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SPORTS
Herd sweeps Southern Miss in C-USA volleyball tourney
HUNTINGTON -- Marshall's volleyball team had its best match of the season at the best possible time on Thursday evening.
After losing to Southern Miss twice in the regular season, the Thundering Herd came out firing and swept the Golden Eagles 3-0 in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament at the Elma Roane FieldHouse in Memphis, Tenn.
"It was possibly the most focused we've been in a long time," Marshall coach Mitch Jacobs said. "...One day doesn't change the world, but we've won three of four now. We've just got to keep playing strong."
With the win, Marshall advances to take on the No. 2-seed UAB Blazers at 6 p.m. today. Like Southern Miss, the Herd let a pair of opportunities slip away in the regular season in a pair of losses to the Blazers.
Marshall was able to avenge its pair of regular season losses to Southern Miss, thanks in part to a strong defensive effort.
For the match, Marshall accumulated 53 digs and 11.5 team blocks to limit the Golden Eagles to a .046 hitting percentage for the match.
Kristin Marcum and Megan Carlson both had double-doubles in the victory. Marcum registered 11 kills and 12 digs while also chipping in on five blocks to pace the Herd. Carlson backed that up with 11 kills and 12 digs of her own.
Conference USA setter of the week Liz Fleming orchestrated the Herd offense well with 34 assists in the three-set victory -- an average of 11.3 assists per set.
"Liz Fleming diversifying our offense was a big deal," Jacobs said. "Just the fact that she wasn't being predictable with our patterns of offense was a big start....I say Liz was fantastic tonight."
Jalicia Ross also chipped in with 10 kills for Marshall and led the team with a .316 hitting percentage. The Golden Eagles also tried to stay away from the blocking ability of Ross, but Emily Sullivan stepped up to thwart the Golden Eagles outside attack. Sullivan finished with seven kills and four blocks.
"Everybody just did their work today," Jacobs said.
The winner of tonight's meeting between Marshall and UAB will advance to Saturday's 5 p.m. semifinal. The Conference USA volleyball championship is at 3 p.m. on Sunday, and will be televised by CBS College Sports (Ch. 174).
