Marshall University Athletics
Herd Spikers Trek to UTEP
10/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 7, 2010
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall University volleyball team travels to El Paso, Texas, for a pair of matches against Conference USA foe UTEP on Friday and Saturday night inside Memorial Gymnasium. Friday night's match is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST, followed by first serve on Saturday beginning at 5 p.m. EST.
Inside the Series
Marshall leads the all-time series with UTEP, 6-1 dating back to 1997. Under head coach Mitch Jacobs, the Thundering Herd owns a perfect 6-0 tally against the Miners. Last season, MU defeated UTEP in Huntington, 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 26-24, 25-22).
Thundering Herd Scouting Report
Marshall enters the third week in C-USA play owning a 3-1 record against league opponents and 9-7 overall. Last weekend, the Herd dropped a match at Memphis in four sets, before defeating UAB at the Cam Henderson Center. In the victory against the Blazers, MU lost the first set before rallying to win three-straight stanzas to stay above .500 in conference play.
Senior Elizabeth Herman has been a major weapon for the Herd offense. She is averaging 3.85 kills/set, tops on the team and sixth in C-USA. The Dunwoody, Ga., product has been even more impressive against conference opponents, slamming home 4.29 kills/set in 2010.
Fellow senior Elizabeth Fleming has also put up impressive numbers since the start of conference action. Fleming is averaging 9.79 assists/set overall on the season and 11.57 in league games. The South Bend, Ind., native dished out 53 assists in the win over UAB and has produced three matches this season of 50-or-more helpers.
On the defensive side of the ball, freshmen Dorothy Rahal and Laura Der have averaged 3.93 and 3.30 digs in C-USA games. In the win against UAB, Rahal corralled 19 digs, the second most she has recorded in a match this season.
Miners Scouting Report
UTEP swept a two-game series with East Carolina to start league play, but dropped matches at Rice and home against Houston last weekend. On the season the Miners sit at 10-7 overall and 2-2 in league matches.
As a team, UTEP is efficient on offense, owning the second best hitting percentage in the conference at .234. The Miners are also strong in the middle defensively, averaging a league-best 2.47 blocks/set.
Individually, Kyla Muela (1.21) and Jeane Horton (1.00) rank third and tied for fourth in the conference in blocks per frame.
Media Exposure
GameTracker will be available for both matches at HerdZone.com.
