Marshall University Athletics
Volleyball Opens 2010 Season at Shamrock Invitational
8/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 26, 2010
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall University volleyball team takes the court for the first time in 2010 with a road trip to South Bend, Ind., to take part in the Shamrock Invitational, hosted by Notre Dame.
The Thundering Herd will play the Fighting Irish on Friday at 7 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday against Cal Poly and No. 18 Arizona. The match versus Cal Poly is slated at noon, with the tilt against the nationally ranked Wildcats starting at 5 p.m.
The tournament matches marks the first time that Marshall will square off with both Cal Poly and Notre Dame. MU previously played Arizona in 2001, falling in three sets.
Marshall
The Herd marches into South Bend coming off a 22-9 record last season. The 22 victories marked the seventh time in eight seasons that head coach Mitch Jacobs has totaled 20-or-more wins while at the helm in Huntington. Jacobs is on the brink of setting a milestone of his own - his next victory will mark the 350th of his collegiate volleyball coaching career. In 17 seasons, Jacobs has amassed a 349-201 record.
A second milestone that could take place during the Shamrock Invitational involves senior setter Elizabeth Fleming. A native of South Bend, Ind., Fleming has the opportunity to surpass the 4,000 assist plateau in her hometown. In three years at Marshall, she has totaled 3,984 helpers and in 2009 averaged 11.17 assists/set. She was also named a Preseason All-Conference USA selection earlier this month.
The top returning attacker for the Herd is senior outside hitter Elizabeth Herman. In 2009, Herman nearly doubled her kills total from her 2008 output (186 to 350). She averaged 3.24 kills/set last season, which ranked 12th in C-USA.
Notre Dame
Aug. 27 | 7 p.m.
The tournament-host posted an outstanding 2009 campaign with a 21-7 record and a perfect 14-0 in Big East play. The Fighting Irish played particularly well at home, winning 11-of-12 matches at the Joyce Center.
Notre Dame returns three starters from last season, including outside hitter Kristen Dealy who averaged 3.23 kills and 2.94 digs per set in 2009.
Cal Poly
Aug. 28 | 12 p.m.
The Mustangs out of the Big West Conference ended with a 9-20 record last year and return first team all-conference selection Dominque Olowolafe. The senior outside hitter led the Big West with a .346 attacking percentage in 2009.
No. 18 Arizona
Aug. 28 | 5 p.m.
The Wildcats find themselves ranked 18th in the nation and projected to finish fourth in the Pac 10. Arizona returns four starters from last season and is one two teams that ended the 2009 year unranked, but was selected in the top-25 in the 2010 preseason poll.
GameTracker will be available for all games at HerdZone.com.
