September 11, 2008
Volleyball Set For Showdown With WVU
The Thundering Herd has won six straight against the Mountaineers.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The Marshall University volleyball team will travel
to Morgantown to take on in-state rival West Virginia Friday, Sept. 12.
First-serve is slated for 7:00 p.m.
Marshall enters Friday's contest with a 4-3 overall record, while West
Virginia stands at 2-4 on the season.
The Thundering Herd has defeated West Virginia in each of its last six
meetings, including a 3-1 victory over the Mountaineers in last season's
Blue/Green Classic. West Virginia owns a 26-13 overall record against the
Herd dating back to the series' beginning in 1974.
Elizabeth Fleming (South Bend, Ind.) dished out 63 helpers while Jalicia
Ross (Bank Village, Trinidad) recorded 12 kills, three solo blocks and
three assisted blocks in that win. Kristin Marcum (Arlington, Texas) also
added 15 digs on the day.
Marshall enters Friday's contest looking to snap a two-match losing skid.
The Herd fell to Western Kentucky 3-0 in the final match of the Marshall
Thunder Invitational, and lost a midweek clash with Morehead State (3-0)
on Tuesday.
The Herd is led offensively by Emily Sullivan (Cincinnati, Ohio), who has
collected 84 kills so far on the season. Marcum ranks second on the team
with 61 kills, while Ross has chipped in 54 and is hitting at a team-best
.390 clip (54 K, 13 E, 105 TA) and has 18 total blocks (2 solo, 16
assisted). Fleming has amassed 262 assists so far on the season and has
added 64 digs.
Newcomer Jessica Dhoore (LaPorte, Ind.) has notched a team-high 71 digs,
followed closely by fellow freshman Megan Carlson (Andover, Minn.) who has
dug 65 balls.
The Mountaineers finished the Winthrop Classic with a 2-1 record,
defeating host Winthrop 3-2 and NC Central 3-1. West Virginia's loss came
at the hands of Morehead State, 3-1.
West Virginia is led by Kristina Gallahan, who has totaled 74 kills, while
Kylie Armbruster has added 58 kills and 60 digs for the Mountaineers.
Bonnie West has registered 85 digs so far on the season, while Nicole
Jones has handed out 195 helpers to guide the West Virginia offense.
Marshall returns to non-conference action Tuesday, Sept. 16 when it
travels to Oxford, Ohio for a match with Miami (Ohio). First-serve is
slated for 6:00 p.m. ET.
BIG GREEN TO HOLD PREGAME TAILGATE AT SOUTHERN MISS
90-Minute Tailgate to Prepare Herd Fans for Tilt with Golden Eagles
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Marshall's Big Green organization will hold a pregame
tailgate from 12:30-2:00 p.m. CT on Sept. 20 in Hattiesburg, Miss., in
advance of the Thundering Herd's 2:30 p.m. football tilt at Southern Miss.
Cost is $20 per person and includes food and beverages. The tailgate will
take place south of the Payne Center next to Reed Green Coliseum,
approximately a 5-10 minute walk to the football stadium.
Reservations are encouraged but are not mandatory. Please call the Big
Green office toll free at 866/443-7310 to RSVP or for more information.
Marshall Begins Eight-Match Road Trip in Ohio
The Thundering Herd Faces Mid-American's Champions
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall University's women's soccer squad will
begin its eight-match road trip this weekend with two matches in northwest
Ohio against the Mid-American Champions, the University of Toledo and
Bowling Green State University.
The Thundering Herd first challenges the reigning MAC tournament champion
and Great Lakes Region 15th-ranked Toledo, Friday, with a 5 p.m. scheduled
start at Scott Park. Marshall will then meet MAC tournament runner-up,
BGSU, Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Cochrane Field.
"I am eager to see how we do against the two teams that played for the MAC
championship a year ago," Marshall's interim head coach Kevin Long said.
"We will be looking to rebound in Ohio, after twice giving up two-goal
leads this past weekend."
The Rockets (2-1-0) and the Herd (2-0-2) first met in 1998 at Toledo with
the Rockets taking a 1-0 decision. The most recent appearance was in 2004
with the Herd falling 3-1. Toledo holds the all-time series lead, 6-1.
"The team will be trying to produce a consistent style of play against
what surely measures to be our toughest competition of the season so far,"
Coach Long added.
The Herd and the Falcons (1-2-2) have met seven times in school history
with BGSU leading 4-1-2. The first meeting dates back to the Herd's
inaugural season, which the orange and brown took a 1-0 victory. The most
recent result was in 2004 after 1-1 draw in overtime at Bowling Green.
Sophomore forward Erika Duncan (Easthaven, Scotland) leads the Herd with
four goals after four matches. Freshman Angela DeSumma (Doylestown, Pa.)
has a team high of three assists so far for the season. Sophomore forward
Missy Gordon (Carmel, Ind.) stands team leader in shots (18) and
shots-on-goal with eight.
Co-captain keeper Liz Orton (Fort Collins, Colo.) has 400 playing time
minutes and 17 saves so far this season. The junior has registered 207
saves so far in her three-year career.
The Herd opened regular season defeating St. Bonaventure, 3-1, at
McGraw-Jennings Field. Marshall then traveled to Emmitsburg, Md. and shut
out Mount St. Mary's, 4-0. In its home opener, the Herd took a 2-2 draw
with The Citadel in the fourth annual Thundering Herd Nike Invitational.
To close the invitational, Marshall tied Radford, 2-2.
Marshall has a four-match unbeaten streak (two of which ended in ties),
which it hasn't been done since 2004. The 2004 team went 2-0-2 in its
opening four matches before falling to Wright State and finished with
three ties against LaSalle University, Drexel University, and Bowling
Green State University.
GameTracker will be available for Sunday's match by clicking the Marshall
women's soccer schedule.
Herd fans can view and purchase photos from the 2008 women's soccer season
at http://herdsportsphotos.exposuremanager.com/ under "2008 Women's
Soccer."
Men's Soccer Travels to Pittsburgh for Duquesne Invitational
Marshall will play Duquesne Friday; Richmond Saturday
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Marshall University men's soccer team will continue
with the 2008 season with a pair of games at the Duquesne Invitational in
Pittsburgh, Pa. Friday and Saturday.
The Thundering Herd (0-3) will open with host Duquesne (1-0-3) Friday at
7:30 p.m. followed by a match against Richmond (0-3) Saturday at 5 p.m.
The Herd and Dukes have only met one other time when Duquesne walked away
with a 2-1 victory over Marshall in Dayton, Ohio. The Spiders own a 5-1
all-time record against the Herd winning the last three contests.
In the contest against Liberty, Freshman Aaron Dini (Winchester, Ky.)
scored his first colligate goal just under 20 minutes into his career.
For those traveling to Pittsburgh, admission is free for both contests and
the game will be available on Gametracker courtesy of CSTV.
