Volleyball Falls in Five at Morehead State

Box Score (PDF)

MOREHEAD STATE, Ky. – The Marshall volleyball team fought hard but ultimately fell in five sets (25-21, 22-25, 16-25, 25-22, 15-13) to the host team Morehead State Eagles at the Comfort Inn-vitational, Thursday night.

The Thundering Herd is now 7-4 while the Eagles improve to 7-3.

"We had a blocking scheme that we planned the last couple of days which was executed really well and helped us get 22 blocks," Herd head coach Ari Aganus said. "Megan Taylor got 10 of them which is impressive for a freshman and Amber's (Weber) 30 digs kept us in the game. (Morehead State's Olivia) Lohmeier, who is an impressive athlete, got her kills but we were able to frustrate them with our defense.

"We had some ups and downs but I'm proud of how we fought until the end. Our team continues to impress me with how coachable they are. With one day of practice after EKU, we were able to plan and execute against a very tough team and one of the best teams we've played so far."

The Herd finished the match with 22 total blocks. Junior Destiny Leon set a career-high with 14 in the match while freshman Megan Taylor came through with 10 rejections. Sophomore Isa Dostal had her hands in eight blocks. Senior libero Amber Weber set a season-high with 30 digs in the loss, besting her previous season-mark of 19. Weber's career-high is 35 set at Bowling Green on Sept. 13, 2018.

On offense, redshirt junior Ciara Debell led the Herd with 20 kills. It was her second match this season with 20 or more. Debell also added 13 digs and four blocks. Leon recorded nine kills and sophomore Joelle Coulter came off the bench with eight kills. Sophomore Gabrielle Coulter led with 29 assists while junior Syndey Lostumo had 22.

Marshall got off to a hot start going up 5-0 before the Eagles began to fight back. Morehead State tied the score, the first of four times in the set, at 8-8 but a kill by Schank gave the Herd back the lead. Marshall continued to keep a slim lead, as well as gain it back after the Eagles tied it up, throughout the rest of the set. The Herd took advantage of 11 attack errors by Morehead State, including the final point, to take the first set and the lead 1-0.

After four ties and one lead change, the second set belonged to the Eagles. MSU led throughout with the final tie coming at 5-5. Marshall used two 3-0 runs to keep it close but it wasn't enough at Morehead State closed it out, 25-22, to tie the match at 1-1.

The third set belonged to the Eagles after MSU took back the lead at 8-7, and took the frame 25-16 to gain the 2-1 lead in the match.

Marshall came roaring back in the fourth set to tie the match at 2-2. Debell came through with nine kills in the set in help carry the Herd. The score was tied 10 times and there were four lead changes. Morehead State tied the set at 21-21, but then Marshall went on a 3-0 run to bring it to set-point. The Eagles scored one more point before the Herd closed out the set off an MSU error, 25-22.

The fifth set began with more back-and-forth scoring as there were three ties and one lead change. The Eagles looked to take control late in the set, reaching match-point at 14-10. The Herd stormed back with a 3-0 run, including back-to-back blocks from Leon and Taylor, before the Eagles finally took the set, 15-13, and the match.

Marshall returns to the court for two more matches at the Comfort Inn-vitational. The Herd takes on the Coppin State Eagles on Friday at 11 a.m., and then the Southeastern Louisiana Lions later on Friday at 3:30 p.m. Live scoring will be provided for both.

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---

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Team Stats

Ciara DeBell

Destiny Leon

Joelle Coulter

Sarah Schank

Players Mentioned

Gabrielle Coulter

Joelle Coulter

Ciara DeBell

Isa Dostal

Destiny Leon

Megan Taylor

Amber Weber

Players Mentioned

Gabrielle Coulter

Joelle Coulter

Ciara DeBell

Isa Dostal

Destiny Leon

Megan Taylor

Amber Weber

Marshall University Athletics