Herd Volleyball Falls to South Alabama in Four Sets

DAYTON, Ohio—Marshall volleyball took fought off five match points before falling to South Alabama Saturday, 3-1 (25-14, 25-22, 26-24, 25-16), at the Dayton Invitational.

"Again this morning we got off to a slow start and we were constantly fighting from behind," head coach Mitch Jacobs said. "We were able to put ourselves into the match with good performances in sets two and three, but just couldn't take the momentum we gained from set three into set four."

The Herd (0-2) was led by Ciara Debell, who led all players with 17 kills and added seven digs. Shelby Conley added a career-high 13 kills and Gabrielle Coulter tallied 33 assists. Amber Weber had a team-high 11 digs. South Alabama (1-1) used a balanced attack, with five players recording at least seven kills. Hannah Harris led the Jaguars with 14 kills, while Kelley Hartman added 11.

Marshall opened the match by taking five of the first seven points, with Weber recording a service ace and Conley tallying a pair of kills during the run. Marshall and South Alabama traded points early in the set until the Jaguars went on a prolonged 14-2 run to take an 18-7 lead in the opening set. A kill by Conley and a South Alabama attack error cut the Herd deficit to nine points, 22-14, but the Jaguars took the next three points to clinch a 25-14 opening-set win.

For the second straight match, Marshall had an opportunity to win the second set denied by a late rally. The Herd and Jaguars spent the early part of the second set exchanging scoring runs, with South Alabama clinging to a two-point advantage, 11-9. A service ace by Weber and a Jaguars attack error allowed the Herd to tie the set at 16. A kill by Conley gave the Herd a 22-21 lead, but South Alabama closed the set by taking the last four points, earning a 25-22 second set win and a 2-0 lead at the intermission.

The Herd and Jaguars opened the third set by exchanging points, with neither team having more than a one-point lead until South Alabama scored three straight points to take a 15-12 lead. South Alabama maintained its three-point edge until a 5-1 Herd run, highlighted from kills by Debell and Conley, tied the set at 21. The Jaguars scored three straight points to set up match point, but the Herd rallied for five straight points, including an ace by Coulter and a kill by Debell, to force a fourth set with a 26-24 set three win.

South Alabama began the fourth set by taking eight of the first 12 points, forcing a Marshall timeout. A kill by Conley cut the Jaguar lead to 11-8, but South Alabama rattled off five straight points to extend its lead to eight points, 16-8. The Jaguars extended their lead to 11 points, 22-11, after kills by Hartman and Parker Harrell, but two kills by Sarah Schank and another Jaguars error cut the lead back down to eight. A pair of kills by Harris put South Alabama at match point for the second straight set, and after Marshall survived a pair of match points, a Herd service error clinched the set, 25-16, and the match, 3-1, for the Jaguars.

The Herd returns to action at 5 p.m. in its final match of the Dayton Invitational against Ball State.

"We have a lot of growing to do and we also need to manage some of our banged-up players," Jacobs said.

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

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Herd Volleyball Falls to South Alabama in Four Sets

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Team Stats

Ciara DeBell

Shelby Conley

Sarah Schank

Ivana Trencheva

Players Mentioned

Shelby Conley

Gabrielle Coulter

Ciara DeBell

Sarah Schank

Amber Weber

Players Mentioned

Shelby Conley

Gabrielle Coulter

Ciara DeBell

Sarah Schank

Amber Weber

Marshall University Athletics