Marshall University Athletics
Friday, October 1
Huntington, W.Va.
6:00 PM
Marshall University
vs
Middle Tennessee
Photo by: Jack Kelly
Volleyball Returns to the Cam to Host Middle Tennessee
9/30/2021 6:17:00 PM | Volleyball
Herd and Blue Raiders set for Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m.
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall volleyball team finally makes its return to the Cam Henderson Center after a month on the road Friday and Saturday, Oct. 1-2, to take on the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. Friday's match is set for 6 p.m. and Saturday is scheduled for a 2 p.m. first serve.
The Thundering Herd enter the match at 4-11 overall and 0-2 in Conference USA. The Blue Raiders come in at 4-4 overall and 2-0 in league play.
Match Details
Marshall Notes (PDF)
MTSU Notes (PDF)
Live Stats: HERDZONE
Live Stream: ESPN+ with Jake Griffith
Marshall Radio: 88.1 WMUL- FM and online www.marshall.edu
Series History: 14 all-time meetings – Marshall leads 10-4
Last Meeting: March 7-8, 2021 in Murfreesboro – The teams split, Herd won the first meeting in five sets then MTSU won the second in four sets.
Marshall is coming off two losses at 22nd-ranked WKU this past weekend. The Herd is looking to bounce back in league action with 10 matches remaining on the regular season schedule, all in conference play.
As a team, Marshall still leads in the NCAA in total blocks with 158. The Herd ranks eighth in total digs (954) as well as total attacks (2,162). Graduate student Destiny Leon leads C-USA and is fourth in the nation in total blocks with 77. Marshall has 11 different players this season who have registered at least three blocks. Along with Leon, three other players have more than 30 with junior Lydia Montague (57), senior Macy McElhaney (35) and junior Essence Clerkley (32). Leon, who has a block in 57-straight matches, is averaging 1.31 blocks per set this season and is on target to become the first player in program history to average 1.00 or more blocks per set in three seasons.
Senior libero Sarah Schank moved into exclusive company over the weekend against the Hilltoppers, becoming the 14th member of 1,000 Digs Club at Marshall. She reached the milestone in the third set and has 1,001 in her career. Schank has 299 this season, good for first in the league and third in the NCAA. Her 4.82 digs per set is third in the conference. Schank needs another 185 digs to reach the Herd's top 10 list.
Graduate student Sydney Lostumo leads Marshall in assists with 478 this season and she is approaching another career milestone as well. After reaching 100 service aces against Memphis, Lostumo needs only 85 more assists to reach 2,000 for her collegiate career. The Gilbert, Ariz., native has 1,523 during her time with Marshall and 392 from two seasons at Fresno State for a total of 1,915. Her Herd total is good for 10th all-time in program history.
Fellow graduate student Ciara Debell continues to lead the team offensively with 196 kills and an average of 3.16 per set. Debell is fourth all-time at Marshall with 1,256 career kills and second with an average of 3.89 kills per set, trailing only Hall of Famer Kelly Anne-Billingy in the latter category. Debell has a grand total of 1,342 kills in her collegiate career. The Ocala, Fla., native has a chance to reach an exclusive group of players to have 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. Debell has 908 digs in her collegiate career, 839 with the Herd.
Following the Herd's home contests against the Blue Raiders, Marshall heads south for two matches at Florida Atlantic on Oct. 8-9.
The Opponent
The Blue Raiders have only played eight total matches coming into the weekend with having two early season tournaments canceled. Middle Tennessee opened the year going 1-2 at the Jacksonville State Tournament (Aug. 27-28). The Blue Raiders finally returned to the court on Sept. 17 against North Florida (3-1 loss) and Seton Hall (3-2 win). After getting swept by UT-Martin, Middle Tennessee rebounded taking both matches at home against the Charlotte 49ers. The Blue Raiders won the first in four sets and took the second match in five.
Libero Marley Blanton was named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week following the victories over the 49ers. Blanton had a career weekend, first with 27 digs and four aces on Friday, then came back with 30 digs on Saturday. She averaged 6.33 digs per set in the two wins.
Offensively, Middle Tennessee is led by Samira Body Lawson with 86 kills and 2.87 per set. Michaela Wright (60), Kayla Henley (53), Dasia Smith (53) and Emma Grever (50) also have 50 or more as the Blue Raiders have been spreading the ball around. Taylor Eisert has been the main setter with 288 assists and an average of 9.00 per set. Melisa Temiz has 15 aces and ranks 32nd in the NCAA in aces per set at 0.50.
Blanton leads the team in digs with 138 and 4.31 per set. Eisert is second with 86 digs. At the net, The Blue Raiders average 1.47 blocks per set with opponents only averaging 1.84 blocks against Middle Tennessee. Four Blue Raider players have double-digit blocks with Wright leading the way at 23.
Following the matches in Huntington, the Blue Raiders return to Murfreesboro to take on FIU, Oct. 8-9.
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 enter the match at 4-11 overall and 0-2 in Conference USA. The Blue Raiders come in at 4-4 overall and 2-0 in league play.
Match Details
Marshall Notes (PDF)
MTSU Notes (PDF)
Live Stats: HERDZONE
Live Stream: ESPN+ with Jake Griffith
Marshall Radio: 88.1 WMUL- FM and online www.marshall.edu
Series History: 14 all-time meetings – Marshall leads 10-4
Last Meeting: March 7-8, 2021 in Murfreesboro – The teams split, Herd won the first meeting in five sets then MTSU won the second in four sets.
Marshall is coming off two losses at 22nd-ranked WKU this past weekend. The Herd is looking to bounce back in league action with 10 matches remaining on the regular season schedule, all in conference play.
As a team, Marshall still leads in the NCAA in total blocks with 158. The Herd ranks eighth in total digs (954) as well as total attacks (2,162). Graduate student Destiny Leon leads C-USA and is fourth in the nation in total blocks with 77. Marshall has 11 different players this season who have registered at least three blocks. Along with Leon, three other players have more than 30 with junior Lydia Montague (57), senior Macy McElhaney (35) and junior Essence Clerkley (32). Leon, who has a block in 57-straight matches, is averaging 1.31 blocks per set this season and is on target to become the first player in program history to average 1.00 or more blocks per set in three seasons.
Senior libero Sarah Schank moved into exclusive company over the weekend against the Hilltoppers, becoming the 14th member of 1,000 Digs Club at Marshall. She reached the milestone in the third set and has 1,001 in her career. Schank has 299 this season, good for first in the league and third in the NCAA. Her 4.82 digs per set is third in the conference. Schank needs another 185 digs to reach the Herd's top 10 list.
Graduate student Sydney Lostumo leads Marshall in assists with 478 this season and she is approaching another career milestone as well. After reaching 100 service aces against Memphis, Lostumo needs only 85 more assists to reach 2,000 for her collegiate career. The Gilbert, Ariz., native has 1,523 during her time with Marshall and 392 from two seasons at Fresno State for a total of 1,915. Her Herd total is good for 10th all-time in program history.
Fellow graduate student Ciara Debell continues to lead the team offensively with 196 kills and an average of 3.16 per set. Debell is fourth all-time at Marshall with 1,256 career kills and second with an average of 3.89 kills per set, trailing only Hall of Famer Kelly Anne-Billingy in the latter category. Debell has a grand total of 1,342 kills in her collegiate career. The Ocala, Fla., native has a chance to reach an exclusive group of players to have 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. Debell has 908 digs in her collegiate career, 839 with the Herd.
Following the Herd's home contests against the Blue Raiders, Marshall heads south for two matches at Florida Atlantic on Oct. 8-9.
The Opponent
The Blue Raiders have only played eight total matches coming into the weekend with having two early season tournaments canceled. Middle Tennessee opened the year going 1-2 at the Jacksonville State Tournament (Aug. 27-28). The Blue Raiders finally returned to the court on Sept. 17 against North Florida (3-1 loss) and Seton Hall (3-2 win). After getting swept by UT-Martin, Middle Tennessee rebounded taking both matches at home against the Charlotte 49ers. The Blue Raiders won the first in four sets and took the second match in five.
Libero Marley Blanton was named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week following the victories over the 49ers. Blanton had a career weekend, first with 27 digs and four aces on Friday, then came back with 30 digs on Saturday. She averaged 6.33 digs per set in the two wins.
Offensively, Middle Tennessee is led by Samira Body Lawson with 86 kills and 2.87 per set. Michaela Wright (60), Kayla Henley (53), Dasia Smith (53) and Emma Grever (50) also have 50 or more as the Blue Raiders have been spreading the ball around. Taylor Eisert has been the main setter with 288 assists and an average of 9.00 per set. Melisa Temiz has 15 aces and ranks 32nd in the NCAA in aces per set at 0.50.
Blanton leads the team in digs with 138 and 4.31 per set. Eisert is second with 86 digs. At the net, The Blue Raiders average 1.47 blocks per set with opponents only averaging 1.84 blocks against Middle Tennessee. Four Blue Raider players have double-digit blocks with Wright leading the way at 23.
Following the matches in Huntington, the Blue Raiders return to Murfreesboro to take on FIU, Oct. 8-9.
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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Players Mentioned
MB/RS
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OH
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MB
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S
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MB
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MB
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L/DS
/ VolleyballNo one is safe! #volleyball
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