Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Seton Hall (Penn State Tournament)
Herd Volleyball Sails Past Seton Hall Pirates
9/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 17, 2005
State College, Pa. - The Thundering Herd volleyball team cruised past the Seton Hall Pirates in its second match of the Penn State Classic at Rec Hall with a 3-0 (30-22, 30-22, 30-22) win.
Marshall's offense was clicking on all cylinders against Seton Hall as the Herd hit for a .378 percentage opposed to the Pirates .161.
In game one, the Herd got behind early, but climbed back to grab a 15-14 lead on a Kelly-Anne Billingy kill. From that point on, the Herd never looked back again. Seton Hall would hold a brief lead early in game two, but the Herd would gain control and never trailed again in the match as it rolled to the 3-0 victory.
On the season, Marshall is now 7-3. With the loss, Seton Hall drops to 5-6. The Herd is now 3-1 on the season against Big East opponents with one remaining when it plays host to Cincinnati next Tuesday night in the Cam Henderson Center.
Leading the way for Marshall was senior Nickie Sanlin with a dazzling .857 hitting percentage on 12 kills with no errors. Billingy topped all players with 19 kills and a .444 hitting clip. Stephanie Cahill was also in double digits with 10 kills and she completed a double-double with a match-high 16 digs.
Maggie Arias had 12 digs for the Herd while Billingy had nine, Taylor Tanner had seven and Katie Stein also had seven to go along with her 49 assists. Arias also had five service aces on the day for the Thundering Herd. The Herd outdug the Pirates 56-45.
"We were in our best rhythm that we've been all year today," Marshall head coach Mitch Jacobs said. "We'll need to continue that tonight against a very, very good team."
The Herd will have a few hours to regroup before its final match in the Penn State Classic when it faces off against the host Nittany Lions at 8 p.m. Penn State comes into the match ranked No. 4 in the nation, matching the Herd's highest ranked opponent ever faced (Arizona 2001).
