them control the tempo of the game.”

The Blue Raiders will rely on opposite hitter Ashley Adams to carry their offensive load this season, after registering one of the best seasons in program history as a sophomore in 2006. Adams’ .360 hitting percentage, 547 kills (4.45 kills per game) and 105 blocks were good enough to earn her an All-American Honorable Mention.

The Cyclones will need to find an answer on defense in order to slow the pace of the upstart Blue Raiders.

“Just like last season, we know our defensive play is going to be strong,” Boeve said. “We are a very scrappy team, and we’re going to rely on that a lot this year.”

With Boeve moving from middle blocker to the outside this fall, the Cyclones will not have last year’s primary defensive force at the net as often.

A team that relied on its presence at the net last season will now turn to junior Jen Malcolm and sophomore Diane Kieger to step up in the middle.

“With Boeve on the outside, we may not block as many balls as we did last year,” Johnson said. “But I’m confident in our middles, and believe that we may be just as good, if not better, on defense this year.”

Game time for Sunday’s match against the Blue Raiders is set for 5 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum.

Scouting the Blue Raiders

2006 record: 27-8

Conference record/finish: 14-3/first

2006 postseason (Sun Belt Tournament): 4-1 (3-0)

Starters returned/lost: 4+libero/2

Player to watch: OPP/S Ashley Adams, 547 kills, 105 blocks, 113 digs, honorable mention All-American in 2006

Notes: Middle Tennessee will take high expectations into the 2007 season, after surprising many in a trip to the NCAA Tournament second round in 2006. The Blue Raiders have been chosen to repeat at Sun Belt Conference champions this season.

They will be led by four preseason All-Conference selections: OPP/S Ashley Adams, MB Ashley Asberry, MB/OH Quanshell Scott, and preseason Defensive Player of the Year LIB Alicia Lemau’u.