Volleyball on the Road in Conference USA Action at Middle Tennessee

Marshall Match Notes (PDF)

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Marshall volleyball team returns to action, March 7-8, at Middle Tennessee. First serve for the Sunday and Monday matches are set for 2 p.m. eastern.

The Thundering Herd is 5-3 overall and 3-3 in Conference USA play. The Blue Raiders come in at 1-6 and 1-4 in league action.

Match Details
Live Stats: STATBROADCAST
Live Stream: SUNDAY on ESPN+
Series History: 12 all-time meetings, Marshall leads 9-3
Last Meeting: Oct. 11, 2019, Middle Tennessee won in five sets in Murfreesboro

Last Time Out: Two Losses to #20 WKU
(Game One: 20-25, 17-25, 22-25)
(Game Two: 25-21, 16-25, 18-25, 9-25)
The Herd battled hard against No. 20 WKU in the first matchup despite being swept. The Sunday meeting featured a total of 14 ties and four lead changes. Redshirt senior Ciara Debell led the Herd with 11 kills. Senior setter Sydney Lostumo had 26 assists, her first match of the season under 30, and junior Sarah Schank led in digs with 15. Marshall did see many bright spots in the sweep, with the way the team battled and had many long rallies.

In the Monday match, Marshall came out on fire and took the first set, 25-21. It was the first lost set for the Hilltoppes since Jan. 24, as WKU had won 26-straight sets. However, the Herd was unable to maintain as the Hilltoppers dominated throughout the rest of the match. Junior Macy McElhaney led Marshall in kills with 11. Lostumo tallied 36 assists and Schank finished with 23 digs. As a team, the Herd recorded nine total blocks. Senior Destiny Leon finished the two-match series with 11 total blocks. Leon had five in the first match and six in the second.

Debell leads the Herd with 99 kills, an average of 3.19 per set, and is second in digs with 100. McElhaney is second with 87 kills and 28 total blocks. Leon has 55 kills and leads the Herd with 38 total blocks. Leon's streak of consecutive matches with at least one block is up to 36. She is averaging 1.31 blocks per set which ranks second in C-USA and 44th in the nation.

Lostumo has 319 assists this season, an average of 10.29 per set, good for second in conference and 55th in the NCAA. Schank leads the Herd with 166 digs, an average of 5.35 per set which leads the league and is 28th in the NCAA. Lostumo (14) and Schank (11) have combined for 25 of Marshall's 43 service aces.

The Opponent
The Blue Raiders have struggled to begin the season with the only win coming against Old Dominion, on Feb. 21, in five sets. Middle Tennessee features three players with over 70 kills this season in Kayla Henley (75), Samira Lawson Body (73) and Amelia Van Der Werff (71). Henley is also tied with Dasia Smith for the team lead in total blocks with 21.

Taylor Eisert has tallied 279 assists and is averaging 9.30 per set. Marley Blanton leads the team with 96 digs and 11 aces.

As a team the Blue Raiders are hitting .205 and allowing opponents a .295 attack percentage.

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Volleyball on the Road in Conference USA Action at Middle Tennessee

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Players Mentioned

Ciara DeBell

Destiny Leon

Sydney Lostumo

Macy McElhaney

Sarah Schank

Marshall University Athletics