Herd Volleyball Goes Perfect on First Day at the Highlander Invitational

Box Score (PDF) VS Kansas City | Box Score (PDF) VS EMU | Championship Fund

RADFORD, Va. – The Marshall University Volleyball team (2-0) stormed out of the gates at the Highlander Invitational on Friday, starting the 2025 campaign with a doubleheader sweep. The Herd cruised past Kansas City with a 3-0 win (25-16, 25-15, 25-23) and capped the day by defeating Eastern Michigan 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 13-25, 25-22) at the Donald N. Dedmon Center.

First-year Head Coach Heather Stout notched her first NCAA Division I wins with the perfect day.

"Great day for our program at the Highlander invitational," Stout said after the day. "During our first match versus UMKC we hopped on the lead early. I was really proud of our setters distribution. All of our attackers finished positively, and I thought they did a good job spreading the offensive flow."

Marshall 3, Kansas City 0
Marshall wasted no time in the opener, controlling the match from the opening serve. Audrey Geer posted a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs. Beatrice Ciccarelli was a force at the net, hitting .400 with eight kills, three blocks and an ace, while Emma Barnett contributed nine kills and nine digs. Bella Thompson guided the offense with 21 assists and added a service ace.

The Herd dominated the second set with a .462 hitting percentage and just 1 error, then held off a late Kansas City push in the third to secure the sweep. Marshall out dug their opponent 48-33 and limited Kansas City to .165 hitting.

Marshall 3, EMU 1
The Herd continued its strong start in the nightcap. Barnett led the way with 13 kills, 12 digs, four blocks and a pair of aces, racking up 17.5 points. Elli Barry added 8 kills on .318 hitting and Ciccarelli contributed seven block assists and three aces. Thompson had 17 assists and nine digs.

"As the day progressed, we continued to build on our cohesiveness," Stout said. "We were able to see some great leadership, especially aggressiveness to a sound defensive team from EMU."

Marshall took the first two sets with late surges, but Eastern Michigan capitalized on Herd errors to capture the third 25-13. Marshall responded in the fourth, firing at a .355 clip and using key blocks and timely kills to close out the win 25-22.

"Both Geer and Barnett being terminal front and back row really helped open up Logan Henderson towards the end of the match which was huge."

UP NEXT
Marshall closes out the Highlander Invitational against host Radford at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

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---HerdZone.com---

Herd Volleyball Goes Perfect on First Day at the Highlander Invitational

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Team Stats

Audrey Geer

Emma Barnett

Beatrice Ciccarelli

Marae Reilly

Players Mentioned

Emma Barnett

Elli Barry

Beatrice Ciccarelli

Audrey Geer

Logan Henderson

Bella Thompson

Marshall University Athletics