Marshall University Athletics
Volleyball Opens Conference Play Hosting UCF on Thursday & Friday
9/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 22, 2010
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall volleyball team opens up Conference USA play with a pair of week-day games against the UCF Knights on Thursday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. and Friday, Sept. 24 at 5:30 p.m. in the Cam Henderson Center.
Thundering Herd Scouting Report
Marshall begins the conference season with an even 6-6 record after winning two-of-three at the Billiken Invitation hosted by Saint Louis. The Herd topped the then 23 RPI ranked school in the country, Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, in five sets along with knocking off Lipscomb in four frames.
Sophomore Abby Tomas produced an all-tournament performance, thanks to a career-high 18-kill outing in the win over the LU Bison. During the three matches, the Aledo, Texas product tied Elizabeth Herman with a team-best 3.08 kills/set.
For the season, Herman is averaging a team-high 3.71 kills/set, ranking seventh in C-USA. Senior setter Elizabeth Fleming continues to pass her way up the MU record book as she sits third all-time in career assists at Marshall. The South Bend, Ind., native is averaging 9.29 assists/set along with a team-best five double-doubles.
On the defensive side of the court, Dorothy Rahal has taken the reigns as the libero. In her first season with the Herd, Rahal is averaging 2.92 digs per set, including 22 in a match earlier in the season. Classmate Laura Der and sophomore Katy Schad are averaging better than three digs/set at 3.16 and 3.04, respectively.
Player to Watch: Cameron Yoho, MB
In the five-set victory against UCF in 2009, Yoho posted eight kills on 15 swings with no miscues for a .533 hitting clip. In addition to her strong hitting performance, Sistersville, W.Va., native added five block assists en route to scoring 10.5 points for the Herd.
Knights Scouting Report
UCF sits at 7-5 on the season prior to making the trip to Huntington, starting the season on fire winning seven-straight matches. Of those seven victories, six were three-game sweeps of the opponent. The winning ways have slipped away recently, as the Knights have dropped their last five games, two of which lasting five stanzas.
Outside hitter Kristin Fisher is averaging 4.54 kills/set, third-best in the league, while setter Rachel Vukson is dishing out just a tick under 10 assists per set (9.97) on the season.
Player to Watch: Evija Vilde, OH
The outside hitter connected for double digits in kills in both matches against the Herd last season, totaling 11 and 10.
Inside the Series
The Thundering Herd owns an 11-2 all-time record against UCF dating back to 1992. Under the watch of head coach Mitch Jacobs, MU owns an impressive 9-1 tally since joining C-USA in 2005, with six of the victories being three-game sweeps, while the other three victories and lone loss all needed a deciding set to determine a winner.
'09 Rewind
Last season, Marshall defeated the Knights in both meetings. The Herd captured the first match-up on Sept. 27, 2009, 3-2 (25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 21-25, 15-12), which aired on CBS College Sports. Katy Schad led the charge with a double-double, posting 16 kills and 10 digs.
On Oct. 24th, MU swept UCF on the road, 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-21) with Elizabeth Fleming just missing a double-double with 38 assists and eight digs in the victory.
GameTracker will be available for both matches along with live WMUL radio broadcast by logging onto HerdZone.com.
