Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Charlotte
@HerdVolleyball Falls in Five at Charlotte
10/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Marshall volleyball fell to the Charlotte 49ers in a five set decision (25-20, 18-25, 20-25, 25-23, 12-15) on Friday evening.
Marshall moves to 15-9 (6-5 C-USA), while Charlotte improves to 6-15 (3-7 C-USA).
It was a block party for the Herd, as Ashley Arnold (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) had a career high eight blocks. Of the 14 Herd members that played Friday night, eight of them had blocks. Lauren Legge (Pliny, W.Va.), Jillian Shemanski (Jupiter, Fla.) and Kayla Simmons (Gainesville, Fla.) each had three, while Ally Kiekover (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Shelby Conley (Paintsville, Ky.) and Justice Craft (Kentwood, Mich.) had two. Freshman Kassidy Lemons (Prichard, W.Va.) rounded out the bunch with one.
Leading the way for the Herd on offense was Kiekover, who had 15 kills with a .386 hitting percentage. Simmons recorded a team high 38 assists. On the defensive side of the ball, Cassie Weaver (Huntington, W.Va.) led the team with 23 digs, while Allie Kellerman (Louisville, Ky.) had 21.
The first set of the match would be one of the more tightly contested sets, as it had 10 ties and five lead changes between the Herd and 49ers. After Charlotte jumped out to an early three-point lead, Marshall erased it with three points of its own. From there, the set went back-and-forth until Marshall captured three points in a row to give itself a four point advantage. Marshall went on to claim the first set off a block by Arnold, who finished with three in the set.
After dropping the second and third set to Charlotte, Marshall came back in the fourth looking to extend the match. The Herd would do just that, but it didn't come easy. Marshall and Charlotte traded points throughout the first part of the set, as neither team held a lead larger than three points. The Herd began to pull away after three points in a row that featured a kill and an ace by Kiekover. Marshall gave itself some breathing room at the 22-17 mark with its largest lead of the set. The 'Niners made things interesting as they cut the lead to one, but a Taylor Riedel (Huntington, W.Va.) ace clinched the set for the Herd.
In the tie-breaking set, it was all Charlotte from the beginning. The 49ers jumped out to an early 5-2 lead, which they held the lead till the end. Marshall attempted a comeback with the 'Niners in possession of match point, as the Herd scored three points in a row to make the score 14-12, but Charlotte ended Marshall's hopes with a kill to seal the 3-2 match victory.
COACH'S CORNER
Quotes from head coach Mitch Jacobs
On tonight's match
"I have to give Charlotte most of the credit for this one. This was the most inept we have been on offense in a long time. I thought we struggled last Friday night but Charlotte really put it to us. You take Kiekover off the court for us tonight and we were negative for the match."
On the defense
"On the flip side, we competed defensively. The block was solid and when we got on the same page we were stingy on the floor as well."
On taking the match to five sets and having a week off
"You can't have your outsides as a group go negative and think you have a chance to win, yet we somehow found a way to get close. Pretty impressive that we got to set five as dysfunctional as we were at times tonight. Now we have a big layoff and it will be great to have some rest and quality time in the practice gym."
UP NEXT
Marshall takes a week long break before it retakes the court at UAB on Friday, Oct. 30 for a 7 p.m. ET first serve. The Herd and Blazers met earlier this season with Marshall winning in four sets.
