Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Rice
Volleyball Falls to Rice; Finishes 2014 Season
11/21/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Box Score
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Marshall volleyball concluded its 2014 season Friday, falling 3-0 to fourth-seeded Rice in the Conference USA Tournament in Hattiesburg, Miss.
Rice defeated the Herd by scores of 25-18, 25-17, and 25-17.
Sophomore Ally Kiekover (Grand Rapids, Mich.) collected eight kills, and junior Lauren Legge (Pliny, W.Va.) turned in seven. Freshman Justice Craft (Kentwood, Mich.) and sophomore Elyse Panick (Chicago) each recorded five kills.
Lone senior Sammie Bane (Brownstown, Ind.) placed 27 assists, finishing the year with 1,135. Bane is fourth all-time at Marshall with 4,798 assists in her career.
"All I can say is how proud of this group I am and the way they fought to get every win they got this season," Herd coach Mitch Jacobs said. "Today wasn't our day."
"The fact that Sammie Bane set her last ball for Marshall is really the hardest part," Jacobs continued, "that Matt Jackson, who has done an unbelievable job for us as a Graduate Assistant coached his last match as a GA, and that Mallory Gomes, the best graduate trainer I've ever been associated with just worked her last match for us. This group; the chemistry this group had as a unit made it very special."
In the opening stanza, Marshall attacked quickly, taking the first three points of the match off two Rice miscues and an Allie Kellerman (Louisville, Ky.) service ace. The Owls clawed back into the set, winning 10 of the next 11 points and going on to take the game 25-18.
Marshall responded in game two, grabbing the first point and nabbing four unanswered points to go up 6-2. Rice then worked a series of runs to once again steal the lead. The Owls went up by as many as nine points to win the second set 25-16.
Following intermission, Rice continued to cook pressure for the Herd. The Owls went on a five-point rally to go up 9-2 in set three. Marshall cut the lead down to four points before succumbing 25-17 in the final game and falling 3-0 in the match.
The Herd finished the season at 16-16 and will return 14 members next season.
