Dig Pink Weekend Set To Support Breast Cancer Awareness Month
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall University volleyball team is slated to host Conference USA opponents Tulane and UTEP this weekend. The Herd will play the Green Wave on Friday at 7 p.m., and take on the Miners on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Cam Henderson Center.
MARSHALL (16-4, 4-2 C-USA)
MU enters the weekend after sweeping the Memphis Tigers, 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-20), last Sunday. The Herd received a break-out game from middle blocker Kelley Bugler to lead the offensive charge. The sophomore tallied five kills and seven block assists in the victory.
Katy Schad, usually and outside hitter, made her first collegiate start at libero and registered a match-high 16 digs.
As a team, MU ranks in the top five in a number of statistical categories out of the other C-USA squads. MU is second in service aces (1.38) and digs (15.95), third in assists (12.67) and kills (13.97) pet set. The Herd also ranks fourth in hitting percentage (.226) and opponent hitting percentage (.168).
Elizabeth Fleming is currently second in the conference in assists-per-set at 10.96 and has totaled a team-best nine double-doubles on the season. Emily Sullivan’s .370 hitting percentage is good for third in C-USA, while Ryanne Milligan is seventh in service aces (0.30) and 10th in digs (3.67) per set.
TULANE (10-6, 5-2 C-USA)
The Green Wave swept UCF, 3-0, last Sunday at home and is currently tied with Rice for second place in the C-USA standings.
Visnja Djurdjevic has been a force for the Green Wave offense. She ranks first in the conference in kills (4.36) and service aces (0.41) per set. Those stats also place her 19th and 22nd in the NCAA rankings.
MU owns a 2-2 all-time record against Tulane. The Herd dropped its only meeting vs. the Green Wave, 3-0 (16-25, 20-25, 19-25) last season.
UTEP (9-11, 2-5 C-USA)
The Miners lost two conference matches last weekend, falling to UCF and Southern Miss, both by 3-1 scores. UTEP enters the weekend on a five-game losing streak, with the team’s last victory being a sweep against SMU on Sept. 25.
MU holds a 5-1 advantage in the all-time series with UTEP and knocked off the Miners, 3-0 (25-23, 29-27, 25-20) last season.
DIG PINK WEEKEND
The MU volleyball team is partaking in the Dig Pink Weekend to help raise donations and promote awareness of breast cancer. Dig Pink t-shirts will be sold at both matches for $10 and a silent auction will take place to sell pink game jerseys on www.herdzone.com, with winners being announced on Sunday. Business donations will be based on attendance, and the first 500 fans receive pink pom-poms.
