Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
SMU
Marshall Spikers Outlast SMU, 3-1 In Conference Opener
9/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 21, 2007
DALLAS, Texas - Marshall University senior outside hitter Kelly-Anne Billingy tallied a match-high 28 kills to help lift the Herd to a 3-1 (32-30, 30-21, 23-30, 30-28) victory over Southern Methodist University in Friday night's Conference USA opening volleyball match at Moody Coliseum.
With the win,
With the Herd leading 2-1 in the match, SMU jumped to an early 5-1 lead in game four and scored seven of the next 12 points to post a 12-6 lead. The Mustangs pushed their lead to 19-14 before the Herd used a 9-5 run capped off by a Marcum ace to tie the game at 24, and used a Billingy kill to give the Herd ifs first lead game. From there the teams fought to three lead changes before the Herd sealed the match on a kill by senior outside hitter Stephanie Cahill.
"Cahill putting that last ball down was huge for us," head coach Mitch Jacobs said after the win. "It was great to get off to a good start in the conference. Any win on the road is a steal, and we definitely got a great performance out of SMU tonight."
Cahill finished with 14 kills and 16 digs on the night.
Trailing 2-0 in the match, SMU built a 19-14 lead in the third frame before Billingy recorded three of the next four points and to bring the Herd to within three at 20-17. From there, the Mustangs scored five of the next six points to build a 25-18 lead but the Herd could not cut its deficit closer than five (28-23) as the Mustangs took the 30-23 decision.
SMU jumped to an early lead in the first stanza before senior libero Maggie Arias tallied a pair of consecutive aces to even the game at five. With the game knotted at eight, senior middle hitter Uche Ndubisi registered a resounding roof-block to give the Herd a 9-8 advantage. Trailing 12-10, Billingy knocked down back-to-back kills, followed by a block assist by junior middle hitter Jalicia Ross and freshman setter Elizabeth Fleming to give the Herd a 13-12 lead. Billingy tallied another kill and sophomore outside hitter Kristin Marcum added an ace to post a 15-12 lead.
From there,
"SMU came out tonight and played hard," Jacobs said. "They were without their best player and were trying to figure out how to work it out without her. They did figure it out and got it going."
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