Marshall University Athletics
Friday, August 31
Chicago, Ill
6:00 PM
Marshall University
3-3
3
vs
2
Furman University
0-5
1
2
3
4
5
F
Furman
25
25
21
19
8
2
Marshall
23
9
25
25
15
3
Herd Volleyball Rallies to Defeat Furman in Five Sets
8/31/2018 9:27:00 PM | Volleyball
Marshall trailed 2-0 before winning final three sets
CHICAGO — Marshall volleyball recovered from an early 2-0 deficit to defeat the Furman Paladins, 3-2 (23-25, 9-25, 25-21, 25-19, 15-8), Friday evening in the Hampton Inn Rambler Challenge at Gentile Arena.
"Incredible feeling watching these kids fight through adversity this early in the season," head coach Mitch Jacobs said. "To come through with the victory after letting set one go and then getting crushed in set two, it was wonderful to see our team play so hard."
The Herd (3-3) was led by Ciara DeBell, who recorded 16 kills and seven digs. Joelle Coulter added 14 kills and 12 digs for her second double-double, while Shelby Conley tallied seven kills. Jayden Jacobs had a career-high 21 assists and Autumn Elswick recorded her first double-double with 17 assists and 12 digs. Isa Dostal tallied a match-high 10 blocks. Furman (0-5) was led by Jordan McNeill's 17 kills, while Hunter Thompson had 41 assists.
"Isa was touching everything at the net on the defensive side and we needed every one of her blocks," Jacobs said. "Amber (Weber) was again fantastic as she made so many plays and got people focused."
Marshall and Furman exchanged runs through the early stages of the first set until three consecutive Paladins errors put the Herd ahead 16-14. Furman took a timeout after a service ace by Coulter gave Marshall a 20-17 lead, then proceeded to score the next five points. The Herd managed to tie the set at 22-22 but kills by McNeill and Jamila Johnson clinched a 25-23 first set win for the Paladins.
Furman jumped out to a 14-1 lead early in the second set, forcing the Herd to use both of its timeouts in the process. The Herd was never able to cut the deficit back down to single-digits and a five-point Paladins run helped clinch a 25-9 second set win and a 2-0 lead for Furman.
"During set two Gabby (Coulter) tweaked her knee slightly and we needed to go to a two-setter system with Jayden (Jacobs) and Autumn (Elswick)," Jacobs said. "They came through big time tonight. The team started to play with incredible energy and learned that they can play even without our starting setter. Keeping Gabby out was more precautionary, but everyone was starting to click."
The Herd and Paladins traded points early in the third set until a seven-point run gave Marshall a 12-7 lead. Furman clawed its way back in the set, cutting Marshall's lead to 21-18 but kills by Conley, Ivana Trencheva and DeBell clinched the set for the Herd, 25-21, and forced a fourth set.
"Shelby Conley had to come into the match and we were trying to rest her as she's been sick today," Jacobs said. "What a gutsy performance by her. Since Shelby and Jayden have been playing together since they were 14, it wasn't hard for them to connect. Autumn, who has been focusing more on her defense, brought incredible energy to the floor and gave our team another boost."
Marshall sustained its momentum from the third set into the fourth, taking the first five points, including a service ace by Jacobs. Furman cut the Herd's lead to two, 9-7, before a three-point run pushed Marshall's lead back to five points. Kills by Trencheva and Elswick extended the Herd lead to 16-10 before Furman made a rally to force a Marshall timeout. DeBell recorded three kills in a five-point span to push the set out of reach, as the Herd forced a deciding fifth set with a 25-19 win in the fourth.
The Herd opened the deciding set with a kill by Coulter and a combined block by Dostal and Conley and never looked back. Kills by DeBell and Coulter extended the lead to 6-3 and sparked a 5-1 run for the Herd, capped by a combined block by Trencheva and Dostal and a kill by Coulter. Furman cut the lead to 10-6 but the Herd responded with kills by Trencheva and Coulter. DeBell's 16th kill of the match clinched the Herd's third straight win and capped off a three-set comeback, 15-8.
"Tonight was Jojo's best, as she was really struggling early but was just huge for us in sets three through five," Jacobs said.
The Herd returns to action Saturday at 3 p.m. against tournament host Loyola Chicago.
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!
"Incredible feeling watching these kids fight through adversity this early in the season," head coach Mitch Jacobs said. "To come through with the victory after letting set one go and then getting crushed in set two, it was wonderful to see our team play so hard."
The Herd (3-3) was led by Ciara DeBell, who recorded 16 kills and seven digs. Joelle Coulter added 14 kills and 12 digs for her second double-double, while Shelby Conley tallied seven kills. Jayden Jacobs had a career-high 21 assists and Autumn Elswick recorded her first double-double with 17 assists and 12 digs. Isa Dostal tallied a match-high 10 blocks. Furman (0-5) was led by Jordan McNeill's 17 kills, while Hunter Thompson had 41 assists.
"Isa was touching everything at the net on the defensive side and we needed every one of her blocks," Jacobs said. "Amber (Weber) was again fantastic as she made so many plays and got people focused."
Marshall and Furman exchanged runs through the early stages of the first set until three consecutive Paladins errors put the Herd ahead 16-14. Furman took a timeout after a service ace by Coulter gave Marshall a 20-17 lead, then proceeded to score the next five points. The Herd managed to tie the set at 22-22 but kills by McNeill and Jamila Johnson clinched a 25-23 first set win for the Paladins.
Furman jumped out to a 14-1 lead early in the second set, forcing the Herd to use both of its timeouts in the process. The Herd was never able to cut the deficit back down to single-digits and a five-point Paladins run helped clinch a 25-9 second set win and a 2-0 lead for Furman.
"During set two Gabby (Coulter) tweaked her knee slightly and we needed to go to a two-setter system with Jayden (Jacobs) and Autumn (Elswick)," Jacobs said. "They came through big time tonight. The team started to play with incredible energy and learned that they can play even without our starting setter. Keeping Gabby out was more precautionary, but everyone was starting to click."
The Herd and Paladins traded points early in the third set until a seven-point run gave Marshall a 12-7 lead. Furman clawed its way back in the set, cutting Marshall's lead to 21-18 but kills by Conley, Ivana Trencheva and DeBell clinched the set for the Herd, 25-21, and forced a fourth set.
"Shelby Conley had to come into the match and we were trying to rest her as she's been sick today," Jacobs said. "What a gutsy performance by her. Since Shelby and Jayden have been playing together since they were 14, it wasn't hard for them to connect. Autumn, who has been focusing more on her defense, brought incredible energy to the floor and gave our team another boost."
Marshall sustained its momentum from the third set into the fourth, taking the first five points, including a service ace by Jacobs. Furman cut the Herd's lead to two, 9-7, before a three-point run pushed Marshall's lead back to five points. Kills by Trencheva and Elswick extended the Herd lead to 16-10 before Furman made a rally to force a Marshall timeout. DeBell recorded three kills in a five-point span to push the set out of reach, as the Herd forced a deciding fifth set with a 25-19 win in the fourth.
The Herd opened the deciding set with a kill by Coulter and a combined block by Dostal and Conley and never looked back. Kills by DeBell and Coulter extended the lead to 6-3 and sparked a 5-1 run for the Herd, capped by a combined block by Trencheva and Dostal and a kill by Coulter. Furman cut the lead to 10-6 but the Herd responded with kills by Trencheva and Coulter. DeBell's 16th kill of the match clinched the Herd's third straight win and capped off a three-set comeback, 15-8.
"Tonight was Jojo's best, as she was really struggling early but was just huge for us in sets three through five," Jacobs said.
The Herd returns to action Saturday at 3 p.m. against tournament host Loyola Chicago.
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
FUR
MAR
Kills
50
54
Errors
29
28
Attempts
171
172
Hitting %
.123
.151
Points
65.0
67.0
Assists
49
52
Aces
5
3
Blocks
10.0
10.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
14
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
Pin
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S/DS
/ Volleyball
S/DS
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