Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
High Point
Volleyball Defeats High Point in Five-Set Thriller
9/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 4, 2010
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - For the second-straight match in as many days, the Marshall University volleyball team went five sets to defeat an opponent, this time it was against the High Point Panthers, 3-2 (25-19, 16-25, 25-16, 14-25 and 15-13) as part of the Thunder Invitational on Saturday afternoon.
Junior Kelley Bugler was an offensive monster for the Thundering Herd, which improved to 2-3 on the season. Bugler posted a team-best and career-high 16 kills as part of a .371 hitting percentage.
High Point (2-4) received a match-high 19 kills from Megan Smith and 25 digs from libero Julie Hershkowitz in the loss.
In the first set of the match, a trio of Herd players led the club offensively. Cameron Yoho tallied six kills in the frame, while Bugler and Laura Der chipped with five and four kills respectively. The Herd fell behind 9-4 prior to Dorothy Rahal holding serve for four-consecutive points to even the score, 9-all. After the score squared up at 10-10, the Herd would not relinquish the lead the rest of the set, winning 25-19.
MU struggled on the attacking side during the second set and the Panthers took advantage. The Herd was only able to muster a .105 (8K-6E-19TA) hitting clip, while High Point rolled through the frame with a .421 (12K-4E-19TA) percentage to even the game with a 25-16 victory.
The Herd and Panthers scratched and clawed through sets three and four, with each team winning a stanza to bring the match to an intense fifth game of the series.
Bugler rose to the occasion in the fifth frame tallying four kills. MU fell behind early 4-0, but mounted a comeback to bring the game square, 5-5, on a kill from Der. After Bugler kill put MU up 12-10, following a Panthers' timeout, Der and fellow freshman Desirre Willkerson paired up for back-to-back blocks to hold a four-point cushion. High Point made it interesting, scoring three-straight points, but Bugler slammed home the match deciding kill to win 15-13.
MU sported two players with double-doubles in Elizabeth Fleming and Der. Fleming dished out a match-high 50 helpers, along with 15 digs. Der added 11 kills and 15 digs in the afternoon victory.
Elizabeth Herman (16) and Yoho (13) each reached double figures in kills.
