Marshall University Athletics
Friday, August 24
Dayton, OH
7:00 PM
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University of Dayton
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Ciara Debell
Photo by: Mark Webb
Herd Volleyball Drops Season Opener to Dayton
8/24/2018 9:55:00 PM | Volleyball
Ciara Debell and Joelle Coulter combined for 23 kills in three-set loss
DAYTON, Ohio—Marshall volleyball dropped a 3-0 decision to host institution Dayton (25-19, 25-23, 25-15) in its season opener at the Dayton Invitational.
"Tough test for us right out of the gate," head coach Mitch Jacobs said. "Dayton is a regular in the NCAA tournament and the team they have this year is no different. I liked the way our kids fought thre the middle of each set. We had a solid opportunity to win set two. It will take us some time, but I know this is a group that will not quit looking to improve."
The Herd was led in the loss by Ciara Debell, who finished with 12 kills and four digs. Joelle Coulter added 11 kills and eight digs, while Shelby Conley finished with five kills. Gabrielle Coulter led Marshall with 24 assists, while Amber Weber recorded 12 digs.
Dayton's Lauren Bruns led all players with 15 kills, while Kendyll Brown added nine kills for the Flyers, who were picked to finish second in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
The Herd and Flyers exchanged points early in the first set until a six-point run put Dayton ahead, 12-4. Marshall used a four-point run of its own to cut the Flyers' lead to 12-8, highlighted by a pair of kills by Joelle Coulter. Dayton began to pull away in the middle of the set and took a nine-point lead, 21-12. Marshall went on a 7-2 run to cut Dayton's lead to four, 23-19, led by two kills by Debell and one kill from Conley. Dayton used a kill by Brown and a service ace to clinch the first set, 25-19.
Dayton opened the second set by taking five of the first six points. The Flyers extended that lead to seven points, 13-6 after a kill by Sierra Pla. Debell went on a three-point run of her own, tallying a block and two kills to cut the Dayton lead to four, 13-9, but the Flyers continued to hold an edge over the Herd through the middle of the set. Three Flyers errors and kills by Debell and J. Coulter capped a six-point Herd run to tie the set at 18 apiece, forcing a Flyers timeout midway through the run. A Debell kill put the Herd two points away from a set win at 23-21, but the Flyers took the last four points of the set to take a 2-0 lead into the intermission.
The Flyers raced out an 8-1 advantage to begin the third set, forcing an early Herd timeout midway through the run. Marshall cut Dayton's lead to four, 13-9, before a prolonged Flyers run extended their lead back to eight points, 19-11. Dayton took six of the last eight points to close out a 25-15 third set win and a sweep of the match.
"I thought our ball control was good and our floor defense held in there for a while, but our block and the tempo of our offense has a long way to go," Jacobs said.
The Herd returns to action Saturday with a doubleheader against South Alabama (10:30 a.m.) and Ball State (5 p.m.).
"We're looking forward to getting right back on the floor tomorrow against two good teams that are both preseason picks to do very well in their respective conferences," Jacobs said.
For all the latest information about Marshall volleyball, follow @HerdVolleyball on Twitter.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules, and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!
"Tough test for us right out of the gate," head coach Mitch Jacobs said. "Dayton is a regular in the NCAA tournament and the team they have this year is no different. I liked the way our kids fought thre the middle of each set. We had a solid opportunity to win set two. It will take us some time, but I know this is a group that will not quit looking to improve."
The Herd was led in the loss by Ciara Debell, who finished with 12 kills and four digs. Joelle Coulter added 11 kills and eight digs, while Shelby Conley finished with five kills. Gabrielle Coulter led Marshall with 24 assists, while Amber Weber recorded 12 digs.
Dayton's Lauren Bruns led all players with 15 kills, while Kendyll Brown added nine kills for the Flyers, who were picked to finish second in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
The Herd and Flyers exchanged points early in the first set until a six-point run put Dayton ahead, 12-4. Marshall used a four-point run of its own to cut the Flyers' lead to 12-8, highlighted by a pair of kills by Joelle Coulter. Dayton began to pull away in the middle of the set and took a nine-point lead, 21-12. Marshall went on a 7-2 run to cut Dayton's lead to four, 23-19, led by two kills by Debell and one kill from Conley. Dayton used a kill by Brown and a service ace to clinch the first set, 25-19.
Dayton opened the second set by taking five of the first six points. The Flyers extended that lead to seven points, 13-6 after a kill by Sierra Pla. Debell went on a three-point run of her own, tallying a block and two kills to cut the Dayton lead to four, 13-9, but the Flyers continued to hold an edge over the Herd through the middle of the set. Three Flyers errors and kills by Debell and J. Coulter capped a six-point Herd run to tie the set at 18 apiece, forcing a Flyers timeout midway through the run. A Debell kill put the Herd two points away from a set win at 23-21, but the Flyers took the last four points of the set to take a 2-0 lead into the intermission.
The Flyers raced out an 8-1 advantage to begin the third set, forcing an early Herd timeout midway through the run. Marshall cut Dayton's lead to four, 13-9, before a prolonged Flyers run extended their lead back to eight points, 19-11. Dayton took six of the last eight points to close out a 25-15 third set win and a sweep of the match.
"I thought our ball control was good and our floor defense held in there for a while, but our block and the tempo of our offense has a long way to go," Jacobs said.
The Herd returns to action Saturday with a doubleheader against South Alabama (10:30 a.m.) and Ball State (5 p.m.).
"We're looking forward to getting right back on the floor tomorrow against two good teams that are both preseason picks to do very well in their respective conferences," Jacobs said.
For all the latest information about Marshall volleyball, follow @HerdVolleyball on Twitter.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules, and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!
---HerdZone.com---
Team Stats
MAR
UD
Kills
33
45
Errors
22
16
Attempts
109
105
Hitting %
.101
.276
Points
36.0
58.5
Assists
32
44
Aces
1
3
Blocks
2.0
10.5
Game Leaders
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
2
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
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