Marshall University Athletics
Thursday, April 1
Hattiesburg, Miss.
3:00 PM ET/2:00 PM CT
Marshall University
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University of Texas at El Paso
Photo by: Adam Gue
Volleyball Set for First Round Match versus UTEP
3/31/2021 6:18:00 PM | Volleyball
First serve for Herd and Miners, Thursday at 3 p.m. ET
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Marshall volleyball team prepares to take on the UTEP Miners in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament on Thursday. First serve is set for 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT and will be on ESPN+.
The Thundering Herd earned the No. 3 seed in the East Division and comes in with an overall record of 10-4 and 8-4 in C-USA play. The Miners grabbed the No. 2 seed in the West Division and enter with a 9-6 overall record and 8-4 in league play as well.
Match Details
Marshall Match Notes
Conference USA Tournament Central Page
Live Stats: STATBROADCAST
Live Video Stream: ESPN+ with Jason Baker and Lauren Landford
Series History: 19 all-time meetings, Marshall leads 11-8
Last Meeting: Oct. 25, 2019 in El Paso – UTEP won in three sets
Marshall had another successful season under second-year head coach Ari Aganus. Coach Aganus has directed the Herd to a 28-14 record in her two seasons so far, a .667 winning percentage. Along with the wins, accolades have been pouring in for Marshall. The Herd pulled in a conference player of the week award four times this season.
On Tuesday, junior Sarah Schank was named to the All-Academic Team and it didn't end there. Earlier in the day on Wednesday, Marshall learned of four players being named to all-conference squads as well as Schank named Libero of the Year and senior Destiny Leon named Defensive Player of the Year. Redshirt senior Ciara Debell was honored as a First Team All-Conference selection. Senior Sydney Lostumo was named Second Team All-Conference and was joined by Schank and Leon.
The Herd has been idle since wrapping up the regular season on March 22 with a sweep at Old Dominion. Marshall ended the 2021 spring regular season with four-straight wins, and three coming as sweeps.
Debell leads the Herd offense with 189 kills, an average of 3.50 per set, and was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week March 16 and 23. Debell also finished second this year in digs with 167 and third in blocks with 27. Junior Macy McElhaney has made a big impact in her first season at Marshall and is second on the team with 142 kills, 2.63 per set, and in total blocks with 46. McElhaney recorded at least one block in every match and finished with 10 or more kills seven times. She also delivered a career-high 22 in a win over Xavier.
Leon finished third on the team with 91 kills to go along with leading the Herd in total blocks with 64. Her average of 1.31 blocks per set is second in the league and 34th in the NCAA. Freshman Anna Calcagno tallied 85 kills and was third in digs with 130. Redshirt freshman Olivia Fogo recorded 47 kills and 18 blocks in her first season with the Green & White. Sophomore Megan Taylor came on strong at the end of the season and finished with 35 kills.
Lostumo totaled a career-high of 541 assists and also led the Herd with 24 service aces. She added 42 kills, 96 digs and helped at the net with 22 total blocks. Schank led with 263 digs, and her average of 4.87 digs per set led the conference. Schank was second on the team with 16 aces. Freshman Riley Winslow also came on strong late in the season and totaled 50 digs, seven aces and six digs. Junior Zoie Holley contributed eight kills and five total blocks. Redshirt sophomore Haley Delor finished the season with 33 digs and one ace.
The Opponent
The Miners have had an efficient offense this season as it features five players who finished with over 100 kills. Serena Patterson leads with 155, but right behind her is Cheyenne Jones with 140, Paulina Perez Rosas with 127, Alianza Darley with 106 and then Ava Palm with 105. As a unit, the Miners average 13.54 kills per set with a team hitting percentage of .235. Opponents this season have hit .169 and averaged 10.82 kills per set.
UTEP has used two setters in 2021 with Kristen Fritsche leading with 343 assists and Hande Yetis is second with 227. The Miners have totaled 108 service aces, an average of 1.89 per set, while opponents have managed just 59.
Hula Crisostomo leads UTEP in digs with 140, and average of 4.12 per set. Kennidy Howard is the leader in blocks with 47 with Darley right behind at 42.
The winner of Thursday's match will take on the winner of WKU and North Texas on Friday at 1 p.m. ET, 12 p.m. CT.
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!
The Thundering Herd earned the No. 3 seed in the East Division and comes in with an overall record of 10-4 and 8-4 in C-USA play. The Miners grabbed the No. 2 seed in the West Division and enter with a 9-6 overall record and 8-4 in league play as well.
Match Details
Marshall Match Notes
Conference USA Tournament Central Page
Live Stats: STATBROADCAST
Live Video Stream: ESPN+ with Jason Baker and Lauren Landford
Series History: 19 all-time meetings, Marshall leads 11-8
Last Meeting: Oct. 25, 2019 in El Paso – UTEP won in three sets
Marshall had another successful season under second-year head coach Ari Aganus. Coach Aganus has directed the Herd to a 28-14 record in her two seasons so far, a .667 winning percentage. Along with the wins, accolades have been pouring in for Marshall. The Herd pulled in a conference player of the week award four times this season.
On Tuesday, junior Sarah Schank was named to the All-Academic Team and it didn't end there. Earlier in the day on Wednesday, Marshall learned of four players being named to all-conference squads as well as Schank named Libero of the Year and senior Destiny Leon named Defensive Player of the Year. Redshirt senior Ciara Debell was honored as a First Team All-Conference selection. Senior Sydney Lostumo was named Second Team All-Conference and was joined by Schank and Leon.
The Herd has been idle since wrapping up the regular season on March 22 with a sweep at Old Dominion. Marshall ended the 2021 spring regular season with four-straight wins, and three coming as sweeps.
Debell leads the Herd offense with 189 kills, an average of 3.50 per set, and was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week March 16 and 23. Debell also finished second this year in digs with 167 and third in blocks with 27. Junior Macy McElhaney has made a big impact in her first season at Marshall and is second on the team with 142 kills, 2.63 per set, and in total blocks with 46. McElhaney recorded at least one block in every match and finished with 10 or more kills seven times. She also delivered a career-high 22 in a win over Xavier.
Leon finished third on the team with 91 kills to go along with leading the Herd in total blocks with 64. Her average of 1.31 blocks per set is second in the league and 34th in the NCAA. Freshman Anna Calcagno tallied 85 kills and was third in digs with 130. Redshirt freshman Olivia Fogo recorded 47 kills and 18 blocks in her first season with the Green & White. Sophomore Megan Taylor came on strong at the end of the season and finished with 35 kills.
Lostumo totaled a career-high of 541 assists and also led the Herd with 24 service aces. She added 42 kills, 96 digs and helped at the net with 22 total blocks. Schank led with 263 digs, and her average of 4.87 digs per set led the conference. Schank was second on the team with 16 aces. Freshman Riley Winslow also came on strong late in the season and totaled 50 digs, seven aces and six digs. Junior Zoie Holley contributed eight kills and five total blocks. Redshirt sophomore Haley Delor finished the season with 33 digs and one ace.
The Opponent
The Miners have had an efficient offense this season as it features five players who finished with over 100 kills. Serena Patterson leads with 155, but right behind her is Cheyenne Jones with 140, Paulina Perez Rosas with 127, Alianza Darley with 106 and then Ava Palm with 105. As a unit, the Miners average 13.54 kills per set with a team hitting percentage of .235. Opponents this season have hit .169 and averaged 10.82 kills per set.
UTEP has used two setters in 2021 with Kristen Fritsche leading with 343 assists and Hande Yetis is second with 227. The Miners have totaled 108 service aces, an average of 1.89 per set, while opponents have managed just 59.
Hula Crisostomo leads UTEP in digs with 140, and average of 4.12 per set. Kennidy Howard is the leader in blocks with 47 with Darley right behind at 42.
The winner of Thursday's match will take on the winner of WKU and North Texas on Friday at 1 p.m. ET, 12 p.m. CT.
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!
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