Volleyball Pushes C-USA Leader Rice to Five Sets

Box Score (PDF)

Houston – The Marshall women's volleyball team fell in a five-set match (27-25, 25-22, 25-27, 14-25, 10-15) to the Rice Owls, Friday night at the Tudor Fieldhouse.

The Thundering Herd falls to 9-12 overall and 2-5 in Conference USA. The Owls improve to 15-4 overall and 6-0 in conference play.

Redshirt sophomore Ciara Debell led the team with 28 kills and senior Lauren Mattmuller recorded 16, with an attack percentage of .394. Freshman setter Gabrielle Coulter recorded a season-high 57 assists, her fourth time this season with 50 or more. Junior Amber Weber finished the match with 27 digs.

The first set was a back-and-forth match before the Herd called a timeout trailing 10-6. Following the timeout, Marshall went on a 5-0 run, forcing a Rice timeout. The Owls tied the match at 24 before the Herd took the first set 27-25.

Marshall was first on the scoreboard on a kill from Debell in the second set. A kill by Sarah Schank tied the match at 4-4. Following a Rice timeout, it was back and forth until the Herd pulled away and took set two, 25-22.

A kill from Shelby Conley put the Herd on the board first in the third set but Rice quickly answered. The Owls went on a 5-0 run, forcing a Marshall timeout, trailing 17-9. The Herd fought its way back and tied the set at 22-22. The Owls finally took the third set, 27-25, and forced set four.

Rice dominated the fourth set, climbing out to an early 3-0 lead and keeping a distance of six to nine points ahead of the Herd. The Owls closed out the fourth set, 25-14, and forced a deciding fifth set.

In the deciding set, the match was tied three times early, but then Rice grabbed the lead at 5-4 and did not look back. The Owls grabbed the win and kept its hold on the top of the Conference USA standings.

The Herd returns to the Cam Henderson center for back-to-back home matches. Marshall faces Middle Tennessee on Sunday, Oct. 14 with first serve set for 1 p.m. The Herd then returns to the court on Sunday, Oct. 21 to face the UTEP Miners. First serve is set for 12 p.m.

For all the latest information about Marshall volleyball, follow @HerdVolleyball on Twitter.

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---HerdZone.com---

Volleyball Pushes C-USA Leader Rice to Five Sets

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Team Stats

Ciara DeBell

Lauren Mattmuller

Sarah Schank

Shelby Conley

Players Mentioned

Shelby Conley

Gabrielle Coulter

Ciara DeBell

Lauren Mattmuller

Sarah Schank

Amber Weber

Players Mentioned

Shelby Conley

Gabrielle Coulter

Ciara DeBell

Lauren Mattmuller

Sarah Schank

Amber Weber

Marshall University Athletics