Oct. 4, 2008

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Marshall University volleyball team will take on Southern Miss. in a Conference USA volleyball contest, Sunday, Oct. 5 in Hattiesburg, Miss. First-serve is slated for 7:00 p.m. ET.

Marshall (8-6 overall, 1-3 C-USA) is 5-1 all-time against Southern Miss. (11-6 overall, 1-3 C-USA) dating back to 2005 when Marshall joined C-USA. The Thundering Herd swept its season series with the Golden Eagles with a pair of 3-0 decisions in 2007.

In the first meeting between the teams last season, Elizabeth Fleming (South Bend, Ind.) recorded a match-high 18 digs while Kristin Marcum (Arlington, Texas) chipped in 11 digs. Jalicia Ross (Bank Village, Trinidad) added six assisted blocks in the win. In the second meeting, Ross belted nine kills while Fleming dug 11 balls and handed out 47 assists.

Marshall took UCF to five sets in a thrilling match in Orlando, Fla., Friday night, but suffered a 3-2 loss. In that contest, Emily Sullivan (Cincinnati, Ohio) blasted three kills and added a solo block with the Herd down 24-21 in the fourth set to give Marshall a 26-24 victory and force a fifth and deciding set. UCF was able to claim a 15-12 win to seal the match. Sullivan finished with 20 kills in the match while Ross added 17. Elizabeth Herman (Dunwoody, Ga.) totaled 10 kills on the day, while Megan Carlson (Andover, Minn.) and Jessica Dhoore (LaPorte Ind.) registered 13 and 12 digs respectively. Fleming passed out 58 assists in the losing effort.

Sullivan now has 158 kills on the season, while Ross has 144 blasts and a team-leading .442 hitting percentage (144K, 25E, 269TA). Fleming has handed out 589 assists so far in 2008, while Dhoore owns a team-best 162 digs.

Southern Miss. enters Sunday's match fresh of a 3-2 win over ECU as it claimed its first league victory of the season. Lauren Sears led the Golden Eagles' charge with 15 kills, while Angela Hlavaty and Ashley Petrinec added 12 kills apiece. Sarah Jane Bowden chipped in 11 kills and Stevi Cherry contributed 10 to give Southern Miss. five players with double-digit put-downs. Kelsea Seymour distributed 39 assists while Maia Ivanova finished with a team-high 20 digs in the winning effort.

Sunday's match in Hattiesburg can be followed live on GameTracker by visiting HerdZone.com.