Marshall volleyball has yet to lose a set in the past four matches as the Thundering Herd swept Eastern Kentucky 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-15) on Tuesday evening in the Cam Henderson Center.
Marshall moved to 8-4 with the victory, while improving the home court record to 5-0. EKU dropped to 3-7 with the loss.
After taking home the Kent State Mizuno State Tournament title this past weekend, Marshall has now won the past 12 sets straight.
“I think the team is having fun,” remarked head coach Mitch Jacobs. “We are having fun playing together and nobody is getting down. We might get upset at ourselves about something, but nobody is getting down when we are not playing well. We are just having a good solid feel and playing together.”
As a team, the offensive attack only accounted for 11 errors. After 46 kills off of 101 attacks, the Herd ended the night with a .347 hitting percentage, marking the third match in a row Marshall has had over a .300 hitting percentage.
Leading the offense was junior Laura Der, who combined for a season-high .457 hitting percentage after swinging down 19 kills and only committing three errors. She also tallied six digs and two block assists.
Fellow outside hitter, Katy Schad also hit over.400 as the senior totaled 11 kills. She recorded 11 digs as well, giving her five double-doubles on the season.
On defense, libero Dorothy Rahal led the team with 16 kills, while Jillian Shemanski earned four block assists. The freshman middle blocker has led Marshall in the block category every match this season.
The team only allowed EKU 27 kills and kept the Colonels at a .070 hitting percentage after forcing them to commit 19 errors.
“I was excited to continue to see Dorothy Rahal’s development,” said Jacobs. “Katy Schad and Laura Der, as outside hitters hitting over .400 – a lot of it has to do with our tempo. We have to keep winning the serve and pass battle and that has really been our key. Our ball control has been good and our service game has been tough.”
Setter Sammie Bane earned her third double-double after posting 37 assists and 11 digs.
Sophomore Katie Potts accounted for five kills and had a .417 hitting percentage, while freshman Lauren Legge had eight kills and two blocks.
Marshall will face their first league opponent on Thursday as the Herd play East Carolina in the East Carolina Invitational. The match is set to start at 7 p.m. Marshall will also face off against Coastal Carolina and UMBC in the tournament.
“We start conference and we have three matches this weekend,” said Jacobs. “We have to keep building our strengths. These next three games are extremely important for us to continue to try and gain confidence.”