Aug. 27, 2007
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall University volleyball team will host Glenville State College in its non-conference home opener Tuesday, Aug. 28 at the Cam Henderson Center and admission is free.
The Herd is 6-0 lifetime against the Pioneers dating back to the 1975 season. Marshall enters this year's contest with a 1-2 record overall while Glenville State (a member of the Division II West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) comes to Huntington with a 0-4 overall record.
Marshall opened regular season action this weekend at the Virginia Tech Tournament in Blacksburg, Va. The Herd lost its first match to William & Mary 3-2 (27-30, 31-29, 30-15, 23-30, 11-15) Friday, Aug. 24, before splitting Saturday's matches. The Herd defeated Virginia Commonwealth University 3-2 (30-20, 27-30, 24-30, 30-15, 15-11) Saturday afternoon before falling to host Virginia Tech 3-1 (26-30, 22-30, 30-28, 22-30) in the nightcap.
Senior outside hitter Kelly-Anne Billingy (Trincity, Trinidad) registered a match-high 27 kills in the Herd's lone win of the road trip against VCU while senior middle hitter Uche Ndubisi (Indianapolis, Ind.) chipped in with 14 kills in that match. Junior middle hitter Jalicia Ross (Bank Village, Trinidad) added 12 kills and senior libero Maggie Arias (Indianapolis, Ind.) dug 29 balls in the winning effort. Arias finished the tournament with 61 total digs, followed by senior outside hitter Stephanie Cahill's (Louisville, Ky.) 37.
Ndubisi was Marshall's all-tournament team selection for her efforts throughout the tournament.
Billingy leads the Herd in total kills with 54, followed by Cahill who registered 34. Ndubisi finished the tournament with 30 kills and currently ranks third in the category.
The Herd received solid play throughout the tournament from its younger players. Freshman setter Elizabeth Fleming (South Bend, Ind.) handed out a combined 173 helpers over the three matches, including a 65-assist effort against VCU.
Sophomore outside hitter Emily Sullivan (Cincinnati, Ohio) tallied a match-high 18 kills against Virginia Tech while sophomore outside hitter Kristin Marcum (Arlington, Texas) added 10 kills against the Hokies. Marcum finished the tournament with 33 total digs (third on the team) and 17 total kills.
Freshman middle blocker Kelley Bugler (Kansas City, Mo.) also made her collegiate debut during the tournament and contributed two kills and two digs and registered three total blocks (one solo, four assisted) against Virginia Tech.
Following its mid-week match with the Pioneers on Tuesday, the Thundering Herd travels to Bowling Green, Ky. to participate in the non-conference Western Kentucky Tournament. Marshall will square off against Gardner-Webb Friday, Aug. 31 at 4 p.m. and will then face Tennessee State at 12:30 p.m. and Western Kentucky at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
