Marshall University Athletics
Volleyball Weekend Preview
9/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 29, 2011
HUNTINGTON, W.VA. - The Marshall Volleyball team will be welcoming conference opponents, UCF and UTEP, to the Henderson Center this weekend as the Herd prepare to play their first conference home matches since the Marshall Invitational Tournament.
The Herd (2-11, 1-2 C-USA) will take on UTEP (11-5, 1-2 C-USA) Friday night at 7:00 p.m. and close out the weekend with UCF (10-4, 2-1 C-USA) on Sunday afternoon at 12:00 p.m.
Coach Jacobs' team returns home after losing two tough road matches this past weekend against UAB and Memphis, who both are tied in the conference for the most wins at 13.
Marshall opens up with UTEP this weekend, who started the season flawless at an 8-0 record, but now sits at an 11-5 standing. Their one win in the conference was a 3-2 finish over SMU.
UTEP freshman middle-blocker , Xitali Herrera, matched a career-high with 18 kills against SMU in their lone conference win and added a personal-best 12 blocks (2s/10a) in the five-set win. Herrera ranks seventh in C-USA for hitting efficiency with a .350.
Marshall's second opponent of the weekend, UCF, made national headlines early in the season with their 3-0 upset of the No. 3 USC. They went on to win five straight after the triumph and sit at 10 wins on the season. In conference play, their only loss comes to Tulsa.
The Knights', Angelica Crump, led the Knights in total kills against SMU and Tulsa this past weekend. She hit over .300 for the ninth time this season against SMU to help lead UCF to its first win over the Mustangs since 2008. Crump has now successfully recorded double-digit kills in all 14 matches this season.
"We're going up against UTEP this weekend, who is an awesome blocking team," noted Coach Jacobs on the upcoming match. "They're playing with all kinds of confidence right now. They have a libero, Stephanie Figueroa, who is phenomenal. You can tell how together they are on the court."
"UCF has had a couple of huge wins, especially their win against USC, and Southern California turned around and beat the No. 1 and 2 teams in the nation this past weekend. We have to roll up our sleeves and get after it. They girls know what to expect."
Both matches will available on GameTracker, via www.HerdZone.com. You can also listen to both match-ups through WMUL Radio, which can be found at www.Marshall.edu/wmul.
