Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Volleyball Opens Season at Indiana State Tournament
8/28/2003 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Marshall Volleyball Opens Season at Indiana State Tournament
8/28/2003
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. ? Marshall University will kick off its 33rd year of women?s volleyball on Friday when the Thundering Herd women step to the court to compete in the Indiana State Tournament at 4:30 p.m. versus the University of Montana.
Marshall?s first match of the ISU Tournament pits the Thundering Herd against the UM Grizzlies, who went 7-18 in 2002, including a 1-13 record in Big Sky Conference play. Friday?s match will mark the first meeting between the two schools.
The second year of the Mitch Jacobs era will begin with the MU/UM match after the Herd skipper guided Marshall to its first 20-win campaign since 1998, and a third-place finish in the Mid-American Conference?s East Division.
?Last year, we surprised a lot of people, including ourselves,? Jacobs said. ?This year?s team has a little tougher task because of the expectations of those around us and our own expectations.?
Marshall?s seven MAC victories in 2002 were more than the Thundering Herd accumulated in 2000 and 2001 combined.
Jacobs will lead his team into the second and final day of this weekend?s tournament with two matches on Saturday, with the first coming against the host Sycamores of Indiana State at 11:30 a.m. Indiana State, of the Missouri Valley Conference, was 11-17 in 2002 and is 4-0 lifetime versus Marshall.
Saturday?s 4:30 p.m. matinee matches Marshall up with the Southern Conference?s University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Since Marshall?s first meeting with UTC in 1979, the Thundering Herd has posted a 15-9-1 mark versus the Mocs. Chattanooga finished 8th in its conference in 2002 with a 10-21 overall record.
The Indiana State Tournament is the first of four season-opening road tournaments for Marshall in 2003. MU heads to Cincinnati next weekend to take on the host Bearcats, along with New Mexico State and Butler. The Herd opens its home schedule on Sept. 23 versus Eastern Kentucky at the Cam Henderson Center.
