Marshall University Athletics
Tuesday, August 28
Huntington, W.Va
6:00 PM
Marshall University
1-3
3
vs
2
Morehead State University
3-1
1
2
3
4
5
F
Morehead State
25
21
25
23
7
2
Marshall
21
25
23
25
15
3
Photo by: Mark Webb
Volleyball Defeats Eagles in Five Set Thriller
8/28/2018 9:54:00 PM | Volleyball
Debell leads the way with 32 kills
Box Score (PDF)
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall volleyball team took down the Morehead State Eagles in a five-set thriller (21-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-23, 15-7), Tuesday evening in Gullickson Gym.
The Thundering Herd improves to 1-3 while the Eagles fall to 3-1.
"It was a great fight," Herd head coach Mitch Jacobs said. "We were down 0-1 and 1-2 in the match and came back to win and that shows a lot of character in our team."
Redshirt sophomore Ciara Debell led the way for the Herd with a season-high 32 kills. She had 35 for the season through the first three matches. Debell added eight digs and one block.
"All you can really say is that (Debell's performance) was pretty incredible," coach Jacobs said. "It took a lot of heart from her to just keep going after it to carry the team offensively. Through times when we were not passing well and not making digs, she kept going and kept picking us up. It was a huge performance.
"I don't remember the last person who had 30 kills in a match for us. It might go all the way back to (Kelly-Anne) Billingy (2004-07). That was pretty impressive because of the consistency throughout the match. It wasn't like she had 14 kills in one set and then two in another, it was a great consistent effort by Ciara all night long."
Freshman Gabrielle Coulter led Marshall in assists with 52, and junior Amber Weber topped the team with 21 digs.
"I definitely want to mention our quarterback out there," coach Jacobs said. "I think Amber Weber is really controlling the court. She's doing a great job in terms of making sure people know what they're supposed to be doing, when they're supposed to be doing it, she's making plays that are making up for other people sometimes not making their play. That's huge for us, and especially with a freshman setter."
The teams came out even through the first few points of set one, until the Eagles began to pull away with its largest lead of seven, 17-10. Marshall came back to get within five at 20-15 on a kill from Coulter. The first set remained back-and-forth until Morehead State grabbed the final point to win 25-21.
The Herd stormed out from the start of the second set jumping out to a 5-1 lead after a kill from senior Lauren Matmuller. The Eagles battled back to even the set at 10-10. Marshall responded with five-straight points and maintained the lead through the remainder of the set. A kill by Debell gave the Herd the 25-21 victory and tied the match at 1-1.
The third set was a back-and-forth affair once again until Marshall got out to a 14-10 lead. Morehead State answered and took back the lead at 23-22 and held on for the final few points to take a two-sets to one lead.
Marshall, looking to not let Morehead State out with the win, came out strong in the fourth set and held the lead throughout. The Eagles pulled within one at 23-22 and 24-23, but a kill by freshman Joelle Coulter forced the fifth set.
The fifth and deciding set started off slightly in the Eagles favor as it held a one-point lead early. The Herd took the lead at 6-5 on a kill by G. Coulter and then never looked back, scoring six-straight to take an 11-5 lead. Morehead State managed just two more points as Marshall took advantage of a couple Eagle errors and two more kills by Debell to take the match.
"Gabby (Coulter) is out there and she's throwing the ball around and it's a beautiful thing to watch," coach Jacobs added. "But without what Amber's doing and without the people like Ciara (Debell) and Lolo (Lauren Mattmuller) finishing the way they did, we may not win that match. It was a team deal."
Next up, the Herd heads to Chicago to take on Georgia State (Aug. 31 at 11 a.m.), Furman (Aug. 31 at 6 p.m.) and Loyola-Chicago (Sept. 1 at 3 p.m.).
"We're just looking forward to getting back on the court," coach Jacobs said. "We've got a lot of kids on this team, some did not get in today that will be playing Friday and Saturday. We're looking forward to moving on. It's great to get one in the left-hand column. Hopefully we got a taste for that, everybody's hungry for more and hopefully we keep fighting."
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!
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall volleyball team took down the Morehead State Eagles in a five-set thriller (21-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-23, 15-7), Tuesday evening in Gullickson Gym.
The Thundering Herd improves to 1-3 while the Eagles fall to 3-1.
"It was a great fight," Herd head coach Mitch Jacobs said. "We were down 0-1 and 1-2 in the match and came back to win and that shows a lot of character in our team."
Redshirt sophomore Ciara Debell led the way for the Herd with a season-high 32 kills. She had 35 for the season through the first three matches. Debell added eight digs and one block.
"All you can really say is that (Debell's performance) was pretty incredible," coach Jacobs said. "It took a lot of heart from her to just keep going after it to carry the team offensively. Through times when we were not passing well and not making digs, she kept going and kept picking us up. It was a huge performance.
"I don't remember the last person who had 30 kills in a match for us. It might go all the way back to (Kelly-Anne) Billingy (2004-07). That was pretty impressive because of the consistency throughout the match. It wasn't like she had 14 kills in one set and then two in another, it was a great consistent effort by Ciara all night long."
Freshman Gabrielle Coulter led Marshall in assists with 52, and junior Amber Weber topped the team with 21 digs.
"I definitely want to mention our quarterback out there," coach Jacobs said. "I think Amber Weber is really controlling the court. She's doing a great job in terms of making sure people know what they're supposed to be doing, when they're supposed to be doing it, she's making plays that are making up for other people sometimes not making their play. That's huge for us, and especially with a freshman setter."
The teams came out even through the first few points of set one, until the Eagles began to pull away with its largest lead of seven, 17-10. Marshall came back to get within five at 20-15 on a kill from Coulter. The first set remained back-and-forth until Morehead State grabbed the final point to win 25-21.
The Herd stormed out from the start of the second set jumping out to a 5-1 lead after a kill from senior Lauren Matmuller. The Eagles battled back to even the set at 10-10. Marshall responded with five-straight points and maintained the lead through the remainder of the set. A kill by Debell gave the Herd the 25-21 victory and tied the match at 1-1.
The third set was a back-and-forth affair once again until Marshall got out to a 14-10 lead. Morehead State answered and took back the lead at 23-22 and held on for the final few points to take a two-sets to one lead.
Marshall, looking to not let Morehead State out with the win, came out strong in the fourth set and held the lead throughout. The Eagles pulled within one at 23-22 and 24-23, but a kill by freshman Joelle Coulter forced the fifth set.
The fifth and deciding set started off slightly in the Eagles favor as it held a one-point lead early. The Herd took the lead at 6-5 on a kill by G. Coulter and then never looked back, scoring six-straight to take an 11-5 lead. Morehead State managed just two more points as Marshall took advantage of a couple Eagle errors and two more kills by Debell to take the match.
"Gabby (Coulter) is out there and she's throwing the ball around and it's a beautiful thing to watch," coach Jacobs added. "But without what Amber's doing and without the people like Ciara (Debell) and Lolo (Lauren Mattmuller) finishing the way they did, we may not win that match. It was a team deal."
Next up, the Herd heads to Chicago to take on Georgia State (Aug. 31 at 11 a.m.), Furman (Aug. 31 at 6 p.m.) and Loyola-Chicago (Sept. 1 at 3 p.m.).
"We're just looking forward to getting back on the court," coach Jacobs said. "We've got a lot of kids on this team, some did not get in today that will be playing Friday and Saturday. We're looking forward to moving on. It's great to get one in the left-hand column. Hopefully we got a taste for that, everybody's hungry for more and hopefully we keep fighting."
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
MOR
MAR
Kills
57
68
Errors
26
29
Attempts
156
181
Hitting %
.199
.215
Points
70.0
81.0
Assists
56
60
Aces
1
3
Blocks
12.0
10.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
32
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
0
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