Sept. 20, 2008

Box Score

GREENVILLE, N.C. - Marshall University's Kristin Marcum (Arlington, Texas) blasted a match-high 19 kills and Megan Carlson (Andover, Minn.) tallied a pair of service aces over the final three points of the fourth set to lift the Thundering Herd to a 3-1 (18-25, 25-15, 25-21, 25-23) win over North Carolina State in Saturday morning's non-conference volleyball match at Minges Coliseum.

With the win, Marshall improves to 6-4 overall while NC State slips to 5-9 overall. The win also marks the 138th victory at Marshall for head coach Mitch Jacobs. That win total ties former Herd coach Linda Holmes.

"After a sluggish start, it's nice to see the players comeback strong and play with more emotion," Jacobs said after match. "I think they played with higher expectations, and it was very impressive to see us come from behind in set four. It was also nice to see us finish with a bit stronger serving."

The teams played to a pair of ties and one lead change to open the fourth set before NC State posted a 13-10 advantage. Kills by Emily Sullivan (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Marcum evened the score at 13-13, and after the Wolfpack regained a two-point lead, a Jalicia Ross (Bank Village, Trinidad) kill and back-to-back blocks by the Herd gave Marshall the lead back at 16-15. From there, the teams played to four more ties and a 20-20 score before NC State scored three consecutive points to take a 23-20 edge. The Herd used a pair of Wolfpack attacking errors and a Carlson service ace to knot the set a 23-23. A Marcum kill and a Carlson service ace sealed the set-four comeback and match for the Herd.

After NC State jumped to an early 5-2 lead in the opening set, Marshall scored four of the next five points on the strength of a pair of kills from Elizabeth Herman (Dunwoody, Ga.) and an assisted block from Cameron Yoho (Sisterville, W.Va.) and Layne Kehl (Mountain Top, Pa.) to even the set at 6-6. From there, the Wolfpack was able to maintain a four-point lead, allowing the Herd to get to within two on just one occasion (9-11). Leading 16-12, NC State pushed its lead to 19-12 before Marshall closed to within five at 20-15. The Wolfpack scored five of the next eight points despite a pair of kills by Ross and one from Elizabeth Fleming (South Bend, Ind.) to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Marshall came out firing in the second set, posting an 11-3 lead on the strength of two kills by Marcum and a pair from Sullivan. The Herd extended its lead to as many as 12 at 21-9 on two more kills from Marcum and Sullivan, as well as two from Herman and Ross and service ace by Kehl. NC State rallied for six more points but Marshall sealed the set with kills from Fleming and Herman, finishing with a .429 hitting percentage for the frame.

Marshall and NC State fought to eight ties in the third set, with neither team gaining more than a two-point advantage until Marshall broke out to a 19-15 lead behind kills from Kehl and Sullivan. From there the Herd took a 21-16 lead, but three straight points lifted the Wolfpack to within two at 21-19. Marshall scored four of the next six points, highlighted by a pair of kills from Ross, and one apiece from Marcum and Sullivan to take a 2-1 lead in the contest.

Herman finished 15 kills, Ross finished with 11 kills, and Sullivan added 10 kills in the winning effort for Marshall. Fleming dished out a match-best 54 helpers and contributed nine digs, while Carlson added a team-best 17 digs. Jessica Dhoore dug 13 balls, while Marcum completed a double-double effort with 12 digs to go along with her 19 kills.

"Kristin Marcum had a good offensive match, probably her best in a while and it's good to see her get her swing back," Jacobs added. "We're still a young team and we need to learn from what happened yesterday, and focus on what to do later today, and if they can focus on that we'll be okay."

NC State was led by Aiwane Iboaya and Arlee Tamietti who notched 10 kills apiece. Kelly Wood added a match-best 21 digs, while Alex Smith totaled 38 assists in the loss for the Wolfpack.

Marshall concludes East Carolina Invitational action with a 5:00 p.m. contest against Morgan State at Minges Coliseum.