On The Road Again, Volleyball Travels to St. Louis for Billiken Invitational

ST. LOUIS – The Marshall volleyball team is on the road for the third-straight week for the Billiken Invitational on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 13-14, hosted by Saint Louis University.

The Thundering Herd enters the weekend 4-2 overall.

Live stats will be available for all matches. The only contest for the Herd that will have video coverage will be against Saint Louis and it will be on ESPN+.

UT-Martin: Friday at 4:30 p.m. eastern
Live Stats: STATBROADCAST
Series History: Marshall leads 3-0
Last Meeting: Aug. 30, 2019 – Marshall defeated UT-Martin in three sets in the season-opener.

Saint Louis: Saturday at 1 p.m. eastern
Live Stats: STATBROADCAST
Live Video: ESPN+
Series History: Saint Louis leads 2-0
Last Meeting: Sept. 18, 2010 – Saint Louis defeated Marshall in three sets.

Troy: Saturday at 6 p.m. eastern
Live Stats: STATBROADCAST
Series History: Marshall leads 1-0
Last Meeting: 1971 – Marshall defeated Troy in three sets.

Marshall is coming off three wins at the Bulldog Invitational. The Herd took the host team Georgetown Hoyas in five sets and then swept through Stony Brook and Northern Kentucky. Redshirt junior Ciara Debell was named Tournament MVP, and Conference USA Co-Offensive Player of the Week, after rolling off 47 kills, 28 digs, nine total blocks and three aces. Junior Destiny Leon and sophomore Isa Dostal were named to the All-Tournament team. Leon recorded 18 kills with a .325 hitting percentage and 11 total blocks. Dostal had 11 kills with a .476 hitting percentage and 16 total blocks.

This season, Debell leads the team with 92 kills at an average of 4.18 per set. Sophomore Sarah Schank is off to a great start and is second with 56 kills. Sophomore Mion Weldon has 33 and Leon has 30. Junior Syndey Lostumo and sophomore Gabrielle Coulter continue to thrive at setter as Lostumo has 120 assists and Coulter has 101. The Herd as a team has tallied 33 service aces with Lostumo and Schank leading the way with eight each.

On the defensive side, senior Amber Weber leads the Herd with 82 digs at an average of 3.73 per set. Debell is second with 49. Marshall has made a big improvement in the middle this season with blocking as the team averaged just 1.52 blocks per set in 2018, and this season the Herd is averaging 2.41 per set. Four players already have 10 or more total blocks as Dostal leads the way with 27, Leon is second with 22, Debell has 17 and Weldon has 11. Dostal has been credited with eight solo blocks and Leon has seven.

Opponents
The UT-Martin Skyhawks come into the weekend with a 3-4 overall record. The Skyhawks went 1-3 at the Indiana Invitational getting a four-set win over FIU in its final match. UT-Martin then traveled to Memphis for the Tiger Brawl and defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Gardner-Webb before falling to Memphis in four. The Skyhawks have three players on offense averaging over 2.00 kills per set with Jessica Reynolds at 2.63 (71 total), Hannah Phillips at 2.16 (54) and Gintare Mackeviciute with 2.15 (58). Kenzie Hinshaw has been the main setter as she has tallied 218 assists, an average of 8.07 per set. On defense, Jamie Rys leads with 87 digs and Hinshaw is right behind with 68. The Skyhawk defense is averaging 2.44 blocks per set and has five players with 10 or more total blocks. Justine Walker leads with 38 and Mackeviciute is second with 27.

The host team Saint Louis Billikens come in at 4-2 overall. The Billikens opened the season with another home tournament, the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic, and won all three matches in four sets against Middle Tennessee, Southern Illinois and Portland State. Saint Louis then traveled to Iowa for the Drake Invitational and suffered losses to Milwaukee and Drake, and earning a four-set win over Eastern Washington. Maya Taylor, who was named Atlantic-10 Offensive Player of the Week following the Hamilton Classic, leads the team with 107 kills and is averaging 4.46 per set. Kennedy Cordia is the main setter and leads the squad with 255 assists and has also tallied 15 service aces. Cayce Chaykowsky leads the team in digs with 88 and Sara Daniels leads with 28 total blocks.

The Troy Trojans are off to a great start with a 5-1 record. Its only loss came in four sets to East Tennessee State on Aug. 31. The Trojans won its last three matches this past weekend at its home tournament. Cheyenne Hayes is the leader on offense with 99 kills, an average of 4.95 per set and a hitting percentage of .325. Amara Anderson has been serving it up for the offense with 231 assists this season, an average of 11.55 per set. Anderson has also garnered Sun Belt Setter of the Week honors the past two weeks. Natalie Hummel has been an excellent server for the Trojans with 10 aces and just two errors. Lacey Jeffcoat leads the team 67 digs and Hayes is second with 51. Troy is averaging just under two blocks per set (1.95) with Julia Brooks and Halston Hillier tied for the lead with 15 total blocks each.

For all the latest information about Marshall volleyball, follow @HerdVolleyball on Twitter and Marshall University Volleyball on Facebook.

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On The Road Again, Volleyball Travels to St. Louis for Billiken Invitational

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Players Mentioned

Gabrielle Coulter

Ciara DeBell

Isa Dostal

Destiny Leon

Sarah Schank

Amber Weber

Mion Weldon

Marshall University Athletics