Marshall University Athletics
Herd Volleyball Downs Radford 3-0 in Season Opener
9/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Herd Volleyball Downs Radford 3-0 in Season Opener
9/1/2004
HUNTINGTON, W.Va ? The Thundering Herd volleyball team started off the 2004 season with a bang, downing the Radford Highlanders 3-0 in dominant fashion.
Marshall (1-0), used an impressive 20-kill performance from Kelly-Anne Billingy in her freshman debut to take down the Highlanders in the Cam Henderson Center. Billingy finished the match with a .655 hitting percentage.
?What can you say about Kelly,? Marshall head coach Mitch Jacobs said. ?She showed us a glimpse of what she?s capable of and we look forward to more.?
In the three-game win, the Herd held the Highlanders below 20 points in each game with wins of 30-14, 30-16 and 30-18.
?It was great to get off to a good start with a win,? Jacobs said. ?I wish we could have finished stronger, but we were up in the third game and near the middle of it I thought we didn?t play as hard as Radford. I thought Radford showed they were capable of playing a better match, the difference was we just came out stronger and ready to play a game in the Henderson Center against someone in another uniform.?
Billingy finished off a double-double with 12 digs to go along with her 20 kills. Also for the Herd, junior setter Katie Stein had 40 assists and freshman Stephanie Cahill led the Herd with 14 digs. Junior Amber Sims had eight kills and a .438 hitting percentage. Cahill had six kills and sophomore Christin Bimberg chipped in with seven kills.
?I thought Amber was very impressive, her only mistake was her own when she carried the ball,? Jacobs said. ?Steph Cahill was very good defensively tonight and that was good to see.?
As a team, Marshall finished the night with a .400 hitting mark. The Herd held the Highlanders to a .000 hitting clip. Radford drops to 0-1 on the season. Divona Cox led the Highlanders with five kills.
The Thundering Herd is set to hit the road this weekend as it heads to Winston-Salem, N.C. for the Demon Deacon Invitational hosted by Wake Forest. The Herd will face Connecticut, Wake and South Carolina at the tournament.
