Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Louisiana Tech
@HerdVolleyball Blanks LA Tech, 3-0
9/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Marshall volleyball blanked the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters, 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-19), on Sunday afternoon in the Cam Henderson Center.
The Herd picked up its second conference win of the season, as it improves to 11-5 overall with a 2-1 record in C-USA. LA Tech falls to 6-10 (0-3 C-USA).
Marshall was led by junior outside hitter Cassie Weaver (Huntington, W.Va.), who tallied 15 kills with a .244 hitting percentage and six digs. Junior Ally Kiekover (Grand Rapids, Mich.) chipped in with 11 kills and an impressive .526 hitting efficiency. Sophomore setter Kayla Simmons (Gainesville, Fla.) had a match-high 32 assists, while junior libero Allie Kellerman (Louisville, Ky.) had a team-high 14 digs.
The Herd came out swinging early in the match and jumped to a 4-0 lead over Tech that included an ace from Kassidy Lemons (Prichard, W.Va.). The Lady Techsters battled back forcing a tied set at seven. The two squads would go back-and-forth throughout the set, as it had 11 tied scores and two lead changes. With the set tied at 23, Marshall's defense would cause back-to-back attack errors on Louisiana Tech to take the set.
The second set began a little more contested for the Herd, as it fell behind early, 11-9. Despite trailing, Marshall never trailed more than two points. MU fought back to tie the set up at 14. From there the Herd took control of the set by taking the next three points off an ace from Kellerman and a kill by Zoe Schreiber (Hagerstown, Md.). Similar to the first set, Marshall closed out the set by forcing an attack error on LA Tech.
After winning the first two sets, the Herd came out of the break with all the momentum in the third. Marshall took a commanding 6-2 lead, which included a kill from Weaver and an ace from Lemons. The Lady Techsters rallied back to tie the set at 15. Marshall and LA Tech traded points to again to tie the set, this time at 18. The Herd went on to take the next seven out of eight points to clinch the three set sweep of Louisiana Tech.
COACH'S CORNER
Quotes from Herd coach Mitch Jacobs
On limiting the errors against Louisiana Tech
"We were just trying to not score points for the other team. We started the match by doing that, and we were able to force them into some errors. When we limited our errors today, we had total control of the match."
On Shelby Conley
"I've seen Shelby grow up, and she really knows how to play. When she starts stepping up at this level of play, she'll carve out a bigger role on this team."
On Cassie Weaver
"Her first two jobs are to pass the ball and play defense. Then her job is to not score for our opponent, and then score for us. She's done the first two parts of that amazingly this week, and she's done a great job of putting up the points for us this weekend. She took advantage of her chances without going beyond her ability, and that's what we needed from her."
UP NEXT
The Herd continues conference action when it travels to Florida for a weekend matchup against FIU on Friday, Oct. 2 for a 7 p.m. first serve. Marshall will then travel to FAU on Sunday for a noon match.
