Marshall University Athletics
Ball State Ends Herd Volleyball's Winning Streak
10/22/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Ball State Ends Herd Volleyball's Winning Streak
10/22/2004
- BOX SCORE
MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State Cardinals quickly ended Marshall?s six-match winning streak Friday night in Mid-American Conference volleyball action at Worthen Arena. The Cardinals downed the Herd 3-0, (23-30, 24-30, 28-30).
With the loss, Marshall falls to 14-7 overall and 5-2 in the MAC. Ball State improves to 14-6 overall, 7-1 in MAC play.
It simply wasn?t a good night for the Herd all the way around as the team only hit .165 on the evening and struggled defensively in games one and two against the Cardinal attack.
?We just got beat by a better team tonight,? Marshall head coach Mitch Jacobs said. ?At this point right now they?re better than we are and showed it tonight, but we?re young and we?ll bounce back.?
Ball State put Marshall down early with wins of 30-23 and 30-24 in games one and two before the Herd pulled together and picked it up defensively. Marshall had 29 digs in game three compared to only 20 combined in games one and two.
The Herd held a 28-27 advantage in game three, but couldn?t close the game out and the Cardinals took the game and the match with the 30-28 win.
?We just gave a couple of points away at the end,? Jacobs said. ?We finally decided to play defense in game three and if we would?ve played that way all night it might have been a different story, but it wasn?t and it was a short night.?
Now, the Herd will bus to Oxford, Ohio, to take on the RedHawks of Miami Saturday at 4 p.m. from Millet Hall in a MAC East Division showdown. The Herd took the first game against Miami this season 3-2 in the Cam Henderson Center.
?We know Miami is going to be tough, they played us well in Huntington,? Jacobs said. ?They pose a serious threat to us because we?re struggling on defense right now. If we play like we finished the match tonight and like we finished against Western Michigan we?ll be fine. If we don?t, it?ll be a short night again.?
Jacobs said the quick turnaround to play tomorrow afternoon against the RedHawks will be a good test for his young squad.
?This young team needs to bounce back and get out and play again to get this match out of our system and get back on the right track so I?m glad we can get right back out there tomorrow,? he said.
Statistically for the Herd against Ball State, freshman Kelly-Anne Billingy (Trincity, Trinidad) led the team with 15 kills. Amber Sims (Ney, Ohio) and Stephanie Cahill (Louisville, Ky.) had 10 kills apiece. Cahill led the Herd with 11 digs. Junior setter Katie Stein (Sussex, Wis.) had a match-high 33 assists.
Kelly Cochran, Rachel Refenes and Sarah Obras led the Cardinals with 11, 11 and 10 kills respectively.
First serve at Miami is set for 4 p.m.
