Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
SMU
Volleyball Drops Tough Match at SMU, 3-1
11/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 5, 2010
DALLAS - The Marshall University volleyball team won the first set of the match, but SMU rallied to claim the next three as the Mustangs won 3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-27, 21-25) in Conference USA action on Friday night.
Marshall (9-16, 3-10 C-USA) was led by the tandem of Kaitlin Holm and Abby Tomas, with each player recording 19 spikes. The 19 kills marked a career-high for Holm, as she added two digs and two blocks to her stat line.
"We came out better out of the gate tonight and we are proud of the way we played," head coach Mitch Jacobs said. "We really played as a team, but we just didn't get it done down the stretch and that was the difference in the match."
Setter Elizabeth Fleming produced her team-best 12th double-double of the season, dishing out 53 assists and collecting 14 digs. She added five kills on the night.
Defensively, libero Dorothy Rahal topped the team with 21 digs, while Katy Schad added 16 and Laura Der chipped in with 13 in the loss.
"Dorothy Rahal's ball control was fabulous tonight," Jacobs said. "Kaitlin Holm was put in a situation where she had to play more than she has and she performed great. Lexy Kessel was also outstanding in her first extended play of the season. She served tough all night."
SMU (20-5, 12-2 C-USA) registered three players with double-doubles on the night. Dana Powell recorded 16 kills and 16 digs, Kathryn Wilkerson connected for 14 kills and 17 digs, while setter Kelli Becerra tallied 53 helpers and 11 digs in the victory.
The Herd came out on fire in the opening set as Holm led the charge offensively. Marshall led 5-4 and saw the advantage balloon to 17-9 as Holm connected for three of her six spikes in the frame during the run. SMU would cut the deficit to five points (23-18), but following a timeout from Jacobs, Holm slammed down two more kills to take the set, 25-19.
The Mustangs, which were held to a .147 attacking percentage in the first frame, slammed down 17 kills en route to a .375 hitting clip to rebound and even the match with a 25-22 second stanza victory.
Holm broke a 20-all tie with a kill to give the Herd a late one-point lead in the second frame. Unfortunately, SMU scored five of the next six points in the match to claim the set and send the game to the ten-minute intermission.
After the break in game action, the third set needed extra points to determine a winner. MU led 20-15, but the Mustangs would not be denied, rallying to even the score at 23-23 on a Herd attacking error. SMU's Kathryn Wilkerson nailed a kill to hold serve for match point, but Holm connected on a kill of her own from Fleming to knot the score at 24 a piece.
Tomas smoked a kill to take a 25-24 lead, but SMU scored the next three points to squeak out a third set win, 27-25.
Momentum followed the Mustangs into the fourth set as they captured the fame, 25-21, to win the set and the match.
Marshall is back in action on Sunday afternoon at No. 25 Tulsa. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST.
