Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Louisiana Tech
@HerdVolleyball Blanks Louisiana Tech
10/31/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Box Score
RUSTON, La. - Marshall volleyball played no tricks this Halloween, sweeping conference foe Louisiana Tech on Friday by scores of 25-13, 25-15, and 25-14. The Herd improved to 6-5 in C-USA, and 12-14 overall.
The team turned in a season high hitting percentage of .370, and was led by sophomore Elyse Panick (Chicago) who tallied 10 kills and fell just one dig shy of a double-double. Classmates Cassie Weaver (Huntington) and Ally Kiekover (Grand Rapids, Mich.) turned in nine and eight kills, respectively. Kiekover recorded a .615 hitting percentage, and picked up two solo rejections in the contest.
Junior Jillian Shemanski (Jupiter, Fla.) recorded a season and new career high with an .857 hitting efficiency, slamming six kills and posting a solo block and assisting in four more.
"We played very well tonight as a unit," head coach Mitch Jacobs began. "We knew going in that we needed to be good in our serving game, and I believe we had our best game of the season. The way Elyse [Panick] and Cassie [Weaver] took care of the ball tonight was impressive."
"Individually," Jacobs continued, "Elyse was great for us tonight keeping the ball high in her attack and moving it around. Lauren [Legge] continues to make an impact on the right side. Her kills were down tonight, but she need to focus against [Rebecca] Redgin, who is their best attacker, and Lauren did an awesome job. Jill [Shemanski] and Kiko [Kiekover] were both very efficient offensively, and more so, they didn't miss an assignment on the block. Allie [Kellerman] was vocal in our defensive sets and really was a leader tonight. All in all, a great team effort."
Marshall stepped on the court in control, going on a six point rally and taking an early nine point lead over the Lady Techsters in the opening frame. The Herd continued to dominate, scoring four straight to close out the first set 25-13.
Tech fired back, winning the first two points of game two, before Marshall battled back into control, steadily climbing to a 12 point lead at 20-8. During that lead, the Herd turned in a sequence of six unanswered points. Shemanski paced the Herd defense, putting up two big-time blocks with assistance from Panick and Legge each. The Herd closed the set with a Shemanski slam, taking the 25-15 win.
With the 2-0 advantage, Marshall continued to dominate the match, going up by as many as 11 points in the third set. Freshman Taylor Pelton (Louisville, Ky.) exploded late in the frame, recording four kills in the last seven points of the match. The outside hitter turned in a perfect 1.000 hitting efficiency as the Herd ousted Tech 25-14 and swept the match.
Legge finished with five kills and four assisted blocks, and Kellerman turned in 11 digs.
"Our defense and ball control is what led the way to our offensive numbers," Jacobs finished. "We had to play good defense, as LA Tech made us work for our points. We blocked nine balls and they only had 13 errors. So, if we were committing unforced errors, it could have been a different match. I'm just blown away right now and proud of the way this group has recommitted themselves to achieving its original goal of earning a spot in the C-USA tourney. Now we know we have a very big test Sunday. Middle [Tennessee] can be quite scary, and has some of the best athletes in our league."
Marshall will face Middle Tennessee Sunday, Nov. 2, at 1 p.m. ET in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The Herd defeated the Blue Raiders earlier this season 3-2.
