Volleyball Heads South to Take on FIU

Marshall Match Notes vs. FIU

MIAMI, Fla. – The Marshall volleyball hits the road for the first time in Conference USA play, heading down to take on the FIU Panthers, Sunday and Monday. Both matches are set for 1 p.m. starts in the Ocean Bank Convocation.

Marshall enters the match 3-1 overall and 1-1 in conference play. The Panthers come in at 1-4 overall and 1-3 in league action.

Due to physical distancing requirements, the total capacity at Ocean Bank Convocation Center will be reduced to 15%, with no lower-level seating available. For more information on tickets, call 305-FIU-GAME or visit here. The Sunday match will be on CUSAtv, however the Monday match will not have a live stream.

Match Details
Live Stats: SIDEARM
Live Stream: For Sunday on CUSAtv
Series History: 11 all-time meetings – Marshall leads 8-3
Last Meeting: Nov. 8, 2019 in Miami – Marshall won 3-2

The Herd has tallied 223 kills, an average of 12.39 per set, and a hitting percentage of .203 through the first four matches.

Redshirt senior Ciara Debell leads the Herd with 58 kills, is second with 60 digs and third in total blocks with 10. Junior Macy McElhaney has made her presence known since transferring to Marshall from WVU and is second with 56 kills and it hitting at a .333 clip. She is also second in total blocks with 18. Freshman Anna Calcagno and senior Destiny Leon both have over 30 kills each with 36 and 34, respectively. Leon leads the Herd in blocks with 21. She is averaging 1.31 blocks per set which is good for second in the Conference USA and 45th in the NCAA.

Senior Syndey Lostumo is tops in assists with 192 of the Herd's 212 total. Lostumo is averaging 10.67 assists per set which is second in C-USA and 34th in the nation. Junior Sarah Schank leads with 103 digs and six aces. Her average of 5.72 digs per set leads the conference and is 16th in the NCAA.

Last Time Out: Feb. 14 vs. Xavier 3-2 win (25-19, 14-25, 28-30, 25-14, 15-10)
It was almost complete déjà vu as Marshall rallied for the five-set comeback victory for the second time this season over Xavier. Marshall played well in the first set, taking control at 9-8 and closing out for the 25-19 win. However, the Herd faltered in the second set falling behind early and was not able to recover. The third set was a classic battle of long rallies and trading points as there were 19 ties and seven lead changes. Xavier eventually prevailed 30-28 to take the 2-1 lead. Even though Marshall lost the third set, it took the momentum from the fight and dominated the fourth set, 25-14, to tie the match and send it to the fifth and decisive set. The final period began as a back-and-forth battle with six ties and three lead changes, but the Herd pulled away with a 5-0 run to take command at 10-6. Xavier pulled within two, 12-10, but did not score again as Marshall rolled off 3-straight for the win in front of the home crowd.

Ciara Debell Reaches 1,000 Career Kills vs. Xavier
Debell came in to the 2021 spring season needing 55 kills to reach the lofty 1,000 plateau. She began her career with 86 kills in parts of two seasons at Florida Gulf Coast as she also suffered a knee injury that cut her freshman year short, and hampered her the next season. Debell made the transfer to Marshall before the 2018 season and has been a dominant force since. She racked up 437 kills (4.24 per set) and followed up with another 422 in 2019. Debell started the 2021 season solidly with 16 kills in each of the first two matches, but then struggled in game two against Charlotte with just seven. She entered the Xavier match (2/14) needing 16 kills to hit the mark. As the contest rolled on, the milestone was in sight, and Debell found kill number 1,000 with her first one in the fifth set. She ended the match with 19. Debell still has a chance to reach 1,000 in her Marshall career as she is up to 917 after the win over Xavier, and 10 matches remaining in the regular season.

Sydney Lostumo Reaches 1,000 Career Assists
Lostumo continued to keep pushing and persevering through her collegiate career and finally hit the 1,000 assist milestone. Never having the chance to be the sole-setter throughout her first three seasons, she played her freshman and sophomore campaigns at Fresno State and finished with 392 assists. Lostumo made the transfer to Marshall before the 2019 season and played in a two-setter rotation with Gabrielle Coulter. The newcomer still led the team with 472 assists, bringing her career total to 864. Lostumo continued to work and earned the chance to be the lone setter in 2021 and has taken full advantage. She began the year with a career-high 46 assists at Xavier (1/31), then surpassed that total by one with 47 against Charlotte (2/7). She tallied 35 in the second match against Charlotte (2/8) bringing her career total to 992. Lostumo started the home match versus Xavier (2/14) on fire and reached the milestone easily in the first set on a kill from Calcagno that put the Herd up 15-11. She finished the match with yet another career-high, putting that mark all the way up to 64. Lostumo, like Debell, still has a chance to reach 1,000 in just her Marshall career as she has 664 with 10 matches remaining in the regular season. She is averaging 10.67 helpers per set following the Xavier match.

Sydney Lostumo Puts up 64 Assists vs. Xavier
Lostumo tallied a career-high 64 assists in the Herd's comeback win over Xavier (2/14). She became the first Marshall player to tally 60 or more helpers in a match since Madelyn Cole had 61 at Charlotte, back on Nov. 6, 2016. Lostumo began the match with 14 assists in the first set on her way to the career-day. The Herd's program record for assists in a single match is 87, set by Nicole Frizzo against Morehead State on Nov. 17, 1998.

The Opponent
The FIU Panthers currently sit in sixth place in the C-USA East Division after its 1-3 start in league play. FIU opened the season with a five set loss to Jacksonville. The Panthers then dominated is conference-opener with a sweep over Old Dominion. The Monarchs, who are fielding a volleyball team for the first time in program history, took the second match in four sets. FIU then went on the road and fell in four sets in both matches at Charlotte.

As a team, FIU has 196 kills this season, an average of 9.80 per set and a hitting percentage of .113. Fiorella Murillo leads the team with 49 kills and 2.45 per set. Emily Meyer is second with 42 kills and 2.33 per set. The Panthers have used a two-setter rotation between Autumn Raulerson (85 assists) and Catherine Lederman (77 assists). Raulerson played almost exclusively in the last contest at Charlotte and totaled 28 assists. Valeria Santos leads the squad with 89 digs and seven service aces.

FIU is averaging 1.80 blocks per set and feature four players already in double-figures for the season. Yaniris Miller-Green leads with 13. The Panthers' opponents are averaging 2.55 blocks per set.

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Players Mentioned

Anna Calcagno

Gabrielle Coulter

Ciara DeBell

Destiny Leon

Sydney Lostumo

Macy McElhaney

Sarah Schank

Marshall University Athletics