Volleyball on the Road for the Hampton Inn Bama Bash

Live Stats
Live Video vs. Alabama

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Marshall volleyball team is back on the road for its third early season tournament, Friday and Saturday, at the Hampton Inn Bama Bash hosted by the Alabama Crimson Tide.

The Thundering Herd will take on No. 28 Alabama on Friday at 11 a.m. The match will be streamed through the SEC Network+. Marshall returns to the court at 6 p.m., Friday to play Northern Illinois. The Herd finishes the tournament with a final match against Georgia Tech on Saturday at 12 p.m. There will not be a live stream for the matches against Northern Illinois or Georgia Tech, but fans can follow along through live stats.

Marshall enters the weekend with a record of 4-4. The Crimson Tide is undefeated at 6-0. Georgia Tech is also undefeated at 8-0. The NIU Huskies come in at 1-6.

"It's going to be a very tough test for our team this weekend," Herd head coach Mitch Jacobs said. "Two undefeated teams along with a NIU team that I know will be 100 percent prepared for our match. I have known all three of these coaches for a long time and have so much respect for each of them and their programs.

"Hopefully we will make a good showing and can come through the tournament feeling successful."

The Herd evened its record earning a four-set win over regional rival Ohio, Wednesday night in the Henderson Center. Marshall received great performances from freshman Joelle Coulter (22 kills), freshman Gabrielle Coulter (41 assists and 14 digs) and junior Amber Weber (24 digs). Ivana Trencheva, Ciara Debell, Lauren Mattmuller and Isa Dostall also contributed key kills that helped stop rallies by the Bobcats.

Debell leads the Herd with 116 kills and J. Coulter is second with 74. Weber leads the team with 133 digs and G. Coulter is tops with 220 assists.

ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE
Alabama enters its home tournament just outside of the AVCA Top 25 at No. 28 overall. The Tide has victories this season over WKU (3-0), Missouri State (3-1), College of Charleston (3-0), Navy (3-1), Villanova (3-2) and Dartmouth (3-0).

Alabama has a balanced offensive attack as four players have recorded over 50 kills this season. Sophomore Doris Carter leads with 80. Junior Ginger Perinar is next with 70 while junior Hayley McSparin has 56 and junior Mahalia Swink recorded 55. Sophomore Meghan Neelon leads the team with 169 assists and senior Quincey Gary has 119 digs.

NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Northern Illinois has struggled to begin the season against some tough competition with just one victory over Milwaukee (3-0). The most recent losses came to Virginia (3-0) and Northern Kentucky (3-2). The Huskies have been swept twice and have pushed two matches to five sets. Senior Meg Wolowicz leads the team with 89 kills while sophomore Jori Radtke is right behind with 84. Freshman setter Grace Balensiefer has 170 assists and sophomore libero Miranda Karlen leads in digs with 121.

GEORGIA TECH
The Yellow Jackets also enter the weekend without a loss. The team has victories over Idaho State (3-1), Winthrop (3-0), Abilene Christian (3-0), Georgetown (3-0), Alabama State (3-0), Wofford (3-2), South Alabama (3-2) and Tulane (3-1).

Freshmen Mariana Brambilla (108) and Mikaila Dowd (104) both have over 100 kills thus far to begin their careers. Junior setter Lexi Dorn (177) and freshman Matti McKissock (158) are one and two in assists. Freshman libero Maddie Tippett leads with 126 digs.

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---

Volleyball on the Road for the Hampton Inn Bama Bash

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Gabrielle Coulter

Joelle Coulter

Isa Dostal

Lauren Mattmuller

Ivana Trencheva

Amber Weber

Marshall University Athletics