Volleyball Falls in Five to Charlotte

Box Score (PDF)

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall volleyball team lost in five sets (25-22, 25-22, 18-25, 18-25, 10-15) to the Charlotte 49ers, Friday night in the Cam Henderson Center.

The Thundering Herd is now 7-8 and 0-1 in Conference USA. The 49ers improve to 10-6 and 1-0 in conference play

"We knew Charlotte wasn't going to quit," Herd head coach Mitch Jacobs said. "They've been playing all these five-set matches and winning them. They didn't just beat us, they outworked us and that's a little embarrassing. To be outworked, outhustled when you're a really good defensive team is something that should just never happen."

Freshman Gabrielle Coulter led the Herd with 47 assists. Redshirt sophomore Ciara Debell topped the team with 17 kills. Junior Ivana Trencheva added 14 kills and senior Lauren Mattmuller chipped in 11. Junior Amber Weber led Marshall in digs with 24 despite Charlotte continually attacking other zones on the floor. Freshman Sarah Schank and Debell both had 16 digs for the match.

The Herd took the first two sets with some great attacks and key digs by Weber who finished the first set with nine. Both sets were a tight battle to the end. The first set featured nine ties and five lead changes with the Herd closing things out on a 6-2 run. Marshall trailed for much of the second set until tying up the score at 14-14 and then taking the lead on a kill by senior Shelby Conley. Debell closed out the set with a kill and gave the Herd a 2-0 lead.

Charlotte fought back by cutting down on its errors. The 49ers committed 17 errors in the first two sets and had just 14 over the final three sets. Charlotte senior outside hitter Reeana Richardson finished the match with 26 kills and 16 digs. Freshman setter Nya Steele recorded 51 assists.

"[Richardson's] good," coach Jacobs said. "We just really don't have enough athleticism and height to just go and get in front of her. We actually played away from her knowing she's going to get her kills.

"We really have to try and get a stolen win on the road. We'll actually be on the road for the next three (matches), so we have to try to get at least one or two of those on the road. If we can do that, maybe take care of business at home, we'll have a better opportunity for the conference tournament."

Marshall's next contest is on Sunday, Sept. 23, in Miami against the FIU Panthers. First serve is set for 1 p.m. The Herd continues its three-match road swing at UAB (Sept. 28) and finally at Louisiana Tech (Sept. 30). Marshall returns to the Cam Henderson Center on Friday Oct. 5 against WKU.

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---

Next Event

Team Stats

Ciara DeBell

Ivana Trencheva

Lauren Mattmuller

Shelby Conley

Players Mentioned

Shelby Conley

Gabrielle Coulter

Lauren Mattmuller

Sarah Schank

Ivana Trencheva

Amber Weber

Players Mentioned

Shelby Conley

Gabrielle Coulter

Lauren Mattmuller

Sarah Schank

Ivana Trencheva

Amber Weber

Marshall University Athletics