Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
SMU
Volleyball Falls To SMU, 3-0
10/24/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 24, 2008
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Marshall University's Jalicia Ross (Bank Village, Trinidad) blasted a match-best 12 kills but SMU received 10 kills apiece from Dana Powell and Natalie Peters to help pace the Mustangs to a 3-0 (16-25, 20-25, 17-25) sweep of the Thundering Herd in Friday night's Conference USA volleyball contest at the Cam Henderson Center.
With the loss, Marshall falls to 10-10 on the season and 3-7 in league action. SMU earns its first-ever victory over the Herd to improve to 12-12 overall, and 4-6 in C-USA.
Leading 2-0 in the match, SMU opened an early 15-10 lead in the third set before extending that cushion to 18-10 following a Powell kill, a Marshall attacking error and a service ace by Peters. Marshall responded with a pair of kills from Elizabeth Fleming (South Bend, Ind.) and Elizabeth Herman (Dunwoody, Ga.) to pull to within four at 18-14. From there, the Mustangs scored four of the next five points to post a 22-15 advantage before an Emily Sullivan (Cincinnati, Ohio) kill stopped the SMU run. Jessica Oliver delivered a kill, and Sidney Stewart added a service ace to bring the score to 24-16. Powell then downed her 10th kill of the night after a Mustangs service ace to seal the match.
"We were out-hustled and out-worked tonight," head coach Mitch Jacobs said following the match. "I'm sure it's very frustrating for all of our players and the fans."
In the opening frame, SMU built a slight 12-10 edge before a 5-0 run on the strength of a Powell kill, two Marshall attacking errors and a pair of service aces by Kelli Becerra, pushed that lead to 17-10. A 5-1 run, highlighted by a pair of Megan Carlson (Andover, Minn.) kills, brought the Herd to within three at 18-15. From there, SMU notched seven of the last eight points, including a string of four straight with the score at 22-16 to close out the set and take an early 1-0 lead in the contest.
The second stanza saw seven ties and two lead changes before the set was locked at 16-16. Five straight points by the Mustangs allowed for a 21-16 cushion before Marshall answered with a run of its own. Layne Kehl (Mountain Top, Pa) downed a kill, and Fleming served up an ace to narrow the margin to 21-18. With the score set at 24-19, Sullivan pulled the Herd to within four with a kill, but Kendra Kahanek sealed the frame with a kill, giving SMU a 2-0 advantage in the match.
SMU out-hit the Herd .381-.181 for the contest, and posted .414 and .462 hitting clips in the second and third sets respectively. The Mustangs also out-blocked Marshall 10.0-3.0 in the contest, as Peters assisted on six blocks during the match.
In addition to blasting 12 kills, Ross hit .304 for the match, while Sullivan finished with seven kills. Carlson chimed in with six kills, while Taylor Tanner paced the Marshall floor-defense with a team-high 13 digs. Kristin Marcum (Arlington, Texas) added seven digs in the losing effort. Fleming guided the Herd offense with 31 assists while chipping in three kills and three digs.
Peters' .625 hitting percentage (10K, 0E, 16TA) helped propel the SMU attack, as Becerra handed out a match-best 33 assists and drilled four service aces in the winning effort. Kahanek finished with seven kills and a .417 hitting mark, while Oliver and Kathryn Wilkerson provided six kills each. Sidney Stewart led the defensive effort with a match-high 15 digs in the contest.
Marshall returns to C-USA volleyball action, Sunday, Oct. 26 when it welcomes Tulsa to the Henderson Center. Match-time is slated for 12:00 p.m.
Photos from tonight's contest and all matches from the 2008 season are available by visiting HerdZone.com.
