Marshall University Athletics
Volleyball Tops Hilltoppers in Five Sets
9/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 17, 2010
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Marshall University volleyball team produced four players in double-digit kills to knock off Western Kentucky 3-2 (25-15, 25-21, 16-25, 23-25, 15-9) on Friday evening at the Billiken Invitational.
Marshall evens up its record at 5-5, while WKU drops to 8-4 on the season.
"We served great tonight and we had to continue to play hard all the way through because Western Kentucky is a tough team," head coach Mitch Jacobs. "We passed better than we have all year and it was one of the best wins of the season."
Senior Elizabeth Herman led the offensive push for the Thundering Herd, posting a match-best 18 kills, while adding four block assists. Abby Tomas produced an outstanding fifth set, as the sophomore tallied 13 kills and a trio of digs in the victory.
Kelley Bugler a native of Kansas City, Mo., added a strong performance with 10 kills as part of a .438 attacking percentage. Laura Der (12K-12D) and Elizabeth Fleming (47A-12D) each chipped in with double-doubles for the Herd.
"Herman was really strong for us and Liz Fleming did an incredible job spreading the ball around," Jacobs said. "In game five she [Fleming] let it happen and it might have been the best game she has set in her career."
MU found itself in a 6-3 hole to WKU in the first set with the offense struggling to find an early rhythm. The music of the offense changed its tune as the Herd strung together a 22-9 run the rest of the frame to capture the first set, 25-15.
MU swung at an outstanding .459 (19K-2E-37TA) hitting clip for the stanza, the second-best single-set hitting percentage for the team this season. Herman nailed down seven kills on 10 swings, while Der and Bugler connected for five spikes a piece in the first set.
The second set was not as easy for the Herd as the first frame as the teams battled to a 13-13 tie. MU catapulted ahead (21-16) of the Hilltoppers, thanks to an 8-3 spurt capped off by a Bugler kill. WKU pushed the envelope, cutting the Herd advantage to two points, 22-20, forcing Jacobs into a timeout.
Cameron Yoho ignited the Herd the rest of the way, picking up a block and kill, followed by a WKU attacking error to take the stanza, 25-21.
The hitting prowess of the Herd clearly carried over from first to the second game, as the hot hitting Herd compiled a .370 hitting average (13K-3E-27TA) for the frame. MU only committed five errors entering the third set of the evening.
The 10-minute intermission appeared to slow down the high powered MU attack, as the Herd managed just nine kills en route to a .207 attacking clip. With the score tied 7-7, the Hilltoppers' Emily Teegarden and Lindsay Williams teamed up for a block in front of an Emily Stutsman ace to take a two-point edge. WKU rolled the rest of the frame and did not surrender the lead, winning 25-16.
Marshall was unable to avoid a fifth set as WKU outlasted the Herd in fourth frame, 25-23. It marked the fifth time this season that MU has played a five-set match.
In the deciding stanza, MU held a 5-4 lead before Tomas burst onto the scene, smoking three-straight spikes along with a WKU attacking error to take a 9-4. A Hilltoppers timeout was called attempting to stop the momentum. The Herd kept it rolling after the stoppage of play as Tomas connected for another kill in front of a pair of spikes from Herman to highlight the 15-9 set victory.
Katy Schad, Dorothy Rahal and Ryanne Milligan each tallied more than 10 digs with 19, 14 and 12, respectively.
"We really competed and never gave up. I'm really happy for the girls," Jacobs said.
The Herd plays a doubleheader on Saturday, taking the court against Lipscomb at 11 a.m. EST followed by tournament-host Saint Louis at 5:30 p.m. EST.
