Marshall University Athletics
@HerdVolleyball Falls To New Hampshire, 3-1
9/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Marshall volleyball team fell to the New Hampshire Wildcats on Friday, Sept. 4 at the Fairfield Invitational, by a score of 3-1 (12-25, 18-25, 25-13, 16-25).
Marshall drops to 4-1, while New Hampshire is now 3-2.
New Hampshire jumped out to an early 8-3 lead, which was too much for the Herd as it went on to drop the first set, 25-12. Senior Lauren Legge (Pliny, W.Va.) led Marshall in the set with three kills on five attacks, good for a .400 hit percentage.
In the second set, New Hampshire began the way it finished the first set. The Wildcats started the set on a 9-4 run. Marshall quickly fell behind to 21-11, but the Herd battled back to pull the score within six points. Once again, the lead was too great to comeback as the Wildcats claimed the second set.
The fight shown by Marshall at the end of the second set transferred over to the third set. After the Herd and Wildcats were tied at six, Marshall pulled away and gave itself an 11-point lead (18-7). MU went on to close out the set by taking five out of the last six points earned. Junior Cassie Weaver (Huntington, W.Va.) was the star of the set as she recorded 10 kills and finished with a .562 hit percentage.
The Herd's comeback was halted in the fourth set as New Hampshire won, 25-16.
Leading the way in kills was sophomore Taylor Pelton (Louisville, Ky.) with 16, while Weaver had 12. Sophomore Kayla Simmons (Gainesville, Fla.) notched 36 assists. Holding the edge in digs was junior libero Allie Kellerman (Louisville, Ky.) with 17. Senior Jillian Shemanski (Jupiter, Fla.) had one solo and one assist block.
COACH'S CORNER
Quotes by Coach Mitch Jacobs:
On the match:
"Tough match for us today. New Hampshire really executed and created a lot of stress on our side of the net. We need to take this and learn how to transition for longer periods of time without taking ourselves out mentally."
On Sophomore Kayla Simmons:
"Kayla [Simmons] gave a very gutsy effort. Rolled her ankle in set one, but continued through the match to battle. She has a lot to learn but her competitiveness will help us get better."
On Tomorrow's matches:
"Big day tomorrow, two very tough opponents. One thing I know we will get from our team is a better effort."
#BEHERD
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Up Next
The Herd wraps up the Fairfield Invitational on Saturday as the team will face Stony Brook at 12:30 p.m. and Boston College at 5:30 p.m.
