WHY MIDDLE TENNESSEE?
"I chose Middle Tennessee because of the people here. In my first conversations with each of the coaches, their main goal was getting to know me as a person. They make it a priority to make you feel like more than just an athlete. After running into some of the girls on my first visit and being welcomed with open arms, I knew this was where I wanted to be.
I enjoy being around my teammates more than anything. They celebrate your successes as if they’re their own, and are the first ones to pick you up when you’re struggling. All of them accepted me completely and never let me feel alone. They are what makes MT volleyball so special."
Trae McCutchan | Jr. | Evansville, Indiana
“I chose Middle Tennessee because I immediately felt a great connection with the coaching staff. The environment and culture was also a big determining factor for me. The program felt like one big family from top to bottom. The level of volleyball in Conference-USA was something that I wanted to be a part of to push myself and be around coaches and teammates who had the same work ethic and mentality to be champions.”
Laure Jansen | Sr. | Valburg, Netherlands
COACHING STAFF
HEAD COACH CHUCK CRAWFORD
Chuck Crawford enters his eighth season at the Blue Raider volleyball program's helm for the 2024 season. Crawford, who has extensive experience in premiere collegiate volleyball, is the 11th head coach in program history.
Crawford came to Murfreesboro from Auburn, where he served as an assistant for three seasons. Crawford aided in picking the 2018 Auburn recruiting class, ranked the seventh-best incoming group in the nation, the best-rated recruiting class in Auburn history. Crawford coached an All-SEC selection and a pair of AVCA All-South Region honorable mentions at Auburn in 2015. Off the court, Crawford also mentored an SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, a CoSIDA Academic All-District in 2014 and 2015, and eight members of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
Before Auburn, Crawford spent a season at Georgia Tech coaching the middle blockers while also serving as recruiting coordinator and director of camps.
Crawford went to Georgia Tech from his alma mater Miami (Ohio), where he served as an assistant for two years. With the RedHawks, he helped train three first-team All-MAC honorees and a CoSIDA Academic All-American. Crawford worked primarily with the hitters and oversaw the program’s recruiting, grabbing a ‘High Honorable Mention’ by Prep Volleyball for his 2013 recruiting class.
Before joining the RedHawks, Crawford spent a year and a half as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Jacksonville University. At JU, Crawford recruited the 2012 Atlantic Sun Freshman Player of the Year, Sammie Strausbaugh.
Crawford earned his Bachelor of Science degree in health and physical education from Miami University in 2001. He was a four-year member of the RedHawks club volleyball team and also played one year on the Redhawks baseball team.
Crawford is married and has five children. An avid rock and mountain climber, Crawford was in the Weather Channel TV series Epic Conditions, climbing the Nose of El Cap (3,300 feet) in Yosemite. He has also summited 14,400-foot Mount Rainer in Washington state and spent three years riding bulls in the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA).
ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH/RECRUITING COORDINATOR JENNA ORNER
Jenna Orner enters her eighth season as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator on the Middle Tennessee volleyball staff after joining the squad in January 2017. She is currently the Conference-USA representative of the AVCA Assistant Coaches Committee.
Before MT, Orner served as a graduate assistant at VCU for the 2016 season. With the Rams, Orner helped VCU to a 19-14 record and a trip to the Atlantic 10 Conference semifinals. On the court, VCU produced a three-time Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week in Jasmin Sneed. Simultaneously, Julia Adler (second team), Vicky Giommarini (All-Rookie), and Sneed were named to All-Atlantic 10 Conference postseason teams.
A 2015 graduate of Coastal Carolina, Orner served as a volunteer assistant for the Chanticleers during the 2015 campaign and was later named director of volleyball operations. During the 2015 season, Orner helped the Chants to a 2015 NCAA Tournament appearance. Orner played libero for three seasons at Coastal Carolina, where she was twice named to the Big South All-Tournament team. Orner also received two Big South Conference Presidential Honor Roll accolades and was named to the All-Academic team her senior season. As a senior in 2014, Orner averaged 4.69 digs per set and led the Chanticleers to the Big South Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Orner recorded a career-high 31 digs in the Big South Championship to help Coastal topple Radford. Orner also played one season at Jacksonville, where Chuck Crawford recruited her.
Orner is a native of Carlisle, Pennsylvania. She is the daughter of Rick and Jackie Orner and has one younger brother, Tanner.
ASSISTANT COACH TAYLOR HOLMES
Taylor Holmes enters her sixth year as an assistant coach and 11th year overall with the Middle Tennessee volleyball program heading into the 2024 season.
Holmes previously served as a graduate assistant during the 2017-2018 seasons. She also served as the team’s manager while receiving her undergraduate degree from Middle Tennessee (2014-2017).
Holmes’ primary duties include planning travel, setting up meal accommodations while on the road, and other administrative duties. Also, Holmes serves as a setting assistant coach, seeing setter Taylor Eisert become the fastest Blue Raider to reach the 1,000-career assists milestone.
Holmes is a native of Columbia, Tennessee. She is the daughter of Beth and Brian Holmes and has two younger siblings, Brian and Emily Holmes.
IN THE CLASSROOM
Middle Tennessee is the only program in Conference USA to earn the AVCA Team Academic Award seven years in a row.
“I believe the student athletes should be excellent on the court, in the community and in the classroom. When we arrived at Middle Tennessee as a staff, The team GPA was roughly a 2.5. Over the last five years our team GPA has not dropped below a 3.5 and has been has high as a 3.7. Numbers don’t lie and we believe that our approach is a sound and proven approach to decreasing pressure and stress both on and off the court.”
Head Coach Chuck Crawford
2023 SEASON IN REVIEW
OVERVIEW
In the 2023 season, Coach Crawford led the Blue Raiders to a record of 20-10 and their fifth-consecutive appearance in the Conference USA Tournament.
The Blue Raiders put on one of the program’s best statistical seasons in program history during the 2023 season. MTSU was tied for fifth in the nation with a hitting percentage of .303 with a No. 19 rank in the nation for kills/set at 13.78. They also ranked No. 28 in the nation for team assists/set (12.69) and No. 30 in the nation for team aces/set (1.83).
The latest season saw the Blue Raiders host the first round of the NIVC Tournament as they made yet another appearance, in a season that saw them beat an undefeated No. 25 ranked Auburn on the road, 3-1.
ACCOLADES
Senior Taylor Eisert had another fantastic season in 2023, being named the Conference USA Setter of the Year in reward.
Middle Tennessee earned five All-Conference honors in 2023. Taylor Eisert, Kayla Henley and Adri Rhoda were all named First Team All-Conference USA. Laure Jansen and Kaylee Oscarson were both named Second Team All-Conference USA. Taylor Eisert was named to the Conference USA All-Academic Team for the second year in a row.
Taylor Eisert, Laure Jansen and Kaylee Oscarson were all named CSC Academic All-District for their extraordinary performances on the court and in the classroom.
BLUE RAIDERS IN THE PROS
Four Blue Raiders have turned pro during Head Coach Chuck Crawford's tenure at Middle Tennessee State University.
In 2023, Kayla Henley played for CAV Esquimo Voleibol Club in Spain and Kaylee Oscrason Played for Regatas Lima Club in Peru. Oscarson has recently signed a contract to play in the 1. Bundesliga of Germany for the 2024 season.
ALL-AMERICANS
The 'Boro has seen 9 AVCA All-American and 14 AVCA All-Region nods in the last 17 years. Ashley Asberry and Ashley E. Adams both received the All-American honor multiple times as they pushed their teams to a few NCAA Tournament appearances. The Middle Tennessee All-American honors spread out to outside hitters, middle blockers, and setters.
volleyball FACILITIES
CAMPUS facilities
ON-CAMPUS LIVING
OFF-CAMPUS LIVING
MURFREESBORO
The 'Boro holds a population of 152,769 according to the 2020 census. Murfreesboro is the largest suburb of the Nashville metropolitan area, and is located 34 miles southeast of downtown Nashville.
The city of Murfreesboro, Tennessee ranked number one on SmartAsset's top ten list of “fastest-growing cities” in America (2021). The booming city was also named to Southern Living's the 'South’s Best College Towns’ list for it's "small-town charm" (2016).
NASHVILLE
You won't find a city more accommodating, authentic, and accessible than Music City. Nashville has a population of 689,447, the most populous in the state of Tennessee and only located 34 miles north of Murfreesboro. The metro area of Nashville is approximated at a population of 2,000,000.
There are countless things to do and visit in Nashville, including the Grand Ole Opry, Broadway, Music Row, Nashville Zoo, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and attending games for professional teams like the Tennessee Titans, Nashville Predators, and Nashville SC.