Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Volleyball Team Drops Five Set Match to Kent State
11/22/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Marshall Volleyball Team Drops Five Set Match to Kent State
11/22/2002
KENT, Ohio ? Marshall?s hopes of hosting a match in the upcoming Mid-American Conference Tournament were faded following a tough five set loss to Kent State (30-22, 26-30, 30-27, 26-30, 14-16) at the M.A.C Center on Friday night. The Thundering Herd will enter MAC Tournament play at Eastern Michigan University on Nov. 26, after closing out the regular season Saturday at Akron.
After leading the match two games to one, Marshall could not put away the Golden Flashes who had already clinched a spot in the tournament following a three game sweep of Northern Illinois on Nov. 9.
The Herd was led by junior Tracey King?s (Miami, Fla.) 20 kills and freshman Katie Stein?s (Sussex, Wis.) 53 assists, three service aces and 17 digs. Senior Jodi Fick (Fremont, Ohio) also registered 17 digs. Senior Grace Jones (Lakeland, Fla.) continued her stellar play by recording a .379 hitting percentage and 15 kills.
Marshall led the Flashes by three points on several occasions in the deciding fifth set, its last such lead coming at 12-9 following a kill by junior Nicole Michal (Louisville, Ky.). The Herd could not hold off Kent after seizing a match point opportunity at 14-13. An attack error by King knotted the game at 14, before Kent ran off the final two points to earn the victory. KSU?s Ann Haber ended the match on a service ace.
With the victory, KSU Head Coach Mora Kanim became the all-time winningest coach in school history with 93 career wins.
Marshall (20-10, 11-6 MAC) takes the short trip to Akron on Saturday for an inconsequential showdown with the Zips. Both schools have already clinched their respective spots in next week?s conference tournament, Marshall at the fifth spot and Akron at number three.