Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
West Virginia
@HerdVolleyball Strikes Gold Again, Thumps WVU
10/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Box Score PDF
HUNTINGTON, W.Va.-- In front of a roaring crowd and a sea of green, Marshall volleyball (9-9) picked up its second-straight sweep, and fourth straight home win, defeating in-state rival West Virginia (11-5) 3-0 on Wednesday. The Herd has now won 11 of the last 12 meetings of the 'Battle of the Golden Ball'.
Current Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week Ally Kiekover (Grand Rapids, Mich.) continued her stellar play, collecting 16 kills and recording a team, season, and career high of .667 in hitting percentage. During the final set of the match, the sophomore middle blocker reached an .805 clip that she held for a large portion of the set.
Fellow sophomore Elyse Panick (Chicago) recorded 10 kills during the contest, with junior Jillian Shemanski (Jupiter, Fla.) and sophomore Cassie Weaver (Huntington) each turning in seven slams a piece. Shemanski also recorded a personal season-high of .600 hitting efficiency.
"Tonight was a great team effort," head coach Mitch Jacobs began. "We were efficient and stayed on point throughout against a tough team. I felt that we were able to win the serve and pass game tonight, and that was the difference maker. Not having to play them in system all night was huge for us. Credit our ball control players, tonight was their best night."
"Individually, Kiko [Kiekover] just keep amazing everyone and having Elyse [Panick] show signs of her game coming back alive is wonderful. Jill [Shemanski] didn't do her normal block thing, but she was so efficient offensively that we just kept scoring."
The Herd controlled the momentum the entire match, after climbing back to tie the score at 11 all in the first set and take the lead. From there, Marshall poured it on, going up by as many as six points and taking the set 25-19.
With an ecstatic atmosphere, the Herd began the second stanza winning the opening point. Marshall never relinquished the lead, building a seven point advantage at one point during the set. The Herd went on a five point rally early in the game, and quickly regained control of the ball to add insurance and take a 25-15 victory in game 2.
With the Herd in favor 2-0, the squad continued to control the match, going up four points early in game 3 at 6-2. Marshall increased its lead to six points as the set progressed after back-to-back kills from Kiekover and junior Lauren Legge (Pliny, W.Va.).
The Mountaineers tested Marshall, picking up six of seven points in a row in the final moments of the match. After a Kiekover kill delivered match point, WVU won three straight points to make things interesting at 24-22. After senior setter Sammie Bane (Brownstown, Ind.) painted a beautifully placed ball, Weaver lept and smashed the ball to deliver Marshall the 25-22 set and 3-0 victory.
"What can you say about Sammie Bane and her leadership?" Jacobs finished. "She's the reason this streak is happening and she is the one we all want to win for."
Bane turned in 39 assists in the set, as well as two kills and nine digs.
Marshall next takes the court against conference foe North Texas in Denton, Texas on Sunday, October 5 at 2 p.m. ET. The Herd will look to pick up its fourth straight conference win and fifth consecutive victory.
