Marshall University Athletics
Friday, October 18
Huntington, W.Va.
6 p.m.
Marshall University
-127, 33 CUSA
0
vs
3
Rice
-171, 60 CUSA
1
2
3
F
RICE
25
25
25
3
Marshall
22
20
20
0
Photo by: Adam Gue
Volleyball Falls to No. 19 Rice
10/18/2019 8:52:00 PM | Volleyball
Leon finished with 11 total blocks
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall volleyball team battled, but in the end fell to No. 19 Rice in three sets (25-22, 25-20, 25-20), Friday night in the Cam Henderson Center. Junior Destiny Leon finished with 11 total blocks, her third match this season with 10 or more.
The Thundering Herd is now 12-7 overall and 3-3 in Conference USA. The 19th ranked Owls improve to 17-1 and 6-0 in conference.
"We battled very well and I am very impressed with our team and the fact that we were down, their fight never wavered," Herd head coach Ari Aganus said. "They continued to stick to the game plan and I'm happy. Had a couple more points or a couple more calls swung our way then that's the game. But if we can be this good now, then the goal is to make the tournament and find the upset then."
Leon excelled again at the net with four solo blocks and assisted on seven more. As a team, Marshall finished with 13 total blocks, an average of 4.33 per set. Redshirt junior Ciara Debell assisted on four blocks.
Senior libero Amber Weber tallied 20 digs in the match, her fifth contest with 20 or more this season and fourth out of the last five games. Sophomore Gabrielle Coulter had 12 digs including a few off some big attacks from Rice that kept the rally going for Marshall. Coulter also finished with 22 assists.
Sophomore Joelle Coulter led the team with 10 kills to make it back-to-back matches with double digits. Debell finished with seven and sophomore Sarah Schank had six.
Rice jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first set before Marshall rolled out a 5-0 run to take the lead, and the Owls took a timeout. The Herd then took a four-point lead at 12-8 before Rice rallied back and tied the set at 13-13. The teams kept fighting back and forth with eight more ties all the way up to 22-22. A kill by Nicole Lennon, who finished with a match-high 23, gave the lead back to Rice and the Owls scored the finals points to take the first set, 25-22.
The second set was another close contest as the score was tied at 12-12 before the Owls went on a 5-0 run. Rice eventually built the lead out to nine at 23-14. However, Marshall kept up the fight with a 3-0 run and then after the Owls scored to get it to set-point, the Herd had another 3-0 run to close the gap to 24-20. Joelle Coulter had three kills during the closing moments of the set. Rice finally ended the Marshall rally and scored the last point to take a 2-0 lead.
In the third set, Rice looked to take control after the score was tied at 6-6 with an 8-0 run to go up 14-6. The Herd never gave up as the team was powered by six blocks in the set. The Owls led 21-14 but Marshall kept finding points including a kick save by J. Coulter that just dropped over the net in a long rally that Marshall eventually won the point. The Herd closed the gap to four, 24-20, on J. Coulter's 10th kill of the night. However, Rice got a kill from Lennon that closed the match.
Marshall returns to the court against the North Texas Mean Green on Sunday, Oct. 20 at 12 p.m., in the Cam Henderson Center.
For all the latest information about Marshall volleyball, follow @HerdVolleyball on Twitter and Marshall University Volleyball on Facebook.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules, and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!
The Thundering Herd is now 12-7 overall and 3-3 in Conference USA. The 19th ranked Owls improve to 17-1 and 6-0 in conference.
"We battled very well and I am very impressed with our team and the fact that we were down, their fight never wavered," Herd head coach Ari Aganus said. "They continued to stick to the game plan and I'm happy. Had a couple more points or a couple more calls swung our way then that's the game. But if we can be this good now, then the goal is to make the tournament and find the upset then."
Leon excelled again at the net with four solo blocks and assisted on seven more. As a team, Marshall finished with 13 total blocks, an average of 4.33 per set. Redshirt junior Ciara Debell assisted on four blocks.
Senior libero Amber Weber tallied 20 digs in the match, her fifth contest with 20 or more this season and fourth out of the last five games. Sophomore Gabrielle Coulter had 12 digs including a few off some big attacks from Rice that kept the rally going for Marshall. Coulter also finished with 22 assists.
Sophomore Joelle Coulter led the team with 10 kills to make it back-to-back matches with double digits. Debell finished with seven and sophomore Sarah Schank had six.
Rice jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first set before Marshall rolled out a 5-0 run to take the lead, and the Owls took a timeout. The Herd then took a four-point lead at 12-8 before Rice rallied back and tied the set at 13-13. The teams kept fighting back and forth with eight more ties all the way up to 22-22. A kill by Nicole Lennon, who finished with a match-high 23, gave the lead back to Rice and the Owls scored the finals points to take the first set, 25-22.
The second set was another close contest as the score was tied at 12-12 before the Owls went on a 5-0 run. Rice eventually built the lead out to nine at 23-14. However, Marshall kept up the fight with a 3-0 run and then after the Owls scored to get it to set-point, the Herd had another 3-0 run to close the gap to 24-20. Joelle Coulter had three kills during the closing moments of the set. Rice finally ended the Marshall rally and scored the last point to take a 2-0 lead.
In the third set, Rice looked to take control after the score was tied at 6-6 with an 8-0 run to go up 14-6. The Herd never gave up as the team was powered by six blocks in the set. The Owls led 21-14 but Marshall kept finding points including a kick save by J. Coulter that just dropped over the net in a long rally that Marshall eventually won the point. The Herd closed the gap to four, 24-20, on J. Coulter's 10th kill of the night. However, Rice got a kill from Lennon that closed the match.
Marshall returns to the court against the North Texas Mean Green on Sunday, Oct. 20 at 12 p.m., in the Cam Henderson Center.
For all the latest information about Marshall volleyball, follow @HerdVolleyball on Twitter and Marshall University Volleyball on Facebook.
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
RICE
MAR
Kills
52
31
Errors
26
17
Attempts
145
132
Hitting %
.179
.106
Points
58.0
46.0
Assists
49
28
Aces
2
2
Blocks
4.0
13.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
6
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
3
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ VolleyballNo one is safe! #volleyball
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