Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Rice
Volleyball Sweeps Away Rice Owls
11/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 12, 2010
HOUSTON - Senior Elizabeth Fleming reached an impressive milestone and classmate Elizabeth Herman produced a standout performance as the Marshall University volleyball team swept past the Rice Owls, 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-21) on Friday night in Conference USA action at the Tudor Fieldhouse.
"Our serving and our block were very good tonight," head coach Mitch Jacobs said. "We were able to get Rice out of system and it allowed us to play well on the defensive end.
"Offensively, Liz Fleming set her best match of the year and that gave our attackers a lot of confidence. It was really nice to see Liz Herman come back and play strong tonight, she was unstoppable."
Fleming dished out 39 assists in the win to up Marshall's record to 10-17 and 4-11 in league play, while picking up its first road victory of the season. On Fleming's 28th assist of the evening, which came on a kill from Laura Der, the South Bend, Ind., native became just the third player in Marshall volleyball history to surpass the 5,000 assist plateau.
"Five thousand assists is one incredible milestone to reach and to consider she has been playing the shortened 25 point game makes it that much more remarkable," Jacobs said. "She's been a great representative of Marshall University and I'm proud of her for her accomplishments."
Fleming joined former Herd greats Katie Stein and Nicole Frizzo as the only MU players to ever reach the milestone. Stein, the all-time leader in assists in school history at 5,888, played from 2002-05, while Nicole Frizzo, who ranks second, finished her four-year career (1996-99) with 5,344 helpers.
Herman led all attackers with a 21-kill outing on 42 swings, committing just three miscues en route to a strong .452 hitting percentage. She added three block assists and two digs to her stat line.
In the middle, Jacobs received positive play from Sacha Byous-McConnell and Cameron Yoho. The duo combined for 11 kills on 24 attacks.
On the defensive side of the court, Dorothy Rahal and Ryanne Milligan each collected nine digs, while Katy Schad and Fleming each contributed six digs a piece.
Freshman Laura Der topped the Herd in digs with 13, while chipping in with six kills and a solo block.
Rice (14-14, 9-7 C-USA) was led by Nancy Cole's 18 kills and libero Tracey Lam's 15 digs.
"As excited as we are to pick up our first win on the road we need to quickly turn our focus to Sunday. Houston is playing fantastic volleyball right now and we hope to continue playing well," Jacobs said.
UP NEXT FOR THE HERD: Marshall stays in the Texas to play the Houston Cougars on Sunday at 2 p.m. EST.
