Marshall University Athletics
Volleyball Closes Regular Season against Tulane and UTEP
11/8/2012 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 8, 2012
LIVE STATS - |
The Thundering Herd will take on Tulane on Friday at 4 p.m. ET. The match will be part of Marshall's triple-header in which the women's basketball team has its season opener against Radford at noon and the men's basketball team follows volleyball with its season opener against Longwood at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Marshall will hold "Senior Night" on Sunday against UTEP at 1 p.m. ET. Pregame festivities will honor seniors Katy Schad and Andrea Snipes-Booker.
Marshall currently sits in the final tournament spot, earning the No. 8 seed in league standings. The Herd holds the same conference record as No. 7 Memphis and No. 9 SMU, meaning the results of this weekend will secure a spot or knock Marshall out of the tournament.
Outside hitter Laura Der ranks as the No. 24 player in the NCAA in kills per set, earning 4.32 a game. She also ranks No. 25 nationally in points per set with 4.88 per game. She ranks second in both categories in the league.
A LOOK AT TULANE
Two matches behind Marshall in league standings at the No. 11 spot, Tulane recently split this past weekend, beating SMU in three sets and losing to Tulsa in five. The Green Wave is led by Cori Martone with 3.46 kills per set. She adds a team-high 24 service aces, along with 241 digs and 44 blocks.
On defense, Olivia Utt has a team-high 93 blocks, while libero Grace Weaver combines for 321 digs. Setter Mel Mandelbaum records 7.13 assists per set, splitting time with Lilly Wolfe who has 295 assists.
A LOOK AT UTEP
With a conference tournament bid secure, UTEP is looking to extend a three-match win streak. The Miners are led by Jeane Horton with 4.22 kills per set, ranking third in C-USA in kills. Setter Malia Patterson ranks second in the league in assists with 10.70.
On defense, UTEP's Cassandra Burruel is second in the league with 1.25 blocks per set, while libero Victoria Valencia has 339 digs and 3.42 digs per set.
UTEP is the top hitting team in C-USA, ranking first in team hitting percentage with a .239 percent average. They also combine for 13.21 kills per set and 2.44 blocks per game.
