Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Western Kentucky
Volleyball Falls 3-0 on Friday
10/10/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Marshall volleyball slipped to 3-2 in Conference USA play, and 9-11 on the season, after a 3-0 loss to new league member Western Kentucky Friday. WKU improved to 6-0 (C-USA) and 18-4 on the season.
Sophomores Elyse Panick (Chicago) and Ally Kiekover (Grand Rapids, Mich.) each collected eight kills apiece, with sophomore Cassie Weaver (Huntington) nabbing seven. Kiekover tied for a match-best .438 hitting percentage.
"I thought we played incredibly clean volleyball," head coach Mitch Jacobs began. "We were just beaten in the first two sets; we definitely didn't beat ourselves. The sets were very different. Set one, we fought back into it, only for WKU to put a strong run to finish."
"Second set," Jacobs continued, "we jumped out and were playing great when Western put a couple big runs together. That really hurt us. Set three was just ugly. Neither team played very clean, and we started committing ridiculous hitting errors. Western's pressure was evident all match and we have to learn to stay engaged throughout."
"All in all, I liked our effort level. Now we have to execute or all the effort just goes for not."
The Hilltoppers started out forcibly, taking the first seven of nine points against the Herd. After Marshall's second timeout, the Herd came back strong, picking up back-to-back points and narrowing the gap to within one. Marshall tied the set late with an 18 all score, before falling 25-21 in the opening stanza.
The Herd came back firing in the second game, taking its first lead of the match after a Sammie Bane (Brownstown, Ind.) service ace, and continued to add insurance, remaining in the lead until a seven point rally from the Hilltoppers stole the set at 25-21.
As the Herd began its third set, Marshall won the first point and then stayed in control, taking five of seven points and building a three point lead. WKU continued its pattern of battling, forcing 13 tied scores and seven lead changes.
As WKU took the lead late in the frame at 22-17, Marshall collected three straight points to threat back into position, before falling 25-20 in the set and 3-0 in the match.
"Nice to see Kiko [Kiekover] put it back together offensively and we were playing well offensively as a team through sets one and two," Jacobs finished. "But you almost double the hitting errors in one set, as we did in set three, you can't expect to be successful."
Marshall continues its roadtrip, heading to Hattiesburg, Miss., to face Southern Miss on Sunday.
