Marshall University Athletics
Herd Volleyball Set for Final Home Weekend
11/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 10, 2005
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Thundering Herd volleyball team, fresh off clinching the Conference USA regular season championship, is back in action this weekend when it plays host to UAB at 7 p.m. Friday night and Memphis at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Both matches are in the Cam Henderson Center.
There will be added emotion this weekend as the Herd will honor the parents of the players on Friday night and seniors Nickie Sanlin, Amber Sims and Katie Stein on Sunday prior to the match.
The Thundering Herd has a record of 21-5 coming into the weekend and is 13-1 in C-USA matches. The Herd is also 7-0 this season in the Cam Henderson Center where it has won 31 of its last 35 matches. Marshall also comes into the weekend ranked No. 1 in the Midwest Region and garnered two Top 25 votes in the coaches poll for the first time in history.
On Friday night, the Herd takes on UAB. The Blazers enter the contest with a record of 14-10 overall and 5-8 in C-USA play. The Thundering Herd beat the Blazers 3-1 earlier this season in Birmingham, Ala.
On Sunday, the Herd will look to avenge its only loss in C-USA play when the Memphis Tigers come to town. Memphis is 16-13 overall and 7-5 in league play.
Prior to Sunday's match, the Herd will honor Stein, Sims and Sanlin for their achievements with the Herd.
This senior class is the winningest class in the modern era of record keeping in MU volleyball which dates back to 1982. They are the only class in that era to have 20 or more wins in each of their four seasons while wearing the Green and White. The task was achieved from 1977-1980 when more matches were played and game scoring was different.
The seniors in this class have also made an impact individually as well as bringing home the first regular season championship since 1996.
Katie Stein broke the Marshall career records for service aces and assists this season and her totals continue to climb. For her career, Stein now has 192 service aces and 5,675 assists. Stein is also fourth in career digs. The senior setter from Sussex, Wis., is currently sixth in the nation in assists per game and 13th in aces per game for the season.
Amber Sims will finish her career as the third-most prolific blocker in Herd history. She currently has 403 total career blocks. Sims is also fourth in career service aces. The Ney, Ohio, native also became just the sixth player in Marshall history to eclipse the 1,000 career kill plateau. Sims will also finish her career in the top five in hitting percentage at Marshall.
Last but not least, Nickie Sanlin will finish her career as one of the top six blockers in Marshall history. Sanlin has 293 career blocks. The middle from Fairview Heights, Ill., leads the Herd in hitting percentage this season with a clip of .368 coming into the weekend. Sanlin broke the Marshall individual match hitting percentage record earlier this year when she went for an .857 mark against Seton Hall with 12 kills, zero errors on 14 swings.
"The seniors numbers speak for themselves," head coach Mitch Jacobs said. "I think it's great to have the fanfare building around this team in Huntington and it would be a shame for people to miss these seniors play in their last weekend at home. We're very excited about this weekend and hope to continue playing well as we head into the conference tournament."
