Marshall Volleyball Splits Opening Matches at Rocket Invitational

Box Score (PDF) VS NKU | Box Score (PDF) VS Eastern Washington | Championship Fund

TOLEDO, Ohio – The Marshall University Volleyball team (6-2) split its opening matches with a 3-2 (25-19, 24-26, 25-15, 21-25, 16-14) win over Northern Kentucky and a 3-2 (25-16, 23-25, 25-18, 25-12) loss to Eastern Washington on.

"Splitting the day 1-1 with two very tough opponents isn't what we planned for, but I'm really proud of the grit we showed against NKU," Herd Volleyball Head Coach Ari Aganus said. "Hats off to how EWU prepped and executed against us, we definitely had holes and spaces to improve on, exposed. Our team is relentless and full of electric passion. We will learn and come back out tomorrow to face a very strong Toledo team."

Marshall 3, Northern Kentucky 2
Brynn Brown registered her third triple-double of the season with a match-high 33 assists, 11 kills and 10 digs. Audrey Geer picked up a double-double with 16 digs and a team-high 13 kills as Beatrice Ciccarelli had 10 blocks.

The score was tied early 6-6 in the opening set. After an Izzy Collier kill gave MU an 11-8 lead a few points later, its lead didn't drop below three points the rest of the way. The Herd capped off its first-set 25-19 triumph with kills by Geer and Melton. Marshall hit a match-high .257 attacking percentage in the set.

After dropping a narrow 26-24 decision in the second, MU didn't mess around in the third. It never trailed with the score being tied only three times in the set. With the score tied 7-7, Marshall took 18 of the final 26 points to take the third 25-15.

The Norse forced a fifth set after taking the fourth 25-21. Like the third, The Herd never trailed in the final frame. NKU tied it 13-13 late in the set. However, Geer captured the final two points with a kill and ace to seal the match.

Eastern Washington 3, Marshall 1
McKenna Melton led the team with 13 kills. Brown had a double-double with 25 assists and 15 digs with Geer recording her second double-double of the day with 15 digs and 12 kills.

The two sides traded the first 16 points with the score tied 8-8 in the first set. The Eagles slowly worked up its lead as MU fell 25-16 in the opening frame.

The Herd trailed 9-5 early in the second. However, Marshall used a 7-1 run, concluded by a service ace from Geer and Eagles attacking error, to grab an 12-10 advantage. Eastern Washington kept it close, by Geer finished it off with a kill to clinch the second set for The Herd, 25-23. MU finished the second set with a .282 hitting percentage.

The third set featured four lead changes, and the scoreboard tied seven times, but Marshall came out on the wrong end falling 25-18. Eastern Washington the clinched match with a 25-12 victory in the fourth.

UP NEXT
The Herd concludes the Rocket Invitational against the host Toledo on Saturday at Noon.

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---HerdZone.com---

Marshall Volleyball Splits Opening Matches at Rocket Invitational

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Team Stats

Audrey Geer

McKenna Melton

Brynn Brown

Beatrice Ciccarelli

Players Mentioned

Brynn Brown

Beatrice Ciccarelli

Izzy Collier

Audrey Geer

McKenna Melton

Marshall University Athletics