Marshall University Athletics
Herd Volleyball Saddles Broncos for 3-1 Win
10/19/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Herd Volleyball Saddles Broncos for 3-1 Win
10/19/2004
- BOX SCORE
HUNTINGTON, W.Va ? The Thundering Herd volleyball team came back after dropping game one Tuesday night to down Western Michigan in an exciting Mid-American Conference match, 3-1 (21-30, 31-29, 30-22, 30-27) in the Cam Henderson Center.
With the win, Marshall improves to 14-6 overall and 5-1 in the MAC. The Herd is currently riding a six-match winning streak and has won nine out of ten. Marshall is a perfect 6-0 on the season on the floor of the Cam Henderson Center. Western Michigan falls to 10-9, 4-4 in the MAC.
?This was a great win tonight against an incredibly improved, extremely athletic Western Michigan team,? Marshall head coach Mitch Jacobs said. ?We gave everything we had and they gave it right back. It was just a well played match and we?re thrilled to get this important MAC win.?
The Broncos came out with authority in game one with a 21-30 win. The game was tied at 13-13 when Western Michigan went on a 5-0 run with the help of three block assists by Jessica Holly and Tinesha Tierney. The Herd would never close to within more than four the rest of the way as Marshall struggled to find an answer for the high-flying assault of the Broncos. Western ended game one with a .458 hitting percentage opposed to Marshall?s .186 mark.
In game two, it was a seesaw battle throughout with both heavyweights matching each other blow for blow. But in the end, it was Marshall?s biggest hitter, Kelly-Anne Billingy (Trincity, Trinidad), landing the knockout blow with two kills in the last three points to help the Herd pull the match even with a 31-29 win.
?After losing game one, as a team, we all decided to really pick it up a notch in all aspects of the game and it showed,? Billingy said.
Out of the break, it looked as if Western Michigan had regained momentum after the game two loss, jumping out to a quick 3-6 lead. However, the Herd had something to say about that and racked up nine straight points to go up 12-6, largely due to a strong service attack by Billingy and some strong blocking from juniorsKatie Stein (Sussex, Wis) and Amber Sims (Ney, Ohio). Both paired for a couple of block assists and four kills each in the third game as Marshall went on to the 30-22 win.
Game four was another hotly contested bout with each team locking horns trying to pull out the win. Marshall trailed 7-12 and once again dug itself out of a hole, this time with Christin Bimberg (Schwerin, Germany) serving with the hot hand. She had two aces in the Herd?s run to pull ahead 14-13 before Western got the serve back. Marshall never trailed again in the match and pulled away at 22-21 to a five point advantage before surviving a final scare from the Broncos to win 30-27. Billingy put away the final point for the Herd to end the night with a match-high 25 kills.
?This is a big win to help us get one step closer to accomplishing our goal of a MAC title,? Billingy said. ?They were a very strong team and come back and win helps give us momentum.?
For the night, Billingy finished with the 25 kills, a .353 hitting percentage, three service aces, three block solos and eight digs. Sims finished with 12 kills, a .304 hitting percentage, five block assists and a solo. Stein had an impressive night, finishing just shy of a triple-double with 51 assists, 10 digs and eight kills, she also had four block assists.
Bimberg, Nickie Sanlin (Fairview Heights, Ill.) and Stephanie Cahill (Louisville, Ky.), each had eight kills. Freshman Maggie Arias (Indianapolis, Ind) had 11 digs.
As a team, Marshall hit .224 on the night. The Broncos managed a .235 hitting percentage in the loss with five players in double-digits in kills. Ashley Schlatzle had 17 kills to lead the way and Tierney had 14 kills and an impressive .571 hitting percentage.
With 433, Billingy moves into fifth place all-time for kills in a single season at Marshall.
The Herd now hits the road for a pair of conference matches at Ball State, Friday and Miami on Saturday. Marshall is in second place in the MAC East behind conference-unbeaten Ohio.
