Marshall University Athletics
Herd Downs Central Michigan to Advance to MAC Semifinals
11/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Herd Downs Central Michigan to Advance to MAC Semifinals
11/21/2003
- Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Marshall University volleyball team downed Central Michigan 3-1 (30-23, 30-32, 32-30, 30-24) on Friday at Ball State's Worthen Arena in the Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinals to advance to the semis for the first time in school history.
No. 7 Marshall (20-15, 8-8 MAC) was paced by the 17-kill effort of senior Tracy King (Miami, Fla.) who added 14 digs in the victory. Amber Sims (Ney, Ohio) contributed 14 kills and four blocks while Nicole Michal (Louisville, Ky.) posted 13 kills and six blocks.
Marshall had never won a MAC Tournament match prior to ripping off two straight in this year's postseason field.
Herd senior Isabell Anderer (Sinsheim, Germany) began the match on a six-serve run, three of which were aces.
"Everyone just came together," said King, "We played like we had nothing to lose because we really didn't. We came in as a No. 7 seed and just really came together as a team."
Central Michigan (19-12, 11-5 MAC) was led by Emily Lovejoy and Tamara Fant who racked up 18-kills a piece. MAC Freshman of the Year Meghan Moore added 11 kills and six blocks for the Chippewas, who won their first ever West Division crown this season.
Sophomore Katie Stein (Sussex, Wis.) assisted on 56 Herd points.
"This is the most exciting thing we could have hoped for," said Marshall University head coach Mitch Jacobs. "We still couldn't stop some of their [Central Michigan] offensive weapons. Our team played well; we had the best defensive game and the best serving game of the season."
The Herd will take on Akron on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in the MAC semifinals. Marshall is the lowest seeded team remaining in the tournament, and split the season series 1-1 with the Zips.
The Ball State sports information staff will be running live stats for all MAC Tournament matches, use the link above to access this service. The live radio broadcast, if technical problems are resolved, can be accessed at the radio link above.