Volleyball: WVU Battles for Golden Ball
November 24, 2011 12:06 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The West Virginia University volleyball team is set to travel to Huntington, W. Va. to take on in-state rival Marshall on Friday Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. at the Cam Henderson Center.
This will be the 45th time the two teams have met, with the Mountaineers (7-18, 5-9 BIG EAST) holding a 28-16 advantage over the Thundering Herd (9-21, 8-12 CUSA).
“I always enjoy rivalry matches,” coach Jill Kramer says. “We have a great one with Marshall playing for the Golden Ball every year and we worked really hard last year in preparation for that match. We played them before Pitt last year so it was the first time I had really seen our fans come out to support us and I thought the players really thrived from it. We worked really hard in that match and we were able to sweep them and keep the Golden Ball here for a year.
“Mitch (Jacobs, Marshall coach) and I had talked about how cool it would be to be able to play this match on Thanksgiving weekend and try and make that something that we do annually. When we move to the Big 12, we will not be able to do that anymore because of the way the matches are set up, but I think it gives our players a good opportunity to see what it is like to be playing a season this long.”
This will be the last regular-season game for the Mountaineers after finishing 11th in the BIG EAST with a 5-9 record.
WVU is led offensively by senior outside hitters Kylie Armbruster and Michelle Kopecky. The senior duo is first and second on the team in kills with 241 and 199, respectively. Kopecky also leads the team in service aces with 29 while Armbruster is third on the team in digs with 172.
Senior setter Kari Post and senior libero Serinna Russo will each leave a mark in the WVU record books this season. In their final home match against USF, Post recorded 45 assists which put her career total at 3,339 and one past Kailee Goold to put her at No. 4 on WVU’s all-time career assists list. Russo finished with 29 digs, which moved her up to No. 3 on the digs in a single-season with 503.
This will also be the final regular-season match of the season for Marshall as the Thundering Herd finished up CUSA play with a 3-0 victory over East Carolina on Wednesday.
The Thundering Herd are guided by freshman Sammie Bane who is currently ranked No. 7 in CUSA with 10.16 assists per set and has recorded 1,124 assists on the season. Leading the Marshall offense is Abby Tomas who is first on the team in kills with 349 and 3.17 kills per set. Tomas was named CUSA Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 1 after guiding Marshall to victories over Southern Miss and Tulane and leading the team with 4.22 kills per set and a .245 hitting percentage.
Last season, the Mountaineers defeated Marshall 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-23) for the first time since 2001 at the WVU Coliseum.
For live stats of this weekend’s match, visit www.MSNsportsNET.com.
This will be the 45th time the two teams have met, with the Mountaineers (7-18, 5-9 BIG EAST) holding a 28-16 advantage over the Thundering Herd (9-21, 8-12 CUSA).
“I always enjoy rivalry matches,” coach Jill Kramer says. “We have a great one with Marshall playing for the Golden Ball every year and we worked really hard last year in preparation for that match. We played them before Pitt last year so it was the first time I had really seen our fans come out to support us and I thought the players really thrived from it. We worked really hard in that match and we were able to sweep them and keep the Golden Ball here for a year.
“Mitch (Jacobs, Marshall coach) and I had talked about how cool it would be to be able to play this match on Thanksgiving weekend and try and make that something that we do annually. When we move to the Big 12, we will not be able to do that anymore because of the way the matches are set up, but I think it gives our players a good opportunity to see what it is like to be playing a season this long.”
This will be the last regular-season game for the Mountaineers after finishing 11th in the BIG EAST with a 5-9 record.
WVU is led offensively by senior outside hitters Kylie Armbruster and Michelle Kopecky. The senior duo is first and second on the team in kills with 241 and 199, respectively. Kopecky also leads the team in service aces with 29 while Armbruster is third on the team in digs with 172.
Senior setter Kari Post and senior libero Serinna Russo will each leave a mark in the WVU record books this season. In their final home match against USF, Post recorded 45 assists which put her career total at 3,339 and one past Kailee Goold to put her at No. 4 on WVU’s all-time career assists list. Russo finished with 29 digs, which moved her up to No. 3 on the digs in a single-season with 503.
This will also be the final regular-season match of the season for Marshall as the Thundering Herd finished up CUSA play with a 3-0 victory over East Carolina on Wednesday.
The Thundering Herd are guided by freshman Sammie Bane who is currently ranked No. 7 in CUSA with 10.16 assists per set and has recorded 1,124 assists on the season. Leading the Marshall offense is Abby Tomas who is first on the team in kills with 349 and 3.17 kills per set. Tomas was named CUSA Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 1 after guiding Marshall to victories over Southern Miss and Tulane and leading the team with 4.22 kills per set and a .245 hitting percentage.
Last season, the Mountaineers defeated Marshall 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-23) for the first time since 2001 at the WVU Coliseum.
For live stats of this weekend’s match, visit www.MSNsportsNET.com.
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