Marshall University Athletics
Friday, October 1
Huntington, W.Va.
6:00 PM
Marshall University
-511,12 CUSA
3
vs
2
Middle Tennessee
-45,21 CUSA
1
2
3
4
5
F
Middle Tenn.
25
25
18
17
4
2
Marshall
19
15
25
25
15
3
#17 Ciara DeBell finished the night with a career-high five aces.
Photo by: Rick Haye
Volleyball Completes Comeback in Five-Set Win
10/1/2021 9:51:00 PM | Volleyball
Herd and Blue Raiders play again Saturday at 2 p.m.
Game Book (PDF)
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall volleyball team trailed 2-0 before pulling together a great team effort in a five-set (19-25, 15-25, 25-18, 25-17, 15-4) comeback victory over the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, Friday night in the Cam Henderson Center. The Herd hit a season-high .364 as a team.
The Thundering Herd improved to 5-11 overall and 1-2 in Conference USA. The Blue Raiders fall to 4-5 and 2-1 in league play. The two teams meet again on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Cam Henderson Center. The match will be streamed on CUSAtv with Jake Griffith on the call.
"What a huge team effort tonight," Herd head coach Ari Aganus said. "I am so proud of our fight and not giving up after being down 0-2. Sydney (Lostumo) did a great job distributing the ball with 50 assists and leaning on all of our hitters. We've been waiting for things to come together like this, and Ciara (DeBell) did a great job pushing our offense and leading the way for everything to fall into place. Macy McElhaney stepped up errorless on a .480 clip.
"We have a lot of cleaning up to do quickly to get back at it tomorrow."
Graduate-student Ciara DeBell led the Herd offensively with 18 kills and a season-best .341 attack percentage. Not only was DeBell lethal at the net, but on the serve as well. The Ocala, Fla., native finished with a career-high five service aces, besting her old mark of three against Charlotte back on Sept. 21, 2018.
Senior Macy McElhaney had 12 kills in 25 attacks with no errors. Her .480 hitting percentage is a season-high and the second time she has hit over .400 in a match this season, with the other coming at Morehead State. Sophomore Anna Calcagno provided a big spark offensively during the comeback with 12 kills and hit at a career-best .409 clip. Graduate-student Destiny Leon and junior Lydia Montague added eight kills each. Leon finished with a .438 attack percentage. Junior Essence Clerkley had one kill.
Graduate-student Sydney Lostumo had her second match of the year with at least 50 assists. Lostumo now has 1,965 career assists and needs just 35 more to reach 2,000. She has 1,573 in her Marshall career, 10th all-time. Lostumo added eight digs as well. Senior libero Sarah Schank led the Herd with 16 digs and had seven assists.
Sophomore Riley Winslow had a great night defensively with nine digs and was a perfect 21-for-21 on receptions. Winslow had one ace as well. Freshman Brynn Brown had four digs, and fellow freshman Eden McElhaney had one dig.
The Herd finished with eight team blocks. Montague and Leon led the team with four each. Leon continues her streak to 58-straight matches with a block. Leon has 285 blocks in her career and needs just three more to move into the Herd's top 10. DeBell had three blocks while Lostumo and Macy McElhaney had two each.
The first set looked like the night was going to be a back-and-forth affair with four ties and four lead changes. However, the last lead change came when Middle Tennessee took over at 10-9 and then led the rest of the way. Marshall struggled through the rest of the set, despite finishing with a team hitting percentage of .360. On the other side, the Blue Raiders hit .389 to take the first set, 25-19.
The Herd's early struggles continued on into the second set. Middle Tennessee led from beginning to end and even began the frame with a 7-0 run. Marshall's offense hit just .097 as the Blue Raiders came away with the 25-15 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the third set, everything turned around for the Herd. There were four ties and two lead changes, but Marshall took command at 11-10 on DeBell's first ace of the night. The Herd hit at a .457 clip in the third set to keep the match going. DeBell had seven kills and hit .467. Calcagno added four kills in five attacks with no errors, good for an .800 hitting percentage. Schank had six digs with two coming back-to-back to keep a rally going that ended with a Herd point. Lostumo finished with 13 assists in the frame as the offense was beginning to spring back to life. Marshall took the third set 25-18 and trailed 2-1 in the match.
The Herd carried the momentum right on into the fourth set with another tremendous showing. This time Marshall led from beginning to end starting with a 3-0 run. With the score at 4-2, a kill from M. McElhaney started the Herd on a 7-0 run, capped by a kill from DeBell. Middle Tennessee managed to close the gap to six at 23-17. However, DeBell and then Calcagno had the two final kills to take the fourth set 25-17, tying the match at 2-2. Again, Marshall hit well with a team attack percentage of .483 in the frame. M. McElhaney had five kills in nine attacks, good for a .556 clip. Leon had four kills and no errors in five attacks for an .800 hitting percentage. She also came through with her first two blocks of the night coming in the 7-0 run. Lostumo tallied another 14 assists in the fourth set.
The teams moved on to the decisive fifth set. The Blue Raiders came out on the attack looking to steal back the Marshall momentum. A Middle Tennessee block gave the Blue Raiders a 3-2 lead. But then a kill from DeBell set off a massive run for the Herd. DeBell served through a 9-0 run that started with back-to-back aces. She had one more ace during the run for a total of three aces in the set. A Middle Tennessee attack error led to a Blue Raider timeout as Marshall led 11-3.
After the break, Middle Tennessee finally ended the run, however it was the last point of the night for the visitors. Montague brought the ball back to the Herd with a kill. A block from Leon and M. McElhaney put the lead at 13-4 and then a Blue Raider attack error moved it to match-point. Calcagno had the final point with a massive blast from the left side to complete Marshall's comeback. Middle Tennessee had just two kills and five attack errors leading to a hitting percentage of -.167. The Herd hit .500 in the fifth set with seven kills and just one error in 12 attacks. M. McElhaney and Calcagno both had two kills in two attacks in the fifth frame.
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!
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall volleyball team trailed 2-0 before pulling together a great team effort in a five-set (19-25, 15-25, 25-18, 25-17, 15-4) comeback victory over the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, Friday night in the Cam Henderson Center. The Herd hit a season-high .364 as a team.
The Thundering Herd improved to 5-11 overall and 1-2 in Conference USA. The Blue Raiders fall to 4-5 and 2-1 in league play. The two teams meet again on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Cam Henderson Center. The match will be streamed on CUSAtv with Jake Griffith on the call.
"What a huge team effort tonight," Herd head coach Ari Aganus said. "I am so proud of our fight and not giving up after being down 0-2. Sydney (Lostumo) did a great job distributing the ball with 50 assists and leaning on all of our hitters. We've been waiting for things to come together like this, and Ciara (DeBell) did a great job pushing our offense and leading the way for everything to fall into place. Macy McElhaney stepped up errorless on a .480 clip.
"We have a lot of cleaning up to do quickly to get back at it tomorrow."
Graduate-student Ciara DeBell led the Herd offensively with 18 kills and a season-best .341 attack percentage. Not only was DeBell lethal at the net, but on the serve as well. The Ocala, Fla., native finished with a career-high five service aces, besting her old mark of three against Charlotte back on Sept. 21, 2018.
Senior Macy McElhaney had 12 kills in 25 attacks with no errors. Her .480 hitting percentage is a season-high and the second time she has hit over .400 in a match this season, with the other coming at Morehead State. Sophomore Anna Calcagno provided a big spark offensively during the comeback with 12 kills and hit at a career-best .409 clip. Graduate-student Destiny Leon and junior Lydia Montague added eight kills each. Leon finished with a .438 attack percentage. Junior Essence Clerkley had one kill.
Graduate-student Sydney Lostumo had her second match of the year with at least 50 assists. Lostumo now has 1,965 career assists and needs just 35 more to reach 2,000. She has 1,573 in her Marshall career, 10th all-time. Lostumo added eight digs as well. Senior libero Sarah Schank led the Herd with 16 digs and had seven assists.
Sophomore Riley Winslow had a great night defensively with nine digs and was a perfect 21-for-21 on receptions. Winslow had one ace as well. Freshman Brynn Brown had four digs, and fellow freshman Eden McElhaney had one dig.
The Herd finished with eight team blocks. Montague and Leon led the team with four each. Leon continues her streak to 58-straight matches with a block. Leon has 285 blocks in her career and needs just three more to move into the Herd's top 10. DeBell had three blocks while Lostumo and Macy McElhaney had two each.
The first set looked like the night was going to be a back-and-forth affair with four ties and four lead changes. However, the last lead change came when Middle Tennessee took over at 10-9 and then led the rest of the way. Marshall struggled through the rest of the set, despite finishing with a team hitting percentage of .360. On the other side, the Blue Raiders hit .389 to take the first set, 25-19.
The Herd's early struggles continued on into the second set. Middle Tennessee led from beginning to end and even began the frame with a 7-0 run. Marshall's offense hit just .097 as the Blue Raiders came away with the 25-15 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the third set, everything turned around for the Herd. There were four ties and two lead changes, but Marshall took command at 11-10 on DeBell's first ace of the night. The Herd hit at a .457 clip in the third set to keep the match going. DeBell had seven kills and hit .467. Calcagno added four kills in five attacks with no errors, good for an .800 hitting percentage. Schank had six digs with two coming back-to-back to keep a rally going that ended with a Herd point. Lostumo finished with 13 assists in the frame as the offense was beginning to spring back to life. Marshall took the third set 25-18 and trailed 2-1 in the match.
The Herd carried the momentum right on into the fourth set with another tremendous showing. This time Marshall led from beginning to end starting with a 3-0 run. With the score at 4-2, a kill from M. McElhaney started the Herd on a 7-0 run, capped by a kill from DeBell. Middle Tennessee managed to close the gap to six at 23-17. However, DeBell and then Calcagno had the two final kills to take the fourth set 25-17, tying the match at 2-2. Again, Marshall hit well with a team attack percentage of .483 in the frame. M. McElhaney had five kills in nine attacks, good for a .556 clip. Leon had four kills and no errors in five attacks for an .800 hitting percentage. She also came through with her first two blocks of the night coming in the 7-0 run. Lostumo tallied another 14 assists in the fourth set.
The teams moved on to the decisive fifth set. The Blue Raiders came out on the attack looking to steal back the Marshall momentum. A Middle Tennessee block gave the Blue Raiders a 3-2 lead. But then a kill from DeBell set off a massive run for the Herd. DeBell served through a 9-0 run that started with back-to-back aces. She had one more ace during the run for a total of three aces in the set. A Middle Tennessee attack error led to a Blue Raider timeout as Marshall led 11-3.
After the break, Middle Tennessee finally ended the run, however it was the last point of the night for the visitors. Montague brought the ball back to the Herd with a kill. A block from Leon and M. McElhaney put the lead at 13-4 and then a Blue Raider attack error moved it to match-point. Calcagno had the final point with a massive blast from the left side to complete Marshall's comeback. Middle Tennessee had just two kills and five attack errors leading to a hitting percentage of -.167. The Herd hit .500 in the fifth set with seven kills and just one error in 12 attacks. M. McElhaney and Calcagno both had two kills in two attacks in the fifth frame.
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
MTSU
Marsh
Kills
57
59
Errors
21
11
Attempts
145
132
Hitting %
.248
.364
Points
66
75
Assists
53
58
Aces
5
8
Blocks
4
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
18
Aces
5
Blocks
3
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
8
Aces
2
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
MB/RS
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
OH/DS
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballNo one is safe! #volleyball
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