Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Volleyball Defeats Montana, 3-1
8/31/2013 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug 31, 2013
Charlottesville, Va. -- Marshall volleyball defeated Montana, 3-1 (15-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-15) on Saturday morning for its first victory of the 2013 season. The match was a part of the Jefferson Cup hosted by Virginia held at Virginia's Memorial Gymnasium.
The Herd improved to 1-1 in the young season, while the Grizzlies drop to 1-1.
"We came out very flat after a very short turn-around from last night," Head Coach Mitch Jacobs said. "I give this group a lot of credit to fight super hard and finish set 2. That was the key and the confidence we needed."
Senior outside hitter, Laura Der, posted a match-best 15 kills enroute to her first double-double of the season. Der was named 2013 Preseason All-Conference USA. Senior libero, Dorothy Rahal, tallied a match-best five serve aces and recorded 11 digs.
"Even though we missed 13 serves, we were much tougher with them, and it gave us a lot of easier balls to transition back," coach Jacobs added. "But we had 10 aces and didn't get aced once. That's an amazing passing stat this early in the season."
Junior setter, Sammie Bane, collected a match-best 34 assists. The Herd got outstanding performances by a pair of freshmen, Ally Kiekover and Cassie Weaver. Kiekover, middle blocker, posted a .636 hitting percentage with eight kills. She also recorded three blocks for the Herd. Weaver, outside hitter, tallied a .312 hitting percentage with eight kills.
"Offensively, I thought Der was much more in sync and had the confidence we needed, coach Jacobs said." "Kiko (Kiekover) was able to use her speed, and it was nice to see her do the things we've seen throughout the preseason camp."
Montana was led by senior outside hitter, Kayla Reno, who recorded 12 kills while hitting .242 and tallied seven digs. Junior setter, Kelsey Schile, posted eight kills enroute to a .235 hitting percentage and recorded nine digs.
The Herd came out sluggish in the first set against the Grizzlies losing it, 25-15. The second set was neck-to-neck, and the Herd came out on-top with a 25-23 victory. Marshall came out strong in the third and fourth sets to win the match.
"Another quick turn-around and back at it against a very scrappy James Madison squad," concluded coach Jacobs.
Marshall will face James Madison at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday to conclude the Jefferson Cup tournament.
