Marshall University Athletics
Friday, November 22
Houston, Texas
2 p.m. CT/3 p.m. ET
Marshall University
19-9
0
vs
3
No. 5 seed Florida Atlantic
15-11
1
2
3
F
FAU
25
25
25
3
Marshall
15
23
17
0
Photo by: Maria Lysaker
Volleyball Season Comes to a Close at C-USA Tournament
11/22/2019 6:36:00 PM | Volleyball
Herd falls to Florida Atlantic
Box Score (PDF)
HOUSTON, Texas – The No. 4 seed Marshall volleyball team fell in the first round to the No. 5 seed Florida Atlantic Owls, 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 25-17), Friday in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament hosted by Rice.
The Thundering Herd sees its season come to an end with a record of 18-10, an eight-win improvement over the previous year. The Owls improve to 16-10 and advance to the second round to take on No. 1 seed WKU on Saturday.
"What a ride it has been," first year Herd head coach Ari Aganus said. "Although the result today wasn't what we were working toward. We as a staff are proud of what they've been working toward all year. It's been a great first season and we thank the seniors for their huge contributions. I'm happy that we sent them out with such an awesome season, unforgettable memories and plenty of growth.
"We were picked to come in 10th in the preseason. We worked hard all year to earn our fourth place to end the regular season against an amazing FAU team. I'm excited to see what the future of Marshall volleyball holds and I am blessed to be a part of it."
Marshall struggled offensively in the match. Redshirt junior Ciara Debell led the Herd with eight kills. Sophomore Sarah Schank was second with seven and sophomore Joelle Coulter added five. Junior Sydney Lostumo led with 16 assists and sophomore Gabrielle Coulter had nine.
Senior Amber Weber tallied 13 digs and finished the year with 498. The Herd had seven total team blocks with Debell and sophomore Isa Dostal leading with four total each. Junior Destiny Leon had three. Dostal ends the year as the team leader with 131 total blocks and Leon was right behind with 130.
Florida Atlantic came out in control from the beginning in the first set as the score was tied just once and Marshall never gained the lead. The second set was a bit more back-and-forth with the score being tied seven times and one lead change. The second frame was close all the way to the end but the Owls were able to close it out.
Marshall still showed a lot of fight in the third set that featured six ties and three lead changes. However, FAU was able to pull away toward the end and keep its distance over the Herd.
Despite the end to the year, it has been a great run for the Herd in 2019 and it all started right from the beginning as Coach Aganus and her staff won their very first match together with a sweep over UT-Martin in the season-opener.
Marshall spent most of the season ranked in or near the top 10 in the NCAA in blocks per set, featuring Dostal and Leon in the top 40 in the nation all year long in blocks per set. The two were consistently first and second in Conference USA in blocks as well. Leon had three matches with at least 10 total blocks including 14 at Morehead State, second-best in program history. Freshman Megan Taylor had a 10 block performance at Morehead State as well and Dostal finished with 10 rejections at FIU.
Marshall as a team and individually put up blocking numbers that have not been produced by this team in over a decade.
Debell, Weber, and Leon were all honored with weekly awards this year from Conference USA. Debell and Leon were also named tournament MVPs during the early part of the year before getting into conference action. Debell tallied over 400 kills for the second consecutive time since transferring to Marshall and her kills per set totals have put her among the best in Herd history.
Weber nearly reached 500 digs in back-to-back seasons, surpassed 1,000 digs in her collegiate career, and in her time at Marshall. She was honored before a home match with a commemorative volleyball for her career achievement. Fellow senior Ivana Trencheva added in 52 kills and was another helper at the net with 19 total blocks.
Sophomores Sarah Schank and Mion Weldon thrived and produced career highs in kills and blocks. Junior, and new addition, Sydney Lostumo teamed with sophomore Gabrielle Coulter for a great one-two punch at setter as they combined for 1,021 assists. Sophomore Joelle Coulter stepped up in conference play and added another dangerous threat to the Herd offense.
Marshall received contributions from everyone on the roster. Sophomore Autumn Elswick had a season-high 10 digs against Troy. Sophomore transfer Zoie Holley recorded her first kill in a Herd uniform in a win over Coppin State. Freshman Meagan Camden appeared in 20 matches as a serving option coming off the bench and had an ace in three-straight contests earlier this season. Fellow classmate Gracie Brumfield recorded her first career ace in a victory over Southeastern Louisiana.
The future looks bright for Marshall volleyball.
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!
HOUSTON, Texas – The No. 4 seed Marshall volleyball team fell in the first round to the No. 5 seed Florida Atlantic Owls, 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 25-17), Friday in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament hosted by Rice.
The Thundering Herd sees its season come to an end with a record of 18-10, an eight-win improvement over the previous year. The Owls improve to 16-10 and advance to the second round to take on No. 1 seed WKU on Saturday.
"What a ride it has been," first year Herd head coach Ari Aganus said. "Although the result today wasn't what we were working toward. We as a staff are proud of what they've been working toward all year. It's been a great first season and we thank the seniors for their huge contributions. I'm happy that we sent them out with such an awesome season, unforgettable memories and plenty of growth.
"We were picked to come in 10th in the preseason. We worked hard all year to earn our fourth place to end the regular season against an amazing FAU team. I'm excited to see what the future of Marshall volleyball holds and I am blessed to be a part of it."
Marshall struggled offensively in the match. Redshirt junior Ciara Debell led the Herd with eight kills. Sophomore Sarah Schank was second with seven and sophomore Joelle Coulter added five. Junior Sydney Lostumo led with 16 assists and sophomore Gabrielle Coulter had nine.
Senior Amber Weber tallied 13 digs and finished the year with 498. The Herd had seven total team blocks with Debell and sophomore Isa Dostal leading with four total each. Junior Destiny Leon had three. Dostal ends the year as the team leader with 131 total blocks and Leon was right behind with 130.
Florida Atlantic came out in control from the beginning in the first set as the score was tied just once and Marshall never gained the lead. The second set was a bit more back-and-forth with the score being tied seven times and one lead change. The second frame was close all the way to the end but the Owls were able to close it out.
Marshall still showed a lot of fight in the third set that featured six ties and three lead changes. However, FAU was able to pull away toward the end and keep its distance over the Herd.
Despite the end to the year, it has been a great run for the Herd in 2019 and it all started right from the beginning as Coach Aganus and her staff won their very first match together with a sweep over UT-Martin in the season-opener.
Marshall spent most of the season ranked in or near the top 10 in the NCAA in blocks per set, featuring Dostal and Leon in the top 40 in the nation all year long in blocks per set. The two were consistently first and second in Conference USA in blocks as well. Leon had three matches with at least 10 total blocks including 14 at Morehead State, second-best in program history. Freshman Megan Taylor had a 10 block performance at Morehead State as well and Dostal finished with 10 rejections at FIU.
Marshall as a team and individually put up blocking numbers that have not been produced by this team in over a decade.
Debell, Weber, and Leon were all honored with weekly awards this year from Conference USA. Debell and Leon were also named tournament MVPs during the early part of the year before getting into conference action. Debell tallied over 400 kills for the second consecutive time since transferring to Marshall and her kills per set totals have put her among the best in Herd history.
Weber nearly reached 500 digs in back-to-back seasons, surpassed 1,000 digs in her collegiate career, and in her time at Marshall. She was honored before a home match with a commemorative volleyball for her career achievement. Fellow senior Ivana Trencheva added in 52 kills and was another helper at the net with 19 total blocks.
Sophomores Sarah Schank and Mion Weldon thrived and produced career highs in kills and blocks. Junior, and new addition, Sydney Lostumo teamed with sophomore Gabrielle Coulter for a great one-two punch at setter as they combined for 1,021 assists. Sophomore Joelle Coulter stepped up in conference play and added another dangerous threat to the Herd offense.
Marshall received contributions from everyone on the roster. Sophomore Autumn Elswick had a season-high 10 digs against Troy. Sophomore transfer Zoie Holley recorded her first kill in a Herd uniform in a win over Coppin State. Freshman Meagan Camden appeared in 20 matches as a serving option coming off the bench and had an ace in three-straight contests earlier this season. Fellow classmate Gracie Brumfield recorded her first career ace in a victory over Southeastern Louisiana.
The future looks bright for Marshall volleyball.
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
FAU
MAR
Kills
55
30
Errors
17
13
Attempts
113
104
Hitting %
.336
.163
Points
68.0
38.0
Assists
52
28
Aces
4
1
Blocks
9.0
7.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
RS
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ VolleyballRS/MB
/ VolleyballNo one is safe! #volleyball
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