Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
FIU
Weaver, Hill Lifts @HerdVolleyball Past FIU in Four Sets
10/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
MIAMI - Senior Cassie Weaver and freshman Madison Hill lifted the Marshall Volleyball team past the FIU Panthers on Friday night, 3-1 (25-20, 24-26, 25-18, 26-24).
The victory improves the Thundering Herd to 17-6 overall and 6-2 in Conference USA. FIU falls to 7-15 overall and 1-7 in C-USA with the setback.
Weaver arguably had one of her best matches of her career against the Panthers. The Huntington, W.Va., native recorded her seventh double-double of the season with a team-high 19 kills and 17 digs. She finished the match hitting .415 and had two blocks, two aces and one assist.
Hill followed Weaver on offense with 12 kills and hitting .688. Hill had a team-best three blocks. Junior Kayla Simmons led the Herd with 26 assists, while senior Allie Kellerman had a match-high 18 digs.
In the opening set of the match, Marshall took an early 3-0 lead but surrendered six straight points to give FIU a 6-3 lead. After the Herd called a timeout, MU rallied and tied the frame at six. The two teams went back-and-forth until the Thundering Herd earned a three-point lead at 13-10 following a FIU attacking error. Marshall pushed its lead to 21-16 with a kill from Hill. Junior Justice Craft clinched the set win for the Herd with a kill. Marshall had five aces in the set, Simmons led the way with two and Madelyn Cole, Taylor Riedel and Kellerman each had one.
FIU took early control of the second set with four straight points. Marshall brought itself within three points but that was the closest it got early on. With the score at 15-9 in favor of the Panthers, Marshall went on a run by scoring seven of eight points to put the score at 16-15. The Herd tied the set at 18 with a kill by Weaver. From there, neither team gained an advantaged as it featured five ties and three lead changes. Tied at 24, FIU scored two consecutive points to take the match, 26-24, and tie the match at one.
The third set began similar to the way the second frame finished, as the largest lead held was an one-point advantage. Marshall gave itself some breathing room at 12-9 from a kill by Jac'cara Walker. The Thundering Herd held its largest lead of the set at six points at 18-12 following a FIU attacking error. MU went on to win the set, 25-18.
The fourth set proved to be the most tightly contested frame in the match as it featured 12 ties and five lead changes. The Herd took an early 7-4 lead following a Walker kill, but the lead didn't last long as FIU tied the set at eight. The two teams traded points until Marshall scored six out of eight points to lead, 19-15. FIU responded with a five-point run to retake the lead at 20-19. FIU pushed its lead to 22-20, but a Herd rally tied the set at 23. With the score tied at 24, Marshall won the match after a block by Hill and Weaver and an ace by Weaver.
COACH'S CORNER
Quotes by head coach Mitch Jacobs
On the match:
"This took a lot of work to get this win. Some struggled and others picked it up. Obviously by the stats you can see that Cassie Weaver had a great match, maybe her best in a Herd uniform. You can also see that Madison Hill had a super game offensively. What you can't see is that Kayla Simmons was absolutely lights out tonight. We outscored FIU by a considerable margin in the three rotations she was setting for us tonight."
#STAMPEDE16
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UP NEXT
Marshall returns home to the Cam Henderson Center for a meeting with WKU on Friday, Oct. 28, at 6 p.m. The Herd will play Florida Atlantic on Sunday, Oct. 30 at 12:30 p.m.
