Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Memphis
Senior Day a Sweet Success for Herd Volleyball
11/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 13, 2005
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - On senior day, the Thundering Herd volleyball team finished the regular season off strong with a 3-0 (30-17, 30-22, 30-25) win over the Memphis Tigers in the Cam Henderson Center.
Marshall ends the regular season with a record of 23-5 and 15-1 in C-USA. The 23 wins are the most in a season since 1995 when the Herd won 25. The Thundering Herd also extended its winning-streak to nine, the longest since 1977.
Memphis drops to 16-15 on the year and 7-7 in C-USA with the loss.
The Herd honored senior captains Nickie Sanlin, Amber Sims and Katie Stein prior to the match and the emotional ceremony got the team fired up and off to a good start. The Herd was also determined not to let a repeat occur after what happened in Memphis back in October where the Tigers snuck out a 3-2 win to hand the Herd its only loss in C-USA.
Marshall came out firing in game one and led by as many as 12 points at one point in the first frame. In fact, Marshall held Memphis without a kill or a block until its 15th point of the match. The Herd hit .306 in game one and held the Tigers a -.029 mark.
In game two, the Herd hit .481 thanks to 17 assists by Katie Stein and some hot hitting by Sims, Sanlin and Kelly-Anne Billingy. Marshall went on to take game two convincingly 30-22 to head into intermission.
The Herd held strong in game three as it never trailed in the final frame of the contest and fittingly, Stein set fellow senior Nickie Sanlin up beautifully for a thundering kill to end the match, 30-25.
"I was really pleased with the way our team played today," head coach Mitch Jacobs said. "We weren't going to let the emotions get to us. There was no revenge talk in our lockerroom, we just went out and prepared for Memphis like every opponent and played hard to get the win."
The line on the seniors in their final match in the Cam Henderson Center was impressive. Stein finished with 45 assists, seven kills, a .545 hitting percentage, two aces, eight digs, two block solos and two block assists. Sanlin had 11 kills, a .350 hitting percentage and three block assists. Sims tallied nine kills, a .571 hitting percentage, a block solo, two block assists and a ring. Sims was proposed to following the match in front of her teammates, family and fans by boyfriend Corie O'Bryan.
Marshall's senior class is the only one to have four-straight 20-win season in the modern volleyball era and all three players have their names etched in the record books in several different categories.
"It's a special day for three very special ladies," Jacobs said. "I'm very proud to have been able to spend four years with them. I look forward to seeing where they go in life and what great things they accomplish."
The Herd finished the match outhitting Memphis .370 to .121 and outdigging the Tigers 50-21. Maggie Arias and Stephanie Cahill were in double-digits in digs for the Herd with 13 and 11 respectively.
Leading all players on the night was Billingy with 16 kills and a .500 hitting percentage.
Now, the Herd will turn its attention to the Conference USA Tournament in Houston, Texas next week. The Herd is the No. 1 seed and will play on Friday after receiving a bye. Herdzone.com will have updates and the tournament bracket as soon as it is available.
"We know what to expect going into the tournament," Jacobs said. "Our last two years in the MAC we came out loose and aggressive and made runs so we know that's how everyone is going to be coming out. They all want to win it just like we do. We just have to keep working our butts off and hopefully it falls in the right place for us on the final point."
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