Volleyball Pulls Out Sweep at FIU

Box Score (PDF)

MIAMI, Fla. – The Marshall volleyball team took the Sunday match at FIU in a sweep, 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 27-25). The Thundering Herd and the Panthers take the court again on Monday at 1 p.m.

The Monday match will not have a live stream, however there will be live stats.

Marshall improved to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in Conference USA. FIU falls to 1-5 and 1-4 in league play.

"I'm really proud of our team effort on the road," Herd head coach Ari Aganus said. "We came out ready to play and despite some errors, stuck to the game plan and stayed focused. We were able to spread the ball around and had a lot of success between all of our hitters. It's what we've been focused on all week and having the versatility in all positions with low errors was the reason for our success. We have some things to clean up for tomorrow and get back at it."

The Herd had four players finish with five or more kills. Redshirt senior Ciara Debell led with 11 and hit .346. Debell added eight digs and two block assists. Junior Macy McElhaney was next with 10 kills and also had three total blocks. McElhaney has totaled at least three blocks in each of the last four matches. Redshirt freshman Olivia Fogo tied her career-high with eight kills and hit at a .438 clip. Senior Destiny Leon had five kills, a .417 hitting percentage, and two blocks. Leon's streak of consecutive matches with at least one block is now at 32. Freshman Anna Calcagno had two kills and two service aces. Sophomore Megan Taylor added one kill and two digs.

Senior setter Sydney Lostumo recorded 35 assists, added three kills on just four attacks, and two aces. For Lostumo, it was her fifth-straight match with 30 or more assists. Junior libero Sarah Schank led the Herd with 13 digs and had one ace. Redshirt sophomore Hayley Delor played in all three sets and tallied five digs and one ace.

Marshall's offensive attack was outstanding in the first set with 13 kills in 24 attacks with just one error, a hitting percentage of .500. Back-to-back kills from Fogo and McElhaney started the Herd rolling as it led the entire set. FIU's sixth attack error of the set was the final point as Marshall won 25-20, to take the 1-0 lead. McElhaney, Fogo and Leon had perfect attack percentages in the first set going a combined 8-for-8.

The Panthers kept the second set a little closer, but the Herd still led from beginning to end. Marshall rolled out a 6-0 run to take its largest lead, 17-10. However, FIU rallied to pull within two at 21-19. Three FIU errors and a kill from Debell helped the Herd close it out, 25-22, and go up 2-0 in the match.

Marshall struggled with errors in the third set, but continued to fight hard and not give in. The third period featured five ties and two lead changes. The Herd took the early lead and held the advantage through most of the set. FIU tied the score at 20-20 and the two teams traded points back-and-forth from there. The Panthers took its first lead at 24-23 before another error tied the score at 24-24. Marshall was back in front after Debell's 10th kill of the day, 25-24. FIU tied the set again before Marshall finished the day with Debell's 11th kill and then a block from Leon and Fogo for the final point, 27-25.

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

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Team Stats

Ciara DeBell

Macy McElhaney

Olivia Fogo

Destiny Leon

Players Mentioned

Anna Calcagno

Ciara DeBell

Hayley Delor

Olivia Fogo

Destiny Leon

Sydney Lostumo

Macy McElhaney

Sarah Schank

Megan Taylor

Players Mentioned

Anna Calcagno

Ciara DeBell

Hayley Delor

Olivia Fogo

Destiny Leon

Sydney Lostumo

Macy McElhaney

Sarah Schank

Megan Taylor

Marshall University Athletics