Marshall University Athletics
Volleyball Set To Host C-USA Foes Rice and Houston
10/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 8, 2008
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall University volleyball squad will host Rice, Friday, Oct. 10 at 7:00 p.m. and Houston, Sunday, Oct. 12 at 12:00 p.m. Both Conference USA contests will be held in the Cam Henderson Center.
Marshall (8-7 overall, 1-4 C-USA) enters this weekend's action looking to snap a three-match losing skid. The Thundering Herd dropped a pair of thrilling 3-2 matches to UCF and Southern Miss. during weekend play.
Emily Sullivan (Cincinnati, Ohio) picked up a team-high 20 kills in the loss against UCF and now has 166 kills for the season. Jalicia Ross (Bank Village, Trinidad) blasted 17 kills against the Knights and 12 against Southern Miss. to give her a total of 156 for the year. Her .437 hitting clip for the season ranks first in C-USA and fifth in the nation. Jessica Dhoore (LaPorte, Ind.) has provided a solid spark on defense with a 173 total digs (first on the team), while fellow newcomer Megan Carlson (Andover, Minn.) ranks second with 156 digs on the year. Elizabeth Fleming's (South Bend, Ind.) continues to guide the Herd offense as her 10.72 assists per set and 643 total assists ranks her second among C-USA setters.
Marshall owns a 3-0 record against Rice dating back to 2005. The Herd posted a 3-1 decision in the last meeting between the teams in 2007, a match that saw Ross blast eight kills and record a pair of solo blocks and three assisted blocks. Marcum totaled 14 digs in that match.
Rice comes to Huntington with an 11-4 overall record, 2-2 in the conference, and has won six of its last eight matches. After splitting the weekend with a 3-0 sweep of SMU and a 3-2 loss to Tulsa, the Owls earned 3-0 decision against McNeese State, Tuesday. Karyn Morgan drilled a match-high 13 kills to up her season total to a team-best 174, while Caroline gill added six assisted blocks. Tracey Lam notched a team-high 13 digs, while Morgan and Jennifer McClean added 10 apiece in the winning effort. Lam has recorded 277 digs so far in 2008. Rice setter Meredith Schamun passed out 29 assists and has not amassed 626 on the year.
The Herd boasts a 4-1 all-time record against Houston in a series that dates back to 2005, including a 3-0 sweep in the last contest in 2007. Ross smashed 13 kills on 21 swings with just three errors for a .524 hitting clip against the Cougars.
Houston also enters weekend action having won six of its last eight contests, and now owns a 10-7 overall mark, 2-2 in the league. The Cougars are on a three-match winning streak including a weekend sweep of Tulsa and SMU, and a 3-2 midweek decision over Texas State. Ingrida Zauere led the offensive charge, putting down a match-best 23 kills on 46 swings. She also tied for a match-high 17 digs with teammate Justine Farmer. Farmer finished with 12 kills, while Lucy Charuk added 13 in the win. Kelsea King dished out a match-best 57 assists and chipped in 16 digs, while Amanda Carson contributed 11 digs on the evening to up her team-leading total to 191 on the season. Farmer leads the Cougars with 235 kills, while King's 677 assists also leads the squad.
GameTracker will be provided for this weekend's contest by visiting HerdZone.com.
